What are the pros and cons of being a CNA?

• As a CNA, you get to help people. This is often cited as a top pro of the nursing profession. CNAs provide critical care and medical assistance to people in their most vulnerable physical states. This is a sensitive job that takes skills and compassion to perform.

  Patients are extremely grateful for the services CNAs provide. This can lead to a CNA feeling very fulfilled.

• CNAs are in high demand. CNAs are in demand in nearly every part of the country. It is extremely rare for a qualified CNA to be out of work.

  CNAs also have many choices regarding where they want to live. CNAs don't have to feel tied down to one location because there are jobs for them wherever they want to move.

• Flexible schedules. In general, CNAs have a lot of flexibility regarding their work schedules. CNAs can often choose whether to work full-time, part-time, or on-call.

  And veteran CNAs perhaps have the most choice regarding scheduling because seniority is often at play when CNA schedules are created.

Cons:

• CNAs experience burnout at a high rate. A key con in nursing is burnout. This is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling overwhelmed and overworked.

  In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the problems CNAs normally have with their jobs. CNAs tend to be overworked, and the pandemic has exacerbated this issue to an almost unprecedented level.

• Being a nursing assistant can be a stressful job. Most CNAs can feel overwhelmed daily, especially if they work in large hospitals or emergency rooms. In these environments, lives are often at stake, and mistakes can cause deaths.

  This weighs heavily on the CNA population as a whole, and the stress of it can cause anxiety, depression, and other mental issues.

• CNAs, in general, are not happy. According to a Pennsylvania School of Nursing study, nurses' unhappiness stems from stressful working conditions, staffing levels, and unsatisfactory benefits packages.

  Another study by Nurse.org surveyed 1500 nurses in more than a dozen specializations and found that most nurses are unhappy with their current roles.

• Exposure to germs and viruses. One of the worst aspects of being a CNA is the exposure to germs and viruses. CNAs have PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), but all the gear and sanitizing methods are not foolproof, and CNAs often get ill from being on the job.

  Extreme forms of exposure include being accidentally pricked by a needle from a patient with a blood illness.