Am I Setting Myself Up For Failure?

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This spring semester I will be taking 22 credit hours at my community college. The classes will be General Chemistry II, Elementary Spanish, Philosophy 102 (Logic), and Elementary Statistics. And on top of that, I am taking the Certified Nursing Assistant Program this semester as well. I don't work or have any kids and I live with my family. I do have a boyfriend who is very understanding of my situation. I'm not going into this semester thinking it will be a cakewalk... I'm going in knowing I will have to commit pretty much all of my time to my studies and I am more than willing to make the commitment necessary for me to succeed. However, I may be a little beyond myself and I do not want to get a "C" on my transcript in any of my classes. Am I setting myself up for failure?

And when I first applied to the Cna program I was overly excited about finally joining the health field and obtaining some releveant health care experience on top of helping others in need while earning some money. Now I don't feel excited at all like I use to and I think of the unpleasant duties of being a cna more than I think of the positive. Am I getting cold feet? Am I making the wrong choice? What if I go through this program and I come out on the end hating everything about being a Cna (like my sister did)? Or what if the excitement has just died down since I have been anxiously anticipating starting the program since early December 2009 (it doesn't begin until the 26th of this month)? Also it would be wonderful if previous Cna students can give me helpful tips that helped them when it came to the lecture material, labs and clinicals.

Thanks in advance:),

Jessie

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Specializes in LTC.

Well that's a lot of school. You're going to be stressed out for sure, but if you can get it all done with while your situation is good (living at home, no kids, etc.) then you should. I wish I'd gotten more classes out of the way when I still lived at home and didn't have so many bills to pay. Now I'm forced to go slow (even though at this point I'm sick and tired of school), because I don't have much choice.

CNA isn't for everyone, but you won't know until you try. You are not your sister- you might end up loving it. At least you're going into it with realistic expectations. It sounds like you may have inhibitions just because you're stressed out, perhaps even looking for an excuse not to do it. Don't start hating it before you even start! I think after you graduate the class and get a job you'll appreciate the flexible hours. The pay is also better than other low-level jobs like fast food or cashiering. And the experience is so much better if you plan on going to nursing school.

The classes are really easy. If you're unsure about any of the skills then keep asking about them during your clinical and get as much practice as you can. Boyfriends also make good victims for that sort of thing.

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Spring semesters are usually shortened. Instead of 16 weeks, they are usually 8 weeks. That would be like taking 44 credit hours in a regular semester. Yes, that is outrageous.

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With 22 credits it will be difficult to dedicate the kind of time you need to each class.... Anything is possible, but you want to make sure you are in a position to do your best work because it is a reflection on you....

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I am doing the EXACT SAME THING... Keep your head up. The main difference is that I also have a full time job that I will be going to part time right before starting the program. You just have to stay focused and remember it is just one semester that will be rough and you will end with a valuable cert and a 4.0!!! That is the goal right???... Don't let anyone discourage you. And feel free to talk with me about any of it. We can be each others support. Also, I agree... boyfriends make great practice patients :redbeathe:bugeyes: .

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Thank you all for your responses:D

fuzzywuzzy- You are right. I am not my sister and I should not base whether I will like or hate being a Cna off of her experiences. And earlier today, without reading any sections or scanning my Cna book, I opened my book to a review section, which was dealing with questions on washing your hands, bacteria, and the such, and I was able to answer eleven questions out of the thirteen. So obviously that chapter couldn't have been too complicated. When it comes to the course, I don't feel it will be difficult. I think it will just be alot of material to take in within short periods of time. We have a schelduled exam every other week on covering modules:eek: Can't be that bad, right?

HealthcareProf- The spring semester is a full 16 weeks. Maybe you are thinking of the summer semester.

Finally my Time- I agree. It will take a ton of dedication to give each class the 2-3 hours of study/work time necessary; however, I know I can do it if I remain committed.

cryswms- Wow!!! It is nice to know I am not the only one out there doing this. Yeah, this is definitely for only one semester. I did not want to take a semester off or take less classes in order to do the cna program when I feel I can just do it all in one semester. Thank you for your support. You have my support as well. We can do it!!!:yeah:

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

Two summers ago I took 16 units of summer school...thats 4 classes in 5 weeks (quarter system). I went nuts. But I also managed a 3.6 GPA. It all depends on what type of student you are. If you're super motivated, you can do it, but there's also a very high risk of burnout.

My personal advice - take the CNA course and 2 classes (3 if you think they're easy). Or keep your course load and drop the CNA course.

Again - it depends on what type of person YOU are. And if you're prepared to have your GPA possibly suffer from such a high workload.

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allisonhillary- Thanks for your input. I'm already considering dropping my three credit hour philosophy class. Even though the class will be easy for me, it will take a little of weight off my shoulders and give me more time to focus on my other studies. I would drop the chemistry, but the chemistry class is a prerequisite for organics chem I. I rather not make my college journey of five years any longer than it has to be, which will be a total of five years when I finish anyway and that is only if everything goes as I plan. I am extremely self-motivated and determined to maintain my GPA. I feel all my classes will be relatively easy/medium type classes except my dreaded chemistry class. I think if I can adopt a new attitude about chemistry and become more enthused and interested in the subject than I will be able to get an "A" in the class. :idea:

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Remember, you'll have to work clinicals for the CNA certification, its almost like taking on a part time job until it is completed. What do you have to gain by immediately getting CNA certified? If it were me I'd delay that to focus on getting A's in every class with your high workload, then worry about the CNA when you want to work as CNA or use it to help you apply to RN programs. My .02

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I suggest that you choose your professors. Some professors 'torture' their student and give A LOT of homework while others are 'easy'. I've experienced professors that are way harder than they should be.

I think it's totally possible to do that and get straight As. Choose your professors and you also need a good schedule. If you can do that then you'll be fine. Just don't get yourself too exhausted and end up not getting the work done. May I suggest bringing a recorder if you have one. It helped me get an A in my philosophy class.

You can do it! Good luck! Keep us updated! :)

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I agree with the previous post. The CNA class will take valuable time away from your 22unit academic workload.

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Thank you guys for responding. Before I respond to each individual separately, I would like to make it clear that my classes WITH the Cna class and clinical comes out to 22 credit hours. My classes come out to fifthteen credit hours and the Cna program equals out to seven credit hours. I apologize for not making that clear in my first post.

heelhook80- I have a clinical once a week. Most of the clinicals are eight hour shifts from seven to three. I need to go ahead and get certified as a Cna in order to begin getting health care experience. I would like to have altleast three or four years of direct patient care contact under my belt before applying to the physician assistant program. Plus, I really need a job as soon as possible and there are a lot of openings for CNAs and Caregivers in my area.

JustYouWait- Thank you so much for your words of encouragement:heartbeat I feel pretty good about the way I have my schedule set up. And I agree that a professor can make the class easy or hard. I know two of my professors are really nice and helpful. I don't have a clue about my other three. I heard from my mom and my sister that all the Cna teachers they met were really nice, not necessarily lenient though. Nice, but they will get on your back and push you if need be, which I find to be a good quality in teachers. I hope my Chemistry professor is like that or better or else I will be in a huge heap of trouble. I don't need for my teacher to make Chemistry any more difficult than it is already. I do have a recorder actually and thanks to you I will be using it for my philosophy lecture this semester. Maybe my chemistry lecture as well.

caliotter3- The 22 unit workload includes the Cna course.

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