Welcome! I am the Moderator of the new CNA - Nursing Assistant Forum. I am also an RN who works in various health care settings. I have experience in Long Term Care, Home Health, and Hospital settings. I have been a Nurse since 1998 starting out as an ADN; I received my BSN in 2001.
I wish I had been a CNA prior to Nursing School; I know it would have helped tremendously. The jitters I encountered make me blush now. I remember not wanting to look at a wound for a new patient because I was "uncomfortable" lifting the covers and envading someones privacy! It is safe to say, "those days are over ;)"!
Please take a moment to introduce yourself. If you have time, grab your cup and tell us about yourself. Feel free to PM me if there are any concerns that are of a personal nature. Oherwise, post your conversations and questions here so we can all learn.
I'm a PCA (patient care assistant-- aka CNA) and have been one since the start of March. I work in a pediatric hospital on the hematology/oncology unit. I must say that I absolutely love it.
I'm also in nursing school getting my BSN. I have about 2 years left of school, then hopefully I will work as a RN on the unit I am on right now!!
Well, hello everyone! I have been a CNA for 17 years now and I love it! I have worked in geriatrics most of my career but I also have med-surg and ortho/neuro experience as well. I started working as a CNA in 1991 when I was 17 years old. I enjoy spending time with the elderly, they can be so fun sometimes!
All the women in my family are nurses except for me... but I am currently taking care of that though! :-)
Although I am not currently employed as a CNA, I have kept up with my licence. I am now in school getting my RN degree and PRAY to graduate in December of this year. I believe that EVERY nurse that comes into the program, whether it be LPN or RN, should have to work for at least 6 months as a CNA... I have seen nurses that are NOT appreciative of their CNA's and it does not make for a pleasant working environment! I am so ready to be done with school so I can get back to work... I am tired of the books, but I simply LOVE my clinical time! that is my favorite part!!!
I firmly believe that if you don't LOVE your job, you shouldn't be doing it. I have seen too many CNA's as well as nurses complain all the time about their job and I just wonder why they are in it because nursing is all about care and compassion... no matter if you are a CNA or a nurse.
Hi =]..My name is Sherie , I am 37 and start my first class for CNA June 28th. Im hoping to get into an LPN class for 2009. I am so happy to have found allnurses=].I have been wanting to be a nurse for sooo long , and I am determined more than ever to accomplish this . I am nervous , but I realize you have to start somewhere ....otherwise, you will keep putting the dream off . Then it never comes to pass=( . Thanks for all the wonderful post;). ~Sherie
First of all, I want to start off by saying that I'm thrilled to have found this site. There is so much information here.
Now my question. What are the chances (feasibility or otherwise) of having a special section solely for nursing assistants (CNA, STNA, or whatever)? And this section would be for ALL nursing assistants - career or otherwise. Some nursing assistants are career na's and are not "students".
I find myself going back into past posts (love these - full of info) to find answers to particular questions. For example, I have questions regarding the upcoming skills test so I went back and read the posts that pertained to this. But this took a lot of time and sorting through the topics.
If there was a special section (not in the "student" forum) for nursing assistants, there could specific sub-topics like: skills test questions, written test tips, training sites (by area), hospital vs. LTC vs. home health aide, dealing with coworkers, charting information, what to wear, etc.
I know this sounds very specific, but many nursing assistants need this info.
First of all, I want to start off by saying that I'm thrilled to have found this site. There is so much information here.
Now my question. What are the chances (feasibility or otherwise) of having a special section solely for nursing assistants (CNA, STNA, or whatever)? And this section would be for ALL nursing assistants - career or otherwise. Some nursing assistants are career na's and are not "students".
I find myself going back into past posts (love these - full of info) to find answers to particular questions. For example, I have questions regarding the upcoming skills test so I went back and read the posts that pertained to this. But this took a lot of time and sorting through the topics.
If there was a special section (not in the "student" forum) for nursing assistants, there could specific sub-topics like: skills test questions, written test tips, training sites (by area), hospital vs. LTC vs. home health aide, dealing with coworkers, charting information, what to wear, etc.
I know this sounds very specific, but many nursing assistants need this info.
Anyway, thanks for this site. I love it!
Marie
Welcome Marie. The cna forum was created in the student forum because that seemed like the best place to put it. We have a lot of student nurses working as a cna. The cna forum is still a "new" forum. Many people get here by googling cna info stuff. As far as expanding the cna forum, that is not in the plans at the moment. It takes more time than many, many people realize to moderate a site as big as allnurses. We have flamers, spammers, and people that just did not read the terms of service before they clicked that they did. They do not mean any harm, but their post still need to be edited/deleted, and that takes time. More sub-forums would require more moderating hours/staff to go to the specific forums. That is not to say that in the future it could not be expanded. The owner of this site was generous and appreciative enough to include CNAs on his site. I was a cna when I started moderating here. I guess what I am trying to state is that, for now, the cna forum is not expanding, but we never know what the future will hold. Until then, I hope you enjoy the information and support that you can get from this site and the cna forum. I hope I answered all your questions. Please feel free to pm me if you have anymore questions.
Welcome Marie. I guess what I am trying to state is that, for now, the cna forum is not expanding, but we never know what the future will hold. Until then, I hope you enjoy the information and support that you can get from this site and the cna forum. I hope I answered all your questions. Please feel free to pm me if you have anymore questions.
Sincerely,
Jay
Thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate all the time just to moderate a site like this. This place has become very popular!
I also appreciate that so much "history" (past posts) are kept available for us to read. I have enjoyed reading the older posts and have learned a lot from them.
hello everyone, i'd like to introduce myself. i'm nadeen and just passed the florida cna boards on july 28. :grad:this will be a big career change for me as i have worked 35 years at the phone company. once i retire (1st quarter 2010) i plan on working full time as a cna. i have no plans on going further up the nursing ladder. i feel i will be content making a difference in the daily life of someone who is unable to help themselves. during clinicals i saw so much i would like to change and make better for the resident. i am hoping to get a part time job with a home health agency or a nursing home until the big retirement date comes then change to full time. i love this site and can spend all day just reading all the information it holds.
one suggestion (and you might already have it and i just haven't found it yet) would be since i am new in the medical field i don't always know what the terms means, like nclex or noc shift, etc, so i would love a glossary list of commonly used medical terms.
thanks for letting me share my story, would love to hear from others starting 2nd career after 50 yrs of age. :rcgtku:
Im happy to share I passed the written yesterday ... the skills I have to wait for results =[. The computer went down due to tropical storm Fay .ughhh:no:! I feel confident but I did make a universal precaution errror ....I checked pt ID bracelet prior to washing my hands . I hope I passed the skills ... I will let yall know . God Bless you all=]!
I just started my CNA classes last week in Utah, and it has been so much fun so far! I am really hoping to work my way up to being an RN.
I started the CNA classes when I did, because I found out I'm pregnant, and I believe that the classes will be a lot easier to get started before the baby comes! Being a single mom will be difficult, but I'm hoping everything I will go through for the baby and my career will be worth it! If anyone has any advice, please let me know.
Thank you so much for this site! It has helped a lot in any questions I've had already.
My name is Haley and I am just starting my CNA classes this semester and I will have my certification in January. I am really excited and very nervous for the coming adventure but ready to take it on! I have my first clinical next wednesday so we will see how that goes!!
Hi, there and I am new at this site, I am a Foreing MD trying to make it here, I went to PR and finished my ADN degree which I did last July, went I came back I lost almost my job as phlebotomy at a Hospital on WEST PALM BEACH, they left me as per diem which is very poor, I am waiting for the answer of the FLORIDA Board of Nursing if I apply to take the ENCLEX, this could take a while and I need to do enought income to pay my dubts, I also have CNA certification I am looking for advices even better any job, could you please help me
Hi, I'm a fairly new CNA. I've been working in a nursing home for only 2 months, but before I took the class I did private in-home care for one woman for almost a year.
The job is really stressful, but I think I like it. I may eventually go back to homecare though. I have a soft spot for the elderly and I feel like in the nursing home I'm way too rushed to spend quality time with any of them.
. I hope I passed the skills ... I will let yall know . God Bless you all=]!
hem/onc-er
3 Posts
Hello!
I'm a PCA (patient care assistant-- aka CNA) and have been one since the start of March. I work in a pediatric hospital on the hematology/oncology unit. I must say that I absolutely love it.
I'm also in nursing school getting my BSN. I have about 2 years left of school, then hopefully I will work as a RN on the unit I am on right now!!