CNA looking into Nursing, need some help.

[Mom02895]

Hello everyone. I am new to allnures.

I am a CNA, but have been a stay at home mom for the last 2 years.

I enrolled in college, and I take my placement exam next month.

Right now Im just enrolled in general Studies. Because Im just not sure on what I should do.

My kids are 18 months and 5 months so Im not sure if Nursing will be a good idea.

What do Nurses actually do? When i worked in a nursing home they didnt seem to do very much. I remember always doing what THEY were supposed to do. How stressful is it?

Is Becoming an RN a good choice? What are the pros and cons to it?

I know the schooling is hard, but will it be even worse for someone who has babies?

What are the things i should consider.

[klhmc729]

The first thing I'd do is find out what nurses do! :) I promise it's a lot more than you think. One good way to do this is job-shadow. If there was an LPN or RN that you worked with in LTC, call the facility and see if they would be willing to let you follow them around for a shift. If that goes well, then ask them for the name of another nurse friend (who works in something other than LTC) that they think would be willing to let you shadow them. Then follow up on it and check out a different environment for nursing. It's good networking, and the last thing you want to do is start taking classes and realize it's not what you had thought you were going to school for. Then, you can make up that list of pros and cons for yourself.

As for the kiddos, only you know if it's a good option for you to go back to school right now, but I have known many fellow students who managed (with a bit of struggle and juggle) to succeed admirably in school with small kids and/or pregnancies. Best of luck to you!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

What do Nurses actually do? When i worked in a nursing home they didnt seem to do very much. I remember always doing what THEY were supposed to do. How stressful is it?

I have been a nurse in LTC for a little over four years. What you are describing is a "factory worker" mentality where people who are not nurses seem so quick to assume that the nurse is lazy and must be doing nothing if she/he is sitting behind the nurses station. The CNA cannot possibly do all of the things that the nurse is supposed to do, simply because it is not within the CNA's scope of practice. The harsh truth is that much of the LTC nurse's day is tied up in paperwork due to strict Medicare guidelines, incident reports, charting, orders to take off, check lists, lab results, recording conversations with doctors, and other redundant documentation. There is a saying in nursing: If it wasn't documented, it wasn't done.

A typical day in the nursing home where I am employed involves skills such as medication passes, tube feedings, skin assessments, finger stick blood sugars, injections, simple IV therapy, wound care, application of topical creams, ostomy care, administration of breathing treatments, foley catheter care, and other tasks. If a resident circles the drain and has a major change in condition, the nurse must know what to do and when to do it.

This job is very, very stressful because I run the risk of getting my hard-earned license referred to my state's board of nursing if I make a wrong move.

[MissSpectacular]

I was in nursing school with a 3 year old daughter and pregnant with my second. It was extremely stressful yet at the end of the road it was 100% the smartest choice I made! It IS harder with kids, because you don't have the luxury some of your classmates have of devoting 4 hour blocks of studies in the afternoon, etc. You make it work (and you can do it!) because all in all, it's for your kids future that you're embarking on this journey! Go for it!

And when I was a CNA/PCT it seemed to me the nurses didn't do much...I am now eating my words :)