What to Expect From CNA Jobs

There have been an increased number of CNA jobs opening up all over the country, and there seems to be a lack of CNA's available. As a CNA, the job can be demanding and often times exhausting depending on where you are employed. There are more and more people in the world that are getting older and more and more people need health care. Before you make a decision to take a CNA job, you may want to do some thorough research to learn about the things you will be doing on the job as an aide.

Long Shifts

For the most part, when you work in a hospital setting, you will be working 12-hour shifts. This means you are going to be on your feet for long periods of time and on the go a lot. You are going to be going from room to room and ensuring your work area is neat. If you are working in a hospital, there will be call bells going off and you are going to need to ensure that all of your patients' needs are met. There is rarely time to sit until the end of your shift.

Pay Rate

Compared to the amount of work you will be doing as a nursing aide, the pay is not what it should be. You can expect a pay rate from $9-$12 an hour. In the economy these days it is often times lower as more and more companies and businesses are hurting. Insurance companies are not paying as much and Medicare is not paying that much to facilities anymore. The best options for working as a CNA is to work in a hospital since they often times offer overtime and bonuses.

Wide Array of Patients

As an aide, you are going to deal with several types of patients. When working in certain hospitals, you will be dealing with elderly patients as well as ER patients. The hospital you work at may have different departments for you to work in.

If you are working in a nursing home, you may come across patients that have dementia and are a little frailer. These patients are going to need help with getting out of bed and getting dressed. There are also assisted living facilities that you can work at where you will be simply there to supervise the patient. These types of facilities are where elderly people go when they can still do a majority of things on their own; they just may need minimal supervision.

Charting

When working with certain types of patients, you will be required to chart and document their intake and output as well as their bowel and bladder movements. You will need to report any changes in the patient and document any new wounds or bruises for the next shift. Things like these should be documented to ensure that you are not held responsible for them.

There are many more duties that you will need to take care of when working as a CNA. This is often times a small fraction of it, and other duties you will be responsible include transfers, giving showers, cleaning colostomy bags as well as catheters, and much more.