I posted a while back about how i’m autistic/ have a hard time socializing with patients even though I am a good caregiver. I’m currently a Caregiver but planning to start CNA course once I can pay for the classes.
I am still working on my conversational skills and am in the process of getting medicated for my anxiety but I wanted to know which type of cna facility/type is more fast paced work with less patient interaction.

I know this job is very patient focused and I am good at providing empathy/support/ compassionate care but if its too long/ kind of sitting around shifts i get extremely awkward, I try my best to mask and be interactive but it gets hard.

I’m more used to In home 1-1 care but I’m curious if hospital etc would be more fast paced and therefore easier for me? Like I think if its more multiple patients at a fast rate it would be beneficial because its more quick conversations instead of 1-1 with a patient for 12 hour shift if that makes sense?

Any help is appreciated on what type of facility this would be!

As the title states, there was some drama between coworkers and we all had to be split up. I got to choose where I wanted to go last because they went by seniority, so the only thing left was night shift. I'm not happy abt it whatsoever, but there's nothing I can do, but cope rn. I've only had to do it for two nights, Friday will be my 3rd, and I already hate it. On my two days off, I basically just slept or laid in bed on my phone. I already feel like I have no life, so ik that feeling will continue. Does anyone have any tips for me that would help me adjust? Anything that would make it slightly easier? I'm open to anything and everything.

Who had decided to quit CNA for whatever reason? What did you end up working as or for afterwards?

I’m a new CNA needing help deciding between which job offer I should take. Two hospitals offered me a role, both med surge, one is 3 minutes away, day shift. The other is about 15 minutes away, night shift. I’ve always been a night owl and like staying up late. And I would happily take the night shift differential, but everyone says how damaging night shift is to your mental health. Everyone also warns that day shift is much more busy and difficult, which makes me nervous as a new CNA. Which option would you pick?

I have been a cna for 3 years. I did overnight 12s at a nice facility. it was easy to turn my patients and do rounds. they were strong enough and had an enough muscle memory to stay on their side to get clean. And they were just not pooing THIS MUCH

At the new place Im working at i have certain residents to have multiple blowouts almost everyday Im already strapped for time due to lack of structure and orginizatoon. I don’t think it’s fair to my more experienced coworkers to pull them over to me to help me with a 1 assist. No matter how much I verbally encourage them and try my best to get them to stay on their side by supporting them with one hand and doing the change with the other hand. the sheer volume of loose stool thats flowing everywhere gets all over the linens and I can’t even support their body enough to have a chance of cleaning them properly and also change the linens too….they look so miserable being turned it makes me want to just leave them alone….what am I doing wrong? Ive also noticed the cnas here do all sorts of things I never did at my old facility….multiple layers of linens, double briefing….etc Im just like….ive never in all my years had so many blowouts in one shift that these measures have become necessary…help

Today was my first day of training as a CNA. This is my first job in healthcare at all and I will be in a PRN position. Today I felt so lost and like I was just watching my trainer do stuff instead of actually doing it. And just generally uncomfortable because I don’t know these people. I know things will get more comfortable as time goes and I will understand peoples needs, but as a PRN will that time ever come since I won’t have the same section all the time? Any advice? I was thinking of keeping a notepad with the room number and different things I should know like brief size or dependency level, but could that be a HIPAA concern?

before being a CNA I would judge (internally) badly as to why someone could love their mom or dad and let them go to a facility (of course, this does not include those raised in poor conditions or who did not have a close relationship with their loved one). now after being a CNA .. I get it. That’s all I’ll say. It’s not easy to take care of a loved one full time as a caregiver and support and balance your livelihood too. There’s a lot that goes into it.

Aggh. A coworker sprayed a TON of air freshener everywhere and now I’m behind a mask and having an asthma attack at the end of the hallway and everyone is calling me weak.

Why don’t people understand that this is not okay? It doesn’t smell good. It smells like death and ER trips.

I have never had this happen before but I had a patient today ask for help brushing their hair, I have very short straight hair that I basically just run my fingers through and call it good. I know that if you take care of curly hair wrong you can ruin it really easily so I was kinda scared to help but want to be more helpful in the future does anyone have any tips or know where I can learn how to care for different hair types?

I have seen a lot of complaining from upcoming CNA but never understood why. Until now.

I am currently going through my CNA training and am struggling to understand the material outline (or lack of?). I have the required textbook and am in a state certified school, but the class has absolutely no structure. It seems to be filled with 75% common sense but also makes me question because...there is no way it can be this straight forward. Right? Each day we are required to read chapters aloud in a zoom meeting. The instructor will pause reading here and there to ask questions (assuming to make sure people are paying attention). Oh - also it was explained as a remote program with in person lab on Fridays. However, with the lack of class structure I am having to reread all the material we cover (2-5 chapters a night) and the instructor will not tell us what will be covered on following days. The only thing she said was some chapters will be skipped.

I have a learning disability and this format is not working for me because I am not retaining any information. I realize I am ranting at this point and I do appologize, but how am I supposed to learn if the instructor isn't even really teaching us anything? She just sits in silence as people with varying reading abilities ......read..... for 6 hours a day. (sigh) I love reading and volunteer a lot.

On Fridays we will have a "review" quiz of the information covered for the entire week. Am I better off just reading at my own pace and doing online quizzes/creating flashcards?

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Technically I'm not certified yet at all. I was hired by a ltc facility and took the cna classes through them. We just 'graduated' last week and we all went back to our facilities. The only issue I have is that my facility is still paying me hospitality aid wages, but they expect me to do everything a cna does. We're extremely short staffed and everyone seems to call out. They've already scheduled my state testing, but truth is, I just don't want to go through with it. I know I could get more working at hospitals or through hospice, but the thought of going back and waiting just isn't worth it mentally for me. One cna I was working with kept harping on about how much experience she has and that she's only making $17 an hour (in Tx). Would it be acceptable to quit? I feel like I'd be letting my family down and also my classmates since I finished second.

I'm constantly having this phenomena where I hear blood pressure thumps down to zero using a typical manual b.p. cuff on the wrist with a stethoscope

I've heard applying too much pressure can do this but I'm just really struggling with this problem. Advice?

i just failed my clinical skills due to wrong measurement on radial pulse, i couldn’t find my partner’s pulse and attempted to find it for 3 minutes, my proctor said she could on the other wrist. i sort of panicked and guessed as i genuinely felt nothing but occasionally the slightest beat. i have since then attempted on family and friends and found their pulse immediately! i’m so frustrated and don’t know what went wrong.

any tips on radial pulse? any specific things i should be looking for

I’d love the flexibility, structure, and the leverage of being a part of an agency but I don’t know if it’ll look bad to try to move over so soon (new CNA)…thoughts?

I’m a new CNA working at a nursing home and I’ve been there for about a month. I only work 2-3 days a week so I feel like that’s made it harder for me to remember everything.

I actually like helping the residents and I like the idea of being a CNA, but I’m struggling so bad working by myself. When I was training it wasn’t really that bad because I had someone with me and could just follow what they were doing. Now that I’m on my own I feel confused like 90% of the time.

I work first shift and I think that might be a big part of it. I have like 10+ residents and I genuinely don’t know what I’m supposed to do first in the morning. Like who do I get up first? Do I help the other CNA with boosts? Do I start getting my own people up? Everyone else seems like they know exactly what they’re doing and I’m just standing there like ???

I’m also still struggling with changing people in bed, turning people and transfers. I ask for help because I don’t want to hurt myself or the resident but I feel like I’m constantly asking someone to help me.

And honestly I’ve started dreading going to work. I don’t even know if I hate being a CNA or if I just hate first shift at this nursing home. I feel like I would do better on second shift, home care, adult day care, etc.
So experienced CNAs, is this normal for being this new? Did you guys feel this confused when you first started working alone? Should I stick it out longer or start looking for a different shift/setting?

Any agency cnas here who might know why this happens. Something I've seen that happens a few times is the charge nurses hovering around to make sure I'm always doing something. For example, I had a shift to be a sitter for a pt and then a few hours later the family showed up so I went out to help the other nurses. Within the same hour a nurse came to me and said the charge said I should go home. The other nurses I was helping said they still need my help as they have no cnas on the ward but the charge still said I should sign out. With my agency, you have to work a minimum of 4 hours before signing out. I always find it weird why they dont just make a 4 hour shift then adjust it if needed instead of keeping tabs on me every hour to make sure I'm not staying a minute longer than needed.

**Just wanted to say I appreciate all the replies. I wasn't trying to say all charge nurses are like this. I just feel so unwelcomed when the only time someone checks on me during a shift is to ask what I've completed and when I'm clocking out, and not to see if I've had a break or need anything. I also know this is what I signed up for but it doesn't seem right to treat an agency so poorly just cuz they're not part of your team 🥲

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice, especially from anyone who currently works or has worked for Providence.

I currently work as a CNA/tech at another hospital making around $20/hr. I’m per diem, so my hours can be pretty inconsistent. Sometimes I’m only able to work one shift a week.

My current job is already a pretty long commute for me, usually around hour each way. I recently applied for a part-time CNA position at Providence that starts around $25/hr with 12-hour shifts. The Providence position would be an equally long commute for me too

I haven’t gotten an offer yet, but I’m trying to think ahead about whether I should take it if I do.

One thing that would make the commute more manageable is that I have a family member who lives closer to the Providence hospital. If I had consecutive shifts, I could stay with them between shifts and then drive home after my last shift instead of making the full commute every day.

My main goal is to eventually transfer internally to a different Providence hospital that is much closer to home. I’m currently in nursing school as well, so I’m hoping that getting into the Providence system as a CNA could give me more hospital experience and potentially put me in a better position when I eventually apply for new-grad RN positions.

For anyone familiar with Providence:

How difficult is it to transfer from one Providence hospital to another?

Is there a minimum amount of time you have to work before you're eligible to transfer?

Do internal applicants have an advantage when applying for positions at another Providence hospital?

Has anyone here successfully transferred between Providence hospitals?

Do you think taking the longer commute temporarily would be worth it for the higher pay, more consistent schedule, and possibility of transferring closer to home later?

I definitely wouldn't quit my current job unless I received an official offer. I'm just trying to decide whether it would make sense to take the opportunity if I'm offered it, especially since I'm already commuting pretty far for my current per-diem job.

Any advice or experiences would be really appreciated!

Hello, I just started a CA CNA program and got a 75% on our first exam so i’m looking for more resources I can use to study. I came across these two apps that seem the most promising and i’m wondering if anyone has used them before. If so, which one would be better? Or, would it be better to put my money towards a website rather than an app. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Yea as you can tell by the title I am experiencing burnt outs as a new cna. I’ve only been a cna for about a month now at a ltc facility and it’s been pretty hard and miserable wokring there. Are there any advice yall can give me? I know working in ltc is probably the main reason I am feeling this way, and I hear all the time by other ppl that working in a hospital is way better? but is it really that much better? To me I feel like anywhere you go it’s just gonna be the same right?

I new this and I have problems with resident making sexual comments about me and when I try to get them up for the morning they just say no but if someone else does it they get right up it look like I'm not doing my job and I'm honestly so ready to quit

How do I make them take me seriously like they do everyone else?

Dumb little rant again help me feel less guilty for being frustrated , but I genuinely don’t know anymore. I work with a resident associate. Basically, his job is pretty simple compared to the CNAs: pass ice, make beds, answer call lights, help with trays, etc. He doesn’t really have direct patient care responsibilities like we do. Our administrator told us in a meeting with like 30 coworkers that he has autism and he is here to stay whenever we like it or not. I’m autistic myself, so I understand that autism is a spectrum and that people can have different struggles and need different accommodations. I’m not expecting him to act exactly like everyone else. But some of this stuff is getting really frustrating. For example, he cannot seem to make a bed properly. He literally just throws the cover over the bed and calls it done. And before anyone says maybe nobody taught him — we DID. Multiple people have shown him how to properly make the beds. At this point, I just end up making the beds myself because I can’t stand looking at them. He also disappears from the unit constantly. Then we’ll find him on a completely different unit just socializing with other coworkers instead of doing his assigned work. We have to remind him to pass ice, make beds, etc. If you tell him to go do something, sometimes he gets an attitude about it. He’s also constantly on his phone FaceTiming people while he’s supposed to be working. When he’s passing out trays, he’ll literally just set the tray somewhere the resident can’t reach it or won’t wake the resident up. Then I have to go behind him and make sure the resident actually has their food and is eating. And then there are the situations where it crosses from being frustrating to being a resident dignity issue. One time we’re passing out trays and we walk into a resident’s room. He loudly goes, “OH MY GOSH, IT SMELLS SO PISSY IN HERE!”
IN FRONT OF THE RESIDENT. Like… why would you say that out loud in front of someone who is perfectly aware of what’s being said? Another time, I was assisting the nurse with an enema. The door was closed for obvious reasons. He just bursts into the room asking about some clothes for another resident. I immediately had to get him back out into the hallway because HELLO?? We’re literally trying to maintain this resident’s privacy and dignity.
I understand that some of these things may genuinely be related to him not picking up on certain social cues. But that’s also why I feel like management needs to be giving him clear expectations and training instead of everyone else constantly having to compensate for him.
I’m not mad that he’s autistic. I’m frustrated because I’m constantly having to go behind another employee and make sure basic responsibilities are actually being completed, while I’m already doing my own job.
At what point are accommodations supposed to be balanced with actually being able to perform the essential duties of the position?
I feel bad even ranting about it because I don’t want it to come across like I’m blaming autism for his behavior. I’m genuinely trying to understand where the line is between “this employee needs additional support” and “the rest of the staff are being expected to do his job for him.” Maybe I’m wrong, for being so angry I’d like to add I’m extremely nice to him I will never take my anger out on him but I do go home angry 😭

I work NOC shift so there is no help. I’m usually the one changing myself. The nurse was giving me a rundown on each patient’s care plan and she tells me there’s a couple of patients who do not want the bed raised. But that would feel uncomfortable for me and some patients are already heavy and too immobile for me to even move them without me straining my back. I clocked out today and got home, slept, and woke up with the biggest lower back pain. I am used to heavy lifting in the gym too and never get back pain after a workout session. I really don’t want to mess up my lower back. What do I do at this point? Basically suck it up because I’m in this profession already?