Any CNA's out there?

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Hey everyone!

I was thinking about becoming a cna while taking classes for my RN. If any of you started out as a cna, can you give me some information on how it was? I want to work in a hospital as a cna so would that even be possible? What about the type of units you worked on? Do they allow cna in the labor and delivery unit? Please share!

Mindofmidwifery what state are you in? I am on NC. I wouldnt mind doing postpartum if they allow cna to work in that unit in NC. I found a program that is 3 to 4 months long at my local community college. I'm trying to find one that's only a few weeks. Are the cna courses and workload hard? How was the exam?

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Thats so great that they are letting you work less so you can prepare for nursing school. I know nursing school can/will take up a lot of your time. Good luck with everything!

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
Mindofmidwifery what state are you in? I am on NC. I wouldnt mind doing postpartum if they allow cna to work in that unit in NC. I found a program that is 3 to 4 months long at my local community college. I'm trying to find one that's only a few weeks. Are the cna courses and workload hard? How was the exam?

I'm in Ohio but I took the CNA course in Minnesota. I took the course through a nursing home for free in exchange for working there for a year.

The course and workload weren't too bad. I enjoyed it, especially since it was the only class I was taking at the time. The exam was so nerve wracking! I breezed through the written portion but I was so nervous during the skills portion. I ended up passing my first try but it was scary at the time. Remembering what would count as automatic failures helped, I think.

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Oh man I know I'm going to be nervous too! How long is the skills part? Do you onmy have to perform your skills in front of your teacher or is it a panel of people? I'm trying to find a 5 week course but it seems like I can only find 6 month course at my local community college. Actually I did find one 4,5,6 or 7 week course but its a lot more than the community college. Are cna programs usually expensive? You've been such a great help!

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
Oh man I know I'm going to be nervous too! How long is the skills part? Do you onmy have to perform your skills in front of your teacher or is it a panel of people? I'm trying to find a 5 week course but it seems like I can only find 6 month course at my local community college. Actually I did find one 4,5,6 or 7 week course but its a lot more than the community college. Are cna programs usually expensive? You've been such a great help!

I don't even remember how long it was lol maybe an hour. It was done in front of one of their proctors and then whichever student I was performing the skill on. I usually see CNA classes cost between $800-1,000 so they're not cheap but I see a lot of agencies offer it for free in exchange for working with them. Good luck with everything though!

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Thank you! And I really appreciate all of the great info you've provided me. Good luck with everything as well. Take care! í ½í¸Š

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How long were your cna classes? Were they weeks? Or months?

My CNA 1 class was 1 month and my CNA 2 class was 1 week. They were accelerated classes so I had to attend about 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and could not miss any class or clinical time.

When you were working as a cna in a hospital, were you able to float around to different units? I'm sorry you did mention you did work on almost every unit. Did you like a specific unit the best? Or all?

Yes, I was in the float pool so I floated to pediatrics, mother/baby, psych, and all the adult units. Even if you have a home unit you can still get floated if your unit is overstaffed. I enjoyed most of the units I've floated to, which has more to do with the unit culture than the patient population. Some of my favorite units as a CNA were adult med/surg cardiac and general medicine. I did not particularly enjoy floating to mother/baby, oncology, or psych just because they had a lighter workload and slower pace for CNAs. As a nursing student oncology was one of my favorite rotations!!

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The cna class I'm looking into is 5 months long. Is that normal? Its at a community college. I hope I'll be able to float to different units once I'm certified. Being a cna 2, does that give you a better chance at working in a hospital? You have been such a great help. Thank you!

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In my area, most people take CNA 1 at the community college and it lasts 3 months. 5 months sounds a little long to me, but maybe that's the norm for where you live. Usually you are required to have a CNA 2 to be eligible to work in the hospital. Happy to help! :)

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Thank you again for everything! í ½í²™í ½í²œ

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I am starting my CNA position next week! On the mother baby unit & have previously been working as a doula! So excited! Any tips are greatly appreciated!

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Omg! Congrats Dshiver4. That is very exciting. What is a doula? Did you have to get your cna II in order to work on that unit? Or just cna I?

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