The CNA position is downplayed so much by our communities. CNAs are caring and hardworking people. There is so much that we do that we don't get credit for. We're taking care of patients/residents who can't take care of their selves or who have no one to take care of them. We feed them. We bathe them. We comfort them. We also build strong, personal relationships with them. It is an emotional and demanding job that not many people can do. But we still do it, because we care.

CNAs are underpaid and overworked. A lot of times, some will have to work overtime. And during these times while we're working eight hour or 12-hour shifts, sometimes 16 hours, we constantly work. We don't stop moving. We're running up and down the halls answering call lights to make sure the patients/residents get what they need. We don't receive help from our superiors. We do most of the work. We get yelled at. We get hit. But we don't complain. We stand there and we take it. In the meantime, we're getting emotionally attached to our patients/residents and if one passes away, we're heartbroken.

CNAs go above and beyond for our patients/residents. We go the extra mile. Even if we're busy with another patient/resident, we still make sure that our other patients/residents get what they need and more. We're expected to get everything done at a certain time. Especially when we're shorthanded. But no one helps us. Nurses sit on their butts and watch as CNAs struggle to get all their tasks done but they don't offer to help. When we tell a nurse that we need help or a patient/resident needs something, they don't do it. Or at least not right away. CNAs give up their 15-minute breaks because our patients/residents need to be cared for.

But we're referred to as "just a CNA." We are so much more than that. Unless you have worked this job before, you can't comment on it. We do so much more than what you see. You don't know what we go through on an everyday basis. Do not put CNAs down. Without us, nothing would get done. We deserve our credit. We deserve to be treated better.