SURVEY: What is burning you out at your CNA job?

SURVEY: WHAT IS BURNING YOU OUT AT YOUR CNA JOB?

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55 Responses

    1. I’m a CNA but not working as one currently and I’m glad for sharing because soon or later I will be there.

    2. Soy una CNA y no recibo el pago justo precionan mucho nuestro trabajo personas que tienen un título mayor, contratan trabajadores de otras compañías con mejores sueldos y hacen menos y Aveces hasta reciben mejores reconocimientos x por nada.

  1. The management was awful when I worked in a retirement home. I got food poisoning from the staff lounge lunches, I got written up for missing work due to this even with A DOCTORS NOTE. I also was treated awfully for my father dying and trying to take a week off by using my vacation days and was told I either need to find my own coverage each day or come to work. Out of the 8 days I called off on vacation time because he died very traumatically I was forced to work 6 of them. My co worker was written up for missing a day that her brother in law died on as well while a nurse was easily given time off for her cat dying and another for her dog dying.

    1. That is all so ridiculously insane and inhumane.
      Have you ever thought of being an independent CNA? There is too much of a demand to take that crap right now. There are people living at home who need help and want to stay there, they’ve had equally crappy experiences living at facilities and can pay for private care giving. I have liability insurance through CM&F, I charge $45 an hour through my own business. I am always asked if I know other CNA’s for back up or to refer, I would love to know other CNAs’ whom I can refer to.

      1. Please I would love to be referred too. I need such a job like yours, and close to my home. Am doing live in right now. But am getting tired of it. I need help.i tried to open un AFH, but I could not find any clients , I sold the house and everything in it. I have CNA and I have been in this for more than 20 years.

      2. I considered it for a long time, but I have to have health insurance. I live in Idaho (on the WA border), and our private insurance market is a complete joke. It’s awesome to hear you’re making it work, though!

      3. I would like to be referred to. I work for a Homecare agency and the pay isn’t the greatest(through Union) I have over 20 years experience between working in Assisted Living, Nursing Home, Memory Care and Home Care. If I could get something that works around the schedule I have now that would be great. I had thought about my daughter and I opening a small agency together but that was before the pandemic.

      4. That is an excellent idea! I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place due to my workplace injury at my hospital as a cna. I want to control my wages and my time without having to be a slave to my job physically. The pay that the hospital offers isn’t worth the workload. Now that I’m injured, to the hospital, my value has severely decreased, yet I still need to support myself. I love being a CNA, but the wrong people and/or organization can make it feel as though it’s not worth it.

      5. Hello – I am a CNA but never worked as one. I am thinking that I’d like to try it sometime as an independent contractor. Is there a lot of pressure working as one? Is there a lot of lifting?

  2. To Ella May in the comments; Stand up for yourself! They broke the law several times. Federal law gives you certain rights which they seem to habe violated. Read about it at :

    dol.gov Family Medical Leave Act.

  3. They pay the nurses more yet we don’t not get paid enough, we could have a range of 12- 25 residents on a day shift, pass meals, bowel program, 2 per hoyers and get in trouble for trying to complete all the task within time frame. Plus do charting.. it’s overwhelming and too much. To add to your not allowed a bad day, always have to be in control of your feelings and get the day to day assignments complete. Covid did not make it better. My final year. I can’t take it anymore. 23 years and they are more concern about keeping nurses happy then CNAs

    1. I totally agree with Teresa, in the fact that job it should get pay good salary and respectful from other. We work direct to older or patient of their daily activity and personal hygiene.
      They pay the nurses more yet we don’t not get paid enough, we could have a range of 12- 25 residents on a day shift, pass meals, bowel program, 2 per hoyers and get in trouble for trying to complete all the task within time frame. Plus do charting.. it’s overwhelming and too much. To add to your not allowed a bad day, always have to be in control of your feelings and get the day to day assignments complete. Covid did not make it better. My final year. I can’t take it anymore. 23 years and they are more concern about keeping nurses happy then CNAs

    2. My experience that drove me out is the same. My final straw was working by myself vs 27 patients, nurses were fully staffed but instead of helping they gathered around a computer looking at wedding dresses! One nurse that did answer a call light told the man she couldn’t help him up and that he’d have to wait a while for the aide.. this was in a hospital, Renal unit and he was a SBA, and fully cog aware.
      I left nursing home for a hospital because I thought it would be a better environment, more professional .. I was wrong

      1. I agree with all of you. Yes, insanely busy yet RNs just hanging around looking down on CNAs spinning in distress. Underpayed, disrespected, overworked.
        I was furious when Covid praised our RNs and the hero’s – wait a minute here CNA’ , cleaning staff, kitchen, laundry….. without us nothing would run. Sick and tired of it. I had to take a break too.

  4. I worked at a nursing home. We had night where at the last moment we went from 3 people taking care of 29 to just two of us. Most needing two CNA’s for changing etc. Covid positive site before vaccines too. Impossible to keep up, etc.. The other CNA was an agency worker and they cannot afford to write them up so I was put to blame. A few days later I was feeling ill and was getting ready to call in since I could see that I was not going to make it in when I got a call. I was being disciplined for an event that my nurse said should not even have a write up since it was an impossible situation. So I was off for another few days as a “punishment”. Feeling very ill I did not even complain. A few days later I am feeling better, the punishment is over, all was forgiven, and I go back to work and tell them I had been ill. Turns out that I had had Covid, luckily for me it was a “mild” case. But I had to go for another two weeks. A day later I got a call and told that I was being let go.

    My only solace was that the place was investigated, fined and written up in the Seattle Times. And their massive screw up that ended with me being fired was used as an example of how badly understaffed they were. In other words, it was not me, it was them.

  5. I worked as a CNA in long term care for over 30 years I now work as a home care provider much easier a lot less stress. I love it and get paid better then when I did long term care. Really I think the long term care providers deserve better pay

    1. Ditto, I tried facility work and lasted 7 months. I hated being a ping pong ball, not being able to give each person in my care enough time or attention. Management saying we were not understaffed and residents angry and biting the hand that fed them, because we couldn’t come soon enough or stay long enough. It was nice having trainings paid for verses paying the cost of them myself as a business owner, but not worth the agony of management and the logistical nightmares of running a facility and staffing.

  6. I left long term care as well due to the stress. I’m currently working in a group home. I’m quickly burning out due to other staff not doing the job (they have 2-3 jobs and are just tired) and management not staffing the homes properly. I want to go home after my shift. Not 4 hours later. Partner has been dropping off my kid with me thinking incoming staff are running late when they need to leave. Turns out no one is scheduled.

  7. Hi I worked long term care first always under staffed and lazy workers poor pay I now work as a OB CNA I love my job it’s so great still under pay but I’m hoping it will get better My down fall is I am OCD I have to get everything done I can’t leave it for the next shift So I wish others would be more like that

  8. Better pay would be nice, but I’m for a better working environment. As old fashioned as it sounds, I still believe all the Residents whom I work with every day are allotted an equal share of my time, regardless of their level of care, skill level or insurance. In skilled nursing ,it feels as if the long-term medicaid residents are slighted compared to short-term Medicare residents.

  9. I work for a company that we go into people’s homes & take care of them. MY job isn’t as bad cuz I was hurt on the job almost 2 years ago. I’ve been with the SAME company for almost 8 years. I make JUST 1$$ more then the NEW HIRES. SO SAD.

  10. It could have been nice if the pay will increase because cna job is not just working physical but emotional to deal with patients care and nurses .

  11. CNA need better pay, too much work,they are never celebrated, there is Nurses week but no CNA week,,they are underpaid and yet do most of wirk

  12. As a CNA in an assisted living facility the work load is overwhelming.
    2 CNA in AM and 2 in PM shift for the whole building with 65 plus AL residents and we have to answer all IL residents need. No maintenance person in PM shift, management want us to answer maintenance complaints and no housekeeping person. They expect us to do the job.
    In the morning there are 3-4 RN/ LPN and they ask us to v/s for their Alert residents.
    They sit in the computer the whole day and leave to the pm shift the things they need to do in the morning.
    Very bad management and PSM and CHN has no experience at all in the work. New graduates and product of online school during Covid time.

  13. As a CNA in an assisted living facility the work load is overwhelming.
    2 CNA in AM and 2 in PM shift for the whole building with 65 plus AL residents and we have to answer all IL residents need. No maintenance person in PM shift, management want us to answer maintenance complaints and no housekeeping person. They expect us to do the job.
    In the morning there are 3-4 RN/ LPN and they ask us to v/s for their Alert residents.
    They sit in the computer the whole day and leave to the pm shift the things they need to do in the morning.
    Very bad management and PSM and CHN has no experience at all in the work. New graduates and product of online school during Covid time.

  14. We need to unionize. Like every other CNA I have hundreds of horror stories from my time working in long term care. As much as I love caring for the elderly I won’t put myself in that position again. The system is inhumane on every level.

    1. Totally agree!!! CNAs need our own union. The union at my job at the hospital told me to call a lawyer when I got hurt on the job. I have no doubt that the response would have been different if I was a nurse. We deserve better!

    2. The unions that provide for medical facilities donate funds to the democrats. It’s a racket.

  15. I’ve been in the field for 15 years working in assisted living, nursing homes, home health, now hospice in peoples homes. The pay has always been bad and my worst experience was working in a nursing home. Too many patients, not enough staff. Nurses were condescending and lazy. I’ve heard a nurse friend of mine admit that nursing home nurses are the absolute worst. Over the years the pay is still bad, my back hurts all of the time, I’m looking to get into clerical work in the medical field. Being a CNA has been great, but we’re also always overlooked and under appreciated by CEO and management.

  16. Considering the percentage of the overall workload that CNA’s do Carry, there should be a lot more appreciation and a more organized labor movement for the nursing aids SEIU IS NOT THE ANSWER EITHER. They are a majorly corrupt Organization.

    1. Home care workers for the state or those working for agencies w/union got $2 an hour hazard pay since beginning of pandemic, not just when working with covid clients. They also only pay $25 a month for quality health insurance. Most are making $20 or above. They have seiu 775 caregivers union. Meanwhile we have no union and most nursing home CNAs got no hourly hazard pay……or just some crumbs briefly when working directly with covid residents. Short staffing is also huge problem. So much stress…They call us heroes but…..

  17. I have been working every where since I got my CNA. I started in a mental hospital while working in a group home at the same time with brain injury guys. It’s was hard work for me, I got fade up of it. Now am doing home care one on one. I love it but people or relatives get advantage of us…. With payments. Some pay good some don’t. The only disadvantage is there are not benefits in this home care on going jobs. I would love to find one which has all the benefits like health insurance, vacations and sick leaves.

  18. I have been in the field for the last 13years both long-term, assisted living, and home care. My current job it’s the worst ???? l have ever had before. The number of residents including total care is between 16 to 23 residents it’s killing its my hope one day our voice will be heard God willing ????

  19. I want to comment and ask a question.I am a DSP with certification as an NA-R and I work with adults with disabilities at an agency that has a good reputation. The agency is offering to pay us to get CNA certified and I am wondering if this is a needed or worth the training? Our clients live in neighborhood homes with no more than 4 per home, some clients are medically intensive.

  20. CNA, should be getting paid close to what an entry level nurse makes, has a starting wage. We do so much for or patients and we put up with a lot of abuse, and poor staffing communication, over worked, and not being appreciated enough

  21. CNA for over 20 years . Don’t even get 20 an hour. You get more flipping burgers. Lives matter

  22. Independent In home care is wonderful! I can give quality care and take my time. I charge $30.00 for 45 minutes and if I go up to an hour, that’s on me because I can give extra TLC every day as needed. I can choose my clients, how many, how far I want to drive and around my own schedule. Probably could charge more now. I love the relationships, that special personal time and how close I get to them. Draw backs are no insurance, and If you are sick they go without help. You have to be dependable. I will never work for another facility. Only hired the bare minimum a shift. Some places were just to desperate to hire. They’d hire bodies not people willing to WORK and share the load and were not dependable. There was no functional team work. Always understaffed with high expectations with too little time to do it all and given too many patience to care for. High burnout and long hours little praise or support. It was very difficult to see all the needs of the people I had learned to care for and only have time to do what I could quickly without any frills. Someone was always absent and we were always even more short staffed. Not being able to do a great job and have time to really treat these people with quality care was depressing and sad.

  23. I started in activities then took the CNA course through work and passed with flying colors, became an RNA and began training on the floor but once I finished the required training they still wouldn’t put me on the floor, they put me as a hospitality aid because they were short on those and then they stopped scheduling me and only called me in when they were desperate and when I would say no because I picked up a shift at the other job I was forced to get to cover rent they’d shame me. Then I got a back injury on the job and management shamed me when I reported it even though it was no one’s fault and then my L&I got denied so I had to work against doctors orders to make rent. Then at my other job at an ALF I became a medtech and they decided to switch us to a 12 hour shift program where we struggled to get breaks and would have to do the same things as at the nursing home but without raising beds and other important safety measures for the caregivers and I got reinhard. They accepted my claim and then 2 months in tried to repeal it. Thankfully they lost and the L&I stayed open. I was told I couldn’t work at all but agreed to come in to do paperwork in the back and when I got there they had put me on the cart and expected me to do my normal job. When I said no because I literally couldn’t and would 100% reinjure myself they had to pull someone off the floor to cover the cart and they acted like it was my fault even though they knew they couldn’t put me on the cart. I wound up having to leave because of it and decided not to go into nursing, which broke my heart.

  24. Workded at a Residential Home. Started at age 72, worked for 5 years. Have a clawed right hand with no feeling due to an injury. Owner knew this.
    Fell in the drive way, no lighting. Knocked down by a 220 lb res, hit the table with my back on the way down to the flour. No compensation for injury. Had chiropractic treatments every week out of my own pocket. Manager forgot to tell me res was falling backwards. Mgr/owner Moved furniture in drive way that I could not see from my truck and when I damaged it she made me pay for it. She always made sure her stuff was in the same place, so would not get injured except for this time.

    Always bending and lifting 260lb and 220lb res and I weighed 115. Plus their chares, tables and recliner chairs, with them in them. Lifting dead weight off the floor. Pushing and pulling them and their walkers, and chairs, with their dead weight. Ended up using a cane and a wheel chair as I worked due to the damage. Refused to get the vaccination that is loaded with snake venome since I was plugged into AC current for a year and a half and diagnosed by an MD as having been electrocuted. Was let go once she got the employee she was waiting for that was vacciated. She and her other staff memebers and all res, were vaccinated and they all started going down hill and one died. I Have a BS, BA, RN She did get me through the $ time that I needed at the time. Especially at 72 and having given up my RN license since I refused to push drugs for big Pharma. Have been in alternative wholistic Med since 1975.

  25. Low pay for all the work. Not appreciated by management, Expected to do your job perfect, signing off you did everything. But management does not follow the rules. Have sick days are not allowed to use them due to short staff. Need vacation no staff to let you have vacation. But management can take there sick days and days off with no problem. Putting the short staff problem all on caregivers. When problems with being hit or verbal abuse by residents nothing is done about it. We are to just take it and be professionals. But woman who get beat and verbal abuse by a man get help.

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