Want to be a CNA- nervous! Advice?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Been working typical 9-5 job - investments and tired of it and I want a change.

I have decided to venture out into the medical field. I have been doing office workfor last 10 years. I am going to sign up for the CNA class this summer- scared to death.

anyone else made this transistion from office work and happier for it?

Im just scared bout going back 2 school, working in completely new enviroment- hours.

Any regrets?

Any advice?

Specializes in MSN, FNP-BC.

My previous jobs were all in the office before I came to the medical field and now I can't imagine going back. I'm the type of person who, if I sit for a long time (like an hour), I start to fidget and just have to get up. I couldn't handle it and when I worked in an office, it made me miserable. Plus, in an office, you stare at a computer all day by yourself. Blah. :crash_com :banghead: :bugeyes: The medical field is a complete 180 and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't want to do anything else. Yes, I come home and my feet are achy and I'm tired but I feel like I'm productive and I also have human contact which is important to me because I'm a "people person". I've been much happier in the medical field and I think it's the best thing I've ever done for myself carreer wise.

Specializes in ER, CCU.
Well, I wanted something that I could get into quickly and since the training is only 3 weeks.... Also, I am hoping to try the pre med classes and wanted some exposure to test out how I would feel about doing the lpn program. I am older (36) so I dont think that I would invest more than a couple of years in school. I realized from reading these boards that if I was an lpn I would probably end up in ltc.

I have some experience with ltc in the sense that my grandma and aunt were both in care the last year of their life. Two very different facilities. One was really nice and expensive, the other was a typical institutional like setting that most people go to when they dont have a bazillion dollars. I loved the place my grandma went to, we were always joking around how we wanted to move in there. LOL (I would hang out there sometime and chill out) I'm a little scared about the other kind of place though.

spend as much time in school as you want, get the degree that you want, you're still young and don't ever let anyone tell you that 36 is old. I go to school with quite a few older students and they are the best and they are doing a BSN, RN program. Do what you want, don't worry about your age darling, you're young!!!

i go to school with adults in there 40's and 50's!! also just because you are going to be an LPN you don't have to work in LTC. Lots of LPN's work in hospitals you just have to find the ones that have them. I know that most of the hosptials around my area have them, so look around if you don't want to do LTC then look elsewhere you will find one. But really just find a place that you love, if you love your co-workers and what your doing and your patients you will love your job and that's what matters the most!!

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I can also concurr with this statement...CNA work is backbreaking and they do not get paid their worth. I did it the traditional route of going to CNA school, then working in a nursing home and it was hard. I remember my feet and back being numb with pain and my shoulders hurting. Before earning my CNA certification, I worked in a psychiatric hospital, which is far different from working with bedridden patients. They did teach us the basic skills, and in addition, we administered oral medications, but it was nowhere near as hard as the nursing home. Later, I got additional training as a phlebotomist and medical assisting, and began to work in a clinic, which was easier, but was still on my feet all day. Now, last year, I became an LPN for the same clinic I worked as an assistant a few years ago. It is more challenging, believe it or not, because of the mental stress in addition to the running around. Sometimes, you don't know which is the better blessing once you make it to the other side of the fence.

It is insulting to offer a person who is literally killing their back $9.00 an hour and having to lift, turn and wash over 20 people repeatedly. I certainly believe that the CNA should receive more money and credit for their work. It is exceptionally difficult to be the best person you can be to the large volume of patients if you are dog tired, in pain, and may feel underappreciated.

Hello,

I was an Accountant in the corporate headquarters of a fortune 500 company for 8 1/2 yrs. Well actually I was in payroll for 4 years and then moved to a property accountant position for the remaining 4 1/2 yrs. I hated sitting at a desk all day everyday. I wanted to work with helping people so I decided to become a nurse. I took began to take my prerequites for nursing school and then I decided to become a CNA to 1. see what the medical field is about 2. to learn what working with people is like and 3. to know what CNA's do so that when I become a nurse I can have a greater respect for their job. Boy did I get a handful and then some! Being a CNA is hard work. As I am writing this, I am preparing for a weekend of two 16 hr shifts starting at 7 am on Saturday and ending at 11:30 that night and then doing it all over again on Sunday. I work at an LTC facility on the skilled floor which is like a mini hospital. We get dementia patients, oriented patients, young, old, very sick, some who just need physical or occupational therapy. You name it. They come for a few days, weeks or months and then they leave. We always get new patients. It is sooooooo sooooooo soooooo hard being a CNA let me tell you. When I come home, I can't feel my feet anymore, I don't want to stand straight up because my back won't let me and I just want to sleep all day Monday just to recouperate from the weekend. It's crazy. If you want to know what a day as a CNA is like for me, read my previous post. When I tell people at work what I used to do, they always ask me why was I crazy enough to give up that job for being a CNA. Truthfully, I am starting to regret it. You just really don't get paid nearly enough to do what CNA's do. To each her own though. Some people love it. Some people hate it. To me it's a necessary evil to get me to where I want to be which is a registered nurse which is hard in and of itself. Nursing school is killing me and I've only been in it for about 2 months now. I don't want to scare you but just click on my name and read my previous posts and they will give you an idea of what its like to be a CNA and I am 36 also Anne so I know exactly how you feel. Don't mean to scare you but you asked......

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I just wanted to share that I did go back and read your post on the thread where the original poster stated she didn't care for working as a CNA while in nursing school. Thanks for your honesty.

Hello,

I was an Accountant in the corporate headquarters of a fortune 500 company for 8 1/2 yrs. Well actually I was in payroll for 4 years and then moved to a property accountant position for the remaining 4 1/2 yrs. I hated sitting at a desk all day everyday. I wanted to work with helping people so I decided to become a nurse. I took began to take my prerequites for nursing school and then I decided to become a CNA to 1. see what the medical field is about 2. to learn what working with people is like and 3. to know what CNA's do so that when I become a nurse I can have a greater respect for their job. Boy did I get a handful and then some! Being a CNA is hard work. As I am writing this, I am preparing for a weekend of two 16 hr shifts starting at 7 am on Saturday and ending at 11:30 that night and then doing it all over again on Sunday. I work at an LTC facility on the skilled floor which is like a mini hospital. We get dementia patients, oriented patients, young, old, very sick, some who just need physical or occupational therapy. You name it. They come for a few days, weeks or months and then they leave. We always get new patients. It is sooooooo sooooooo soooooo hard being a CNA let me tell you. When I come home, I can't feel my feet anymore, I don't want to stand straight up because my back won't let me and I just want to sleep all day Monday just to recouperate from the weekend. It's crazy. If you want to know what a day as a CNA is like for me, read my previous post. When I tell people at work what I used to do, they always ask me why was I crazy enough to give up that job for being a CNA. Truthfully, I am starting to regret it. You just really don't get paid nearly enough to do what CNA's do. To each her own though. Some people love it. Some people hate it. To me it's a necessary evil to get me to where I want to be which is a registered nurse which is hard in and of itself. Nursing school is killing me and I've only been in it for about 2 months now. I don't want to scare you but just click on my name and read my previous posts and they will give you an idea of what its like to be a CNA and I am 36 also Anne so I know exactly how you feel. Don't mean to scare you but you asked......

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