It is true that being a CNA is one of the most rewarding healthcare jobs you can ever have; but ask any CNA and they’ll be quick to say that the #CNAlife is far from being a bed of roses – unless you’re talking about an overgrown rose bush complete with gigantic thorns!
If you’re a CNA and reading this, then you probably already know just how much of a rollercoaster ride your life is. We mean, isn’t it crazy how far removed your actual life is compared to how society perceives and other people around you think it actually is?
Sometimes the difference in what you actually do versus what people think you do isn’t even funny anymore, but you know you love it, even though things have certainly changed compared to when you were a googly-eyed new CNA recruit!
Or back when the only worries you have is passing your State Boards.
These days, you already know just how challenging each day as a CNA can be, but you still sometimes wish that people know and understand how much you actually work and that your job is nowhere like a walk in the park…in fact, it’s like being on an action-packed adventure every day! It’s got so much action that even Chuck Norris would give you a thumbs up!
You’re now totally fearless! Who would have thought that you’ll end up as a dauntless explorer when you were a kid?
Or that you’ll someday have a very different definition of free time and ‘me’ time. What’s ‘me’ time anyway? The last time you’ve heard yourself saying that was a long, long, long time ago…
Speaking of being your wonderful CNA self, don’t you just get giddy when aspiring CNAs ask you what the #CNAlife is like? You want to tell them to run for their lives while they still can, but you also want them to find humor and appreciate the ups and downs that being a CNA brings. You want to tell them all the good stuff like…
But at the same time, you want to let them know about the daily struggles, the good, the bad, and the ugly plus a lot more!
You know that no one gets through being a CNA and can stay as squeaky clean as ever. How can you, when even other nursing and medical staff think of you as the royal bum wiper?
Don’t believe it? Just think of all the times you’ve been called just to wipe off poop! It’s literally like ALL.THE.TIME!
You don’t even feel grossed out about bodily fluids anymore. Cleaning out human gunk has become a norm to your day just like condiments in your burger. This has some major side effects, though. Your non-nursing friends don’t want to hear any of your lunch stories anymore although you think that ‘chocolate shake’ and ‘explosive diarrhea’ can totally belong in one sentence.
Life as a CNA means a lot of sacrifices. You sacrifice sleep, your child’s first steps, attending family events, going out with friends, and sometimes even lose a tiny little bit of your sanity.
After all, you do need a mega-ton of crazies to make it out of your shift alive and kicking!
But despite all that, you still enjoy your job and still have a winning attitude. You even start celebrating totally normal things for other people as your personal victories!
Isn’t being a CNA truly amazing? You’re like the superstar of your workplace. How? When someone needs you, they signal you with lights and bling, right?
Okay, sometimes it can get spooky…
…And sometimes REAAAALLLLYYY Scary (because you know too much for your own good).
We mean, really, your life is on the line every single day!
Kidding aside, sometimes you wish people appreciate you more…because what you do is really not that easy! In fact, whoever said it is easy deserve diarrhea without you to help clean it up!
But you know that no matter what, you’ll be there to help out even the most impossible patients. After all, you chose the #CNAlife, right?
Being a CNA may mean being the official staffing punching bag, being the floor mascot, dealing with patients who think they are your only patient, never having anything else to wear for months at a time except scrubs and pajamas (or sometimes even wearing scrubs as pajamas), and not being there for sick family members because you are too busy taking care of someone else’s mom, grandpa, or kid.
The #CNAlife can also mean getting frustrated (a lot!) because some people cannot understand why you are happy being ‘just’ a CNA. They do not get that being one isn’t always because you cannot or is not willing to ‘move up’ from CNA to RN. They do not understand that being a CNA allows you to have more interactions with patients and to actually be at their bedside to give them real human care…and that without you, the doctor’s orders and the RN’s care plan is just as good as something written in water. At the same time, it can also be frustrating because you are often one of the first ones to see if something is wrong with a patient but there’s a limit to what you are legally allowed to do. You know that the way to have more say when it comes to patient care is to ‘move up’ the healthcare ladder but that means having less contact with patients and doing the job that you truly love.
Being a CNA is all about love. It’s not about how much you make or wanting an ‘easy’ life. You take all the crazies, all the crap, and all the nerve-wracking dinging call-lights (and more) because you love being a CNA. Being a CNA rocks!
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