[joolia]

Originally Posted by aerorunner80

I had the pleasure of working with two students the other day and I wanted to share some insights. From one tech/CNA in a hospital to other CNA students.

1.) Don't ask me about your break. If you are to get one just tell me you are going but don't ask me when you get it. I don't know. Plus it makes me think that you are lazy if you are asking when you get your break.

2.) You will see things in real life that are not taught in the classroom. This is a big eye opener. Please don't second guess these tactics unless a patient is being put in direct harm/danger. Patient safety is always number one but getting things done in a timely manner is number 2. Safe and quick is our motto.

3.) If you find yourself waiting new instructions or assignments, keep yourself busy by answering call lights. People will love you to no end for doing this simple task. This is also a good opportunity to learn teamwork. It doesn't matter if the call light is a patient of yours or not, it is everyones responsibility to answer them, even students.

4.) Attitudes can be hard to take, especially in a stressful place like a hospital. Please don't take anything personally because 99% of the time......IT'S NOT YOU AT ALL.

5.) If you really want to learn from the person you are with......talk to them about time management and prioritization. This is one of the hardest things to learn. Ask the person you are working with questions about how they plan their day and make prioritizations. Ask them what a typical day is like for them.

6.) I said this above in a round about way but the number one thing you should do in clinicals is ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!! Why this? Why that? Why now? Why her? Why him? Where is this? What do I do when? How do I handle_____? Should I do _____? What do you want me to do? How can I help? Why do you do this procedure this way? What are you looking for when you are doing a bath? Can I watch? If someone has a line or a drain you have not seen before.......ask what it's for.

7.) Talk to your patients and ask them questions. Especially when it comes to transfering, lifting, or turning. Most of the time they can tell you exactly what they need from you to get from the bed to the chair or anywhere else. It's so easy to focus on the tasks and forget about the person. If there are two of you there rolling someone, ask the patient how they are doing. The patient will appreciate you taking them into consideration. If the patient looks scared, reassure them. Little things like that go a long way in creating trust with your patient.

Use your time wisely and learn all you can while you are a student. This is the best time to do so because in the real world, you may not have a chance to ask or sit down and read something but for now you do have that luxury.

Good luck to all the students out there. We need more people to do this job and we do appreciate you!

Aerorunner,

Thank you for this post. As an individual who just completed a CNA class, I think a lot of my fellow classmates needed to know this, especially about the breaks.

One thing I did feel worth mentioning, however, regarding your comment that CNA students should be answering call lights. During my class, for ur first three or four clinical sessions, our instructor specifically told us that by no means were we to ever set foot in a residents room without a CNA or our instructor present. As we continued our clinicals, and got more experience, we were able to bring trays to the residents, get them water, make beds, etc. However, under NO circumstances were we to perform any ADLs without the supervision of a licensed CNA, or our instructor.

This ended up causing a lot of strife between our CNA class and the nursing home where we did our clinicals. The CNAs would try to get out of doing their work by telling us “so-and-so” needs their brief changed. Then they would get angry at us when we told them we would be happy to help them change the resident, but we needed them to accompany us. I think if my instructor had had clearer lines of communication with the ADON, and the ADON with her staff, it would have alleviated a lot of conflict between our class and the CNA staff.

So, for any CNA preceptor, please keep in mind that what might appear to be laziness or shirking responsibilities on behalf of the CNA student may actually be the student following specific instructions from their instructor to avoid legal ramifications for the student, yourself, the school and your facility.

[Tudder]

Originally Posted by FutureNurse23

Well I had 2 preceptors the 1st one I had was awful. I watch her chart in my clinicals for about 1 hr and all she had my classmate and I do was hand out cups of ice water and we made one patient's bed. That was the whole four hours of my 1st day of clinicals.
The next day I changed preceptors due to a family matter with my 1st one. The second preceptor I had was excellent in teaching among she did showed my classmate and I everything that was done by the book and how we would do it in the real world.

Can I just share something here? (devil's advocate) Is it possible that the reason the first preceptor didn't have you do things is this: He/she has been the CNA for these particular residents for a very long time and is "possessive" of them? By this I mean, look at it from the CNA's view...

I have worked with Mable for years, she is like my own grandma, and I don't want a student to work with her because although they need to learn, I just don't want them working with my residents...

My suggestion would be to say:
"I know you do this all the time, and because I am a student, I am sure that you may feel uncomfortable with me doing _______ for Martha... but can I step in here, have you give me step by step instructions and give your back a break?"

It isn't in doing the procedure, it is in how you ask to do it.

[jaywolves]

Wrapped up my CNA class this weekend and hope to take my certification exam in the next week or two. (I have finals at another school - in addition to working full time - so it may have to wait a week).

Having wrapped up class and clinicals my biggest piece of advice would be this... APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED IN CLASS AND TAKE SOME INITIATIVE.

When you are there and you see a call light, ask if you can respond to it. If you can handle the request, handle it. If you are unsure of what you should do - explain to someone that you have answered a call light and don't know how to handle the request. Let the experienced folks talk you through it or walk you through it.

I had an amazing experience at the end of my clinical hours. Really enjoyed myself. Really enjoyed my patients and worked at a break neck pace for two 12 hours shifts. I never stopped sweating and I KNOW I made a difference for the patients I worked with. It was rewarding. It was very intense and this has to be the hardest and most rewarding low-paying job on the planet.

Having been through class, I know for a fact that half of the students trying to be CNA's should never have ventured out of fast food. To the other half - never stop learning. You owe it to your patients and yourself to be the very best you can be every day you are with them.