Please help!! Shy CNA student

Students CNA/MA

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Hello Everyone!! I'm 23 years old and today is my second day at my CNA course. We have been doing only clinicals b/c the books haven't arrived yet and this class has made me realize how shy I am! Everyone has to go up and do the clinicals in front of the class (up to two clinicals per day) and everytime I go up I get so scared and start shaking to the point that I speak so low no one in the class really hears me. Our patient is a volunteer classmate and we all have to do certain skills on her. This is all practice and we will eventually be tested. I think doing this in front of my classmates gets me nervous. And the fact that they point out how nervous I look just makes matters worse and they point out what other classmates do wrong (including me to the point that I forget the next step). My teacher is a retired RN who is very strict, when you do something wrong she starts yelling from the back room. They are all very outspoken and I am the youngest one in the class. I think their shyness has gone away with life experience because they are definitely older than me. I am hoping that my shyness will go away because I really want to work as a CNA and pass this class!!!! HAS ANYONE EVER GONE THROUGH THIS??!! PLEASE LET ME KNOW lol :rolleyes:

AJ_427

44 Posts

You will be fine. This sounds like the same situation that I've been in. I was the youngest one in my group (two of my classmates were already grandmothers). I actually get along better with older people than those around my age, but in class I was not fond of anyone in that group. They all teased me about being shy. I've been a CNA for a while now and I have yet to see a shy CNA. My residents have a lot of behavioral problems and if I have to yell (actually use a very firm voice) in front of nurses and coworkers then I do it. One resident needs to be constantly talked to in a very strong voice while some other resident needs to hear a happy, sweet, and encouraging voice. Once you get comfortable with your residents the shyness will go away. I personally like to keep things to myself and I'm not friends with anyone at my facility. I'm friendly and do the usual small talk but nothing more. Just don't worry about it because the more you think about it, the more self-conscious and nervous you become. Good luck!

Hey! I know what you are going through. I am very shy as well! The first skill I had to demonstrate in my class was the heimlich maneuver, so simple! But boy did my face turn bright red. Not because I messed up or didn't know what I was doing, just because I am that shy. But I have been at my job 3 weeks now, and I think my shyness disappeared very quickly. You get used to dealing with patients easily. I think the shyness is related to the unknown, and once you get used to the routine, caring for patients on a daily basis, you will become more comfortable, and your shyness will dissipate.

Trust me, I am the same way!

Good luck to you! And don't worry so much about being shy. Everyone else in the class is in the same position as you! You are all learning new skills... it's a learning experience, so take it as such. And if you mess up, just laugh at yourself, and learn from your mistake. I try to smile a lot (i'm a nervous smile-er, too) and when I need to laugh at myself, it comes easily haha :)

EduardoLugo

293 Posts

Hello Everyone!! I'm 23 years old and today is my second day at my CNA course. We have been doing only clinicals b/c the books haven't arrived yet and this class has made me realize how shy I am! Everyone has to go up and do the clinicals in front of the class (up to two clinicals per day) and everytime I go up I get so scared and start shaking to the point that I speak so low no one in the class really hears me. Our patient is a volunteer classmate and we all have to do certain skills on her. This is all practice and we will eventually be tested. I think doing this in front of my classmates gets me nervous. And the fact that they point out how nervous I look just makes matters worse and they point out what other classmates do wrong (including me to the point that I forget the next step). My teacher is a retired RN who is very strict, when you do something wrong she starts yelling from the back room. They are all very outspoken and I am the youngest one in the class. I think their shyness has gone away with life experience because they are definitely older than me. I am hoping that my shyness will go away because I really want to work as a CNA and pass this class!!!! HAS ANYONE EVER GONE THROUGH THIS??!! PLEASE LET ME KNOW lol :rolleyes:

I graduated from the nursing assistant program with a 96! :) That's what I got as a final grade. To be honest, I was SUPER shy.. like I never spoke or asked questions in class. They all said how shy I was. The instructor told me that I can't be shy, but she realized that I was a good student. She was SO nice to me. I was the only male in class. 85% of my class were older.. between 30's-50's. I am 24 years old. You'll be fine!! I hope I made you feel better. :) Just smile! That shows that you care about people.. especially on resident.. gotta smile. ^^;;

Weezy24

67 Posts

I understand your situation. And as easy as the advice sounds, it sometimes takes a while to get over our own perceptions of ourselves. Do not bother about this so much, you are new and young. You will find your own funk with time. You will surprise yourself when you start working with residents and they bring out that spunk you did not think you had :)

Good Luck and just take it one step at a time.

northernguy

178 Posts

One thing to look forward to is that once you are done with school, you can actually do your job without having someone staring at you watching your every move, or even worse the entire class watching you. Well actually you may have that during orientation too, but after that you can just do your job. Often students who have the most smart ass comments are the ones who are the most nervous when its their turn in the spotlight.

My CNA instructor used to scream STOP!!! whenever we did something wrong or missed a step. On the plus side, this type of learning will probably be useful during your CNA practical skills test, when you have some nurse with a clip board staring at you while you go through your stations.

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