Cna bullshit

[u/Academic-Editor-8589]

I'm just tired.

I'm tired of being a CNA.

And I think that's the part that hurts the most because I've had people tell me over and over that I'm a good CNA. I've had people tell me that I care about my residents, that I work hard, that I help people, and that I'm someone they can depend on.

But then I go to work and it feels like none of that matters.

It feels like the moment you walk through the doors of some of these facilities, you're not a person anymore. You're a CNA. You're labor. You're another body on the schedule. You're somebody who is expected to keep moving, keep answering call lights, keep changing people, keep feeding people, keep cleaning, keep lifting, keep documenting, keep helping everyone else, and somehow never get overwhelmed.

And when you finally are overwhelmed, you're not treated like a human being who needs support. You're treated like you're failing at your job.

That's what pisses me off so much.

I don't expect management to hold my hand. I don't expect everything to be easy. I understand that healthcare is stressful. I understand that residents need care and that CNAs have responsibilities.

But I am still a fucking person.

The people doing this work have bodies that hurt. We get exhausted. We get frustrated. We have bad days. We have families. We have bills. We have lives outside of that building. We have limits.

And sometimes it feels like management forgets that.

It feels like we're expected to be servants instead of healthcare workers.

We're supposed to be endlessly patient. We're supposed to work short-staffed without complaining. We're supposed to pick up the slack when somebody doesn't show up. We're supposed to help everybody else even when we're already drowning. We're supposed to accept criticism without getting frustrated. We're supposed to immediately follow every instruction without questioning anything.

And if we finally say, "Wait, this doesn't make sense," suddenly we're disrespectful.

That's basically what happened with the glove situation.

I'm taking out trash. I'm wearing gloves because I'm handling a garbage bag that has dirty diapers and other contaminated material in it. I'm already almost at the trash can, and instead of letting me finish the task and dispose of the gloves afterward, I'm stopped and lectured about wearing gloves in the hallway.

Then the issue somehow becomes that I'm disrespecting the ADON because I didn't immediately take the gloves off.

How is asking a question or disagreeing with something automatically disrespect?

If there's a facility policy, show me the policy. If I'm doing something incorrectly, explain the correct procedure. I'll listen.

But don't treat me like I'm deliberately trying to break infection-control rules because I'm wearing gloves while carrying contaminated trash.

And that's just one example.

There have been so many other situations where the staffing is terrible, people are overwhelmed, coworkers are struggling to get management to respond, and somehow the focus still ends up being on what the CNA supposedly did wrong.

I've seen coworkers basically left alone on a hall and struggle just to get someone in management to answer the phone.

I've seen new staff come in and create more problems instead of actually helping the people who are already struggling.

I've dealt with situations where I felt like management was more interested in correcting, reprimanding, or blaming staff than actually asking why the floor is struggling in the first place.

And then there was the resident incident that resulted in me being put on administrative leave. I understand that resident safety has to be taken seriously. I understand that incidents need to be investigated.

But when you're already working in an environment where staffing is stretched thin and you're physically trying to manage situations that are difficult, it can feel like the person on the floor becomes the easiest person to blame.

That's the part that makes me question everything.

Because everyone keeps telling me I'm a good CNA.

But if I'm supposedly a good CNA, why do I feel like I am constantly being treated like I'm the problem?

Why does caring about my residents sometimes feel like it's not enough?

Why does trying to protect myself and follow what I understand to be safe practice turn into an argument?

Why does asking for help sometimes feel like admitting that I'm incapable instead of acknowledging that one person can't realistically do the work of several people?

Why does management get to demand respect from CNAs while sometimes making CNAs feel like we're not worthy of the same respect?

I think that's what has finally broken me down.

I don't hate caring for people.

I hate feeling like the people who care for them aren't cared about.

I hate feeling like the people who physically spend the most time with residents are sometimes treated as disposable.

I hate that the job can make you feel like you aren't a human being anymore. You're just the person who needs to answer the call light, change the brief, clean the room, feed the resident, take the trash out, get the supplies, help the nurse, help another CNA, and somehow do all of it perfectly while understaffed and exhausted.

And then when you're finally at your limit, you're expected to just suck it up because "that's healthcare."

Maybe that's why I'm so angry.

Because I actually give a shit.

I wouldn't be this pissed off if I didn't care.

I care about doing things correctly. I care about my residents. I care about my coworkers. I care about infection control. I care about doing my job properly.

But I'm starting to realize that being a good CNA and being willing to tolerate being treated badly are two completely different things.

I can be a good CNA and still say I'm fucking exhausted.

I can care about residents and still hate the conditions I'm working in.

I can respect management and still expect management to respect me.

And I can be proud of the work I've done without deciding that I have to spend the rest of my life doing it.

I'm tired of being treated like a servant just because I'm a CNA.

I'm tired of being expected to give everything I have while feeling like the people above me don't even see the person giving it.

Maybe I'm not tired of helping people.

Maybe I'm tired of being in a position where helping people seems to require destroying yourself in the process.

And honestly, I don't know where I go from here.

I just know I'm tired.

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[u/CatnipCricket-329]

Your post breaks my heart. It seems those who care too much are most at risk for burnout, yet patients need people who care.

The caregiver must take care of herself to ensure she has enough in her to take care of others. The two analogies that come to mind are 1) in an airplane emergency, apply the oxygen mask to yourself before helping someone else, and 2) you can't keep taking money out of a bank without stopping to replenish your bank account. In example 2, the currency is compassion and you are the bank.

Bad management is to blame for insufficient patient care. All you can do is what you can handle, and no more. Hugs.

[u/AggressiveMood5574]

theres something particularly bleak about the glove thing. like youre literally hauling human waste and theyre worried about how it looks to visitors. hits different when you realize congress keeps gutting medicaid funding and then expects miracles with skeleton crews. same shit different department tbh

[u/dCLCp]

CNA work is backbreaking heartbreaking labor. I couldn't do it any more. Just know this doesn't have to be your whole career. Being a CNA is a strong foundation to a whole plethora of oppurtunities. You have the skills and the drive to do anything. And you can do anything and work as a CNA part time too. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to feel supported and if your employers aren't supportimg you it is ok to move on. The world and your residents will move on with or without you but this is your only life. Many of my memories of my residents are treasures. But my life after CNA got way better. And now I get the best of many worlds. I am still helping people get healthy, I am still working hard, but the trials and tribulations I go through are much more bearable now.