CNA Job-Hunting Tips

[SugarBabe99]

Hi, I'm looking to enroll in a CNA program soon and hopefully obtain employment afterward. I had a few questions in mind that I was hoping someone with CNA experience could help with.

1. Do you need to type up a resume when applying for CNA jobs, or is just filling out an app all that's needed? Would it still be a good idea to type up and send in a resume anyway?

2. Being young (22) and obviously brand-new to the health care field, my job experience isn't that extensive. I've held two jobs in my lifetime -- working as a kennel assistant at a combined boarding kennel/vet clinic for over 2 years, and as a crew member at McDonald's, which I'm doing now. Now, even though these occupations may not have directly been in the health-care field, I still feel they're beneficial and relevant experience -- the kennel job shows that I can take care of things, can clean up messes, etc. while the McDonald's job shows I have customer service skills and experience dealing with people that the first job might not have given me. Do you think a prospective employer would look at it that way?

3. Now, one problem I have and something I'm worried might cause difficulty for me in getting hired is the fact that I'm kind of shy and don't always talk too much. It's not necessarily that I have horrible people skills or anything, but I'm just not super out-going and don't talk a lot unless prompted or if it's with someone I know well. I'm also somewhat nervous and insecure, and it's not always easy for me to hide this if I'm brand new to a job and unsure of myself. These traits have caused some employers to just immediately dismiss me, so I'm not quite sure what to do about it. I mean, I always put on a smile, try my best to be friendly, cheerful and talkative during interviews, but I think they still manage to sense an underlying shyness or insecurity underneath it. Any tips for how to handle this, appear more confident, etc? I know a CNA job is one where I'll definitely want to appear like I'm good at dealing w/ people, since that's primarily what the job entails.

4. To anyone who lives in Louisiana -- any idea of the job prospects of obtaining employment as a CNA in this state, how likely it is to get hired, etc.?

5. Something I'm a little worried about is if I'm required to give meds or not as a CNA, and other liability/safety issues. Now, I know in nursing homes CNAs are typically not allowed to give meds (unless they receive additional training/cert as a med aide) and the nurses handle all of that. However, I've read that sometimes they are expected to give them in assisted living facilities and home care -- is that true? This is just something I'm a little worried about because I'd prefer not to have to give meds as a CNA if possible as I'm worried about the whole liability aspect of it (a patient dying if I give them the wrong med, etc.) I'd rather wait to do that until I'm a full-on nurse as I'll have the education and training for it then. One of the reasons why I'm just going for CNA now as opposed to going straight for my RN is because CNA work is simpler and entails less liability, which I feel is better for me to start out with compared to full-on nursing where I basically have patients' lives in my hands. I'm under the impression that CNA work is mostly just making sure the patients are kept fed and cleaned, making sure they don't fall, and then other little things as far as safety goes (always making sure the bed is lowered and the side rails up before leaving a room, etc.), not really many of the drastic life-saving decisions you'd have to do as a nurse.

6. Now, this is something that may seem a little silly, but it's something that's a genuine concern of mine so I wanted to bring it up. How common or likely is it to get sexually harassed while performing perineal and other types of care on a patient? It's not the peri-care itself that I mind doing, just the possibility of a patient attempting to harass me or force me into doing something that makes me uncomfortable. I mean, I'm guessing that most of the patients you'll have to perform this on are old and debilitated (hence needing it done in the first place), so it'd be hard for them to really do anything TOO forceful, just maybe make some lewd comments (which I could deal with. If a patient does truly make you uncomfortable or crosses the line into downright abuse/harassment, what can you do about it?

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

1. Some people will tell you that you need a resume but I think it's corny. It's only a CNA job- all that information from a resume gets written on the application anyway.

2. Your other job experience is good. Before working in a nursing home I took care of a couple elderly people in their homes, and at my LTC interviews they were more interested in my cashier experience.

3. I'm shy and quiet like you/ As long as you smile and make a bit of eye contact during the interview it should be fine. It takes all kinds to do this job and calm, quiet people have a place.

4. don't know

5. In most places you won't have to worry about giving meds.

6. There are some men who grope and make comments, but it actually doesn't really bother me since they have dementia. Most of the time if these certain people are in a good mood, they are handsy, and if they're in a bad mood, they're throwing punches. I prefer the first option.

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

I'm a brand new CNA in California. I received 3 job offers within 2 weeks of passing my state exam (1 FT and 2 on call).

Here are my suggestions:

Yes, use a resume and yes, use a cover letter. Yes, I do think you should tweak your resume to clearly say how the skills in your prior jobs relate to CNA work. For example, in all of your jobs, you may have functioned as part of a team or provided quality customer service. There are a few good threads on AN about how to do this.

To overcome shyness, practice answering typical interview questions for a CNA job to yourself prior to the interview. I was very nervous (although I'm not shy) and this helped me. AN has threads that discuss typical interview questions, such as: What would you do if your car broke down on the way to work? or what do you think will be the hardest part about working as a CNA?

In my state, many CNA's and nurses can't find work, but many others do find jobs by being persistent and thinking outside the box.

In my state, CNA's can't pass meds, but caregivers (apparently) can. Caregivers usually work in assisted living, while CNA's more commonly work in SNF's. I hope that makes it more clear. In my state, CNA's CAN NOT pass meds. Period, no matter where they work.

Regarding peri care, in my 100 hours of clinicals and 2 weeks on the job (LOL) I've not experienced sexual harassment. Yes, some of the older men flirt, but quite honestly, no-one has touched me and I've never felt threatened. I think the men and women are lonely. I get told I'm pretty all the time by both male and female residents and I think they are just being nice. My advice is to be confident and professional when doing peri care. I imagine that the residents are my dad or grandma or treat them during peri care like I'd want my dad or grandma treated if they had soiled their briefs and were unable to clean them. None of my relatives has ever been in LTC, but I just imagine how I'd feel if they were.

ITA with FuzzyWuzzy's #6!!!!

[h_kitty, CNA]

1. no you don't need to have a typed up resume, but i always had one when i applied. it makes you look more professional. i landed all the jobs i applied for so it must be good :]?

2. i think you summed it up beautifully. the way you connected your job skills with the ones needed in the medical field. they would definately look at it that way.

3. i would say keep eye contact, practice at home talking to yourself in the mirror, try to think of questions they would ask...that sort of thing. it doesn't matter if your shy or quiet, (there are a lot of people like that), but what they're looking for is someone whose confident and knows their stuff.

4. idk..i'm in california

5. in california, cnas are not allowed to pass out medications. only nurses and "caregivers" who aren't certified aides can give out meds. it is against the law here for cna's to give meds. i dont know how it is where you're from, but be sure to look it up with your state. i'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to either.

6. i've been grabbed and slapped on the butt a couple of times. only from patient's that have dementia though. i still get uncomfortable, and will clearly state to them right after to not touch me. i then report it with my charge nurse and dsd, and they reassign the patient a new cna. if it's a male patient, they normally would give that patient a male cna.

[LaterAlligator]

Re: #5 about giving meds

In any situation, your employer will tell you explicitly what you can and cannot do with medications. For instance, in my first job as a non-medical home caregiver, I was allowed to give medication "reminders" to my clients, and could not do certain things, like fill a weekly pill organizer box for them or put pills from my hand directly into theirs. I could steady their hands as they put meds into their own mouths but couldn't put them in for them. It was very, very specific.

Now as a CNA I have gotten my med aide training for the dementia assisted living facility I work PT at, and that again is very specific. I can only pass to residents who understand that they are taking pills and can put them in their own mouths OR direct me to do so. For instance, I have a blind resident and each time I ask "I have your medications here, and they're on a spoon. Do you want me to put them in your mouth for you?" and have to wait and get a yes first so that he's directing me to do it for him, not me administering them.

If you work in a nursing home, there will be nurses there, and they will handle the meds. You'll just report changes in condition or pain to them on behalf of your patients.

Good luck!

[h_kitty, CNA]

But even though you have your med aide at the assisted living your working at now and you have your cna, what is the specific title you were hired under? "certified nursing assistant" or "caregiver" ?

[LaterAlligator]

what is the specific title you were hired under? "certified nursing assistant" or "caregiver" ?

I was hired as a caregiver, because that facility doesn't require you to have your CNA to work there. They have a pay differential if you have it, but every non-nurse care staff is titled "caregiver" regardless of whether they're a CNA or not. It's different at different places, and in different states.

[IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN]

1. It's a good idea to have a resume and a cover letter - reason being that not all places have job application forms. I can think of about 4 different past employers that ONLY accepted resumes, and you didn't fill out the application until they've made you an offer of employment. It's also a good idea to find a sample job application form (Google is your friend for this one) and fill it out in advance (take it with you when you interview) - they all ask for the same information, but in differing formats. That way you're not lugging around business cards & lots of extraneous c*@p to interviews.

2. Past customer service skills? Good stuff - put it down, but emphasize what you did that ties in with what they're likely to want (teamwork, reliability, good attitude, etc.)

3. I'm quite shy as well - which surprises people. In an interview situation, if you have difficulty making & maintaining eye contact, try looking at the bridge of the other person's nose - looks like you're looking them in the eye, but you're not actually doing so. And, try not to stare at the interviewer - blink once in awhile.

4. Sorry - 'nother Californian here. So far I've spoken with about half a dozen CNA's on the subject - even with the down job market there's still plenty of work to be had. Pay scales aren't great (around here, LTCs/SNFs are usually $9-$11/hour to start, but CA has an unusually high cost of living, so take that into account) but few people have to look for more than 2-3 weeks after completing a class.

5. Here - CNA's don't pass meds. You can get certification (or so I'm told) that gives you restricted ability to do so, but in the real world you can very easily lose your cert (or worse) if you do so. My take - "just say no."

6. Honestly, I've had to give bed baths/perineal care on both male & female pts; sexual harassment has never been an issue. Being male and not particularly attractive, I'm less likely to run into that than you would (although I do get a kick out of having an elderly female pt give me a wink and a smile - I think it's hilarious) but my take is that it's really pretty unlikely to arise - if a pt is well enough to be that frisky (assuming he's not a dementia/Alzheimer's pt - which is a whole different subject), he's probably not going to need bed baths & perineal care to being with. If you do run into that kind of a scenario, politely/firmly decline & change the subject; if you feel that a situation is getting out of hand, then get someone else involved and/or leave the room. Keep in mind - you're the healthy one. Incidentally, I just went back through my CNA textbook - there's a section that covers harassment (physical, verbal & sexual) which gives guidelines on how to deal with such situations. Pretty much what everyone's stated, so I'll leave it be - it'll almost certainly be covered in your class.

[jjic3982]

"Being male and not particularly attractive"

Your being too hard on yourself xp

I'm glad you haven't experienced sexual harassment, I'm lucky I work with kids.