1st semester-refresher course?

[Reese17]

In the first semester of nursing school will they give us a refresher course or do they expect us to know how to take vitals, how to make a bed, etc.....Its been a while since I've taken the CNA course where we were taught all of this and I'm a little rusty. Thanks.

[MB37]

If CNA was required, they might not. It wasn't at my school, so we had a "crash course" the week before clinicals started where we went through several stations and learned the basics of vitals, bedmaking, baths, oxygen delivery systems, etc. We had to return demonstrate, and were checked off. Oh, we also had a set of CDs that we were supposed to watch that went through all the skills - I was one of the few that did this before skills day, and obviously I was much more prepared than anyone else. We had to buy the whole set, so we can watch them again at our leisure. Our first few lectures in Fundamentals covered most of the same stuff. When you start clinicals, try to befriend the CNAs on your floor - if you're willing to give them a hand when you have time, they'll be willing to show you how to use the equipment at that site.

[caliotter3]

It depends on the curriculum at your school. If your school required you to have a CNA certificate, they may not go into these areas in detail. They might just give you a skills checkoff or cover the info very briefly. Try calling the school ahead of when classes start, and asking an advisor your question. It wouldn't hurt to review your CNA skills text if you have one. If not, you can get your nursing fundamentals text early, or buy a skills text at the bookstore and study up on your own before the semester starts. Good luck with nursing school!

[StudentNurseAbby]

We never learned how to make beds but we did learn vitals, ambulating patients safely, etc.