Pros
There are almost always additional hours available to work. There is an on-site daycare for younger children at a reasonable price, but keep in mind the hourly pay is very low... If your child goes to school locally, they will get your child to/from the bus stop, located on site, during the school year. They accept DSHS Childcare Vouchers. They provide their employees with a "Staff Meal" if you want one; it is the same as the resident menu. The food is pretty good, in my opinion. They pay you while your in their training program to become a certified nurse aide, and if you don't pass the state test the first time they will still work you until you do pass. They pay for your license renewal every year.
Cons
Many of the other Certified Nurse Assistants and several of the Nurses fit the "Bully" profile and they don't seem to have any conscience about displaying verbal abuse publicly. There is a lot of complacency among some of the workers; verbal lack of respect towards difficult residents and other employees, consistently late or numerous inappropriate "call ins", and a general lack of compassion. Team morale is low. Employees are over worked and under-appreciated. This is a very physical job with a heavy workload and is often very stressful. The pay is horrendous! $9.82 to start, and that's with having all your certifications, and minimum wage is $9.62 (in 2014). This is a job that requires specialized training; medical training, medical terminology, excessive patient transfers requiring lifting of 100 or more pounds, and a patient load (on average) of 15:1, depending on the number of aides that have been scheduled or that actually show up for their shift. I have been told that raises are hard to come by and very insignificant when they are given. It can be difficult to get scheduled time off due to the lack of employees. The medical benefits are VERY EXPENSIVE and on average cost about $400 a month, just for the employee. I have been told they are looking into changing the medical package to be more affordable; like $100 a month, IF they can get enough employees to participate in the new program.