How Beneficial?

casi, ASN, RN · May 30, 2008

I feel very comfortable in the clinical setting. One of the hardest things for me was learning how to approach people to provide such personal cares. Since I've been a CNA that comes as second nature to me, and I can focus more on new nursing skills.

MotivatedOne · Jun 2, 2008

Wow 17 and starting a BSN program...you go girl! Anyway, I'm not a nursing student yet but the nurses here and the recruiters tell me it's extremly beneficial. I honestly believe it gives you a head's up by preparing you for whats to come. I've had nursing students who don't have any medical experience ask me how to work the blood pressure machine. Now I do believe that a NA II certification prepares you more because you'll aready know how to insert foleys and I believe you can play around with the IV pump a bit. I really don't know, I'm somewhat oblivious of what the II's do. I do know that with a 2 you can work with children.

Gabby_101, BSN · Jun 2, 2008

i work as a cna and although i'm not a nursing student yet a nurse told me that as a cna i know the skills for 75% for nursing school. from what i've seen cna's have a big step ahead in the clinical setting. sometimes being a cna can be bad though because we sometimes pick up bad habits that are not the proper way to do things but it is the "real world" way and that isn't the proper way to do them. good luck!:)

aundrea543 · Jun 6, 2008

to those of you who are nursing students, how beneficial do you feel cna training/experience is in nursing school. do you feel it has gotten you aquainted to the clinical setting before you started clinicals in your nursing program? i am starting a bsn program in the fall and am very nervous about when the clinicals come along. just wondering if it takes the "shock" out of your first time in clincals or makes it any easier. i feel like i'm rambling now so i'll stop here. thanks in advance for any responses.

something else to keep in mind is that as a nurse you'll have cna's working under you. if you've done what they do, you'll appreciate them more and not become a "high and mighty" sort of nurse. just my :twocents: good luck and congrats on being accepted to ns

1uvakindmom · Jun 7, 2008

I think it's great experience to be CNA before being a nurse. I am starting nursing school this fall and have been a CNA for about 4 months now. I am going to have great empathy for CNAs once I become a nurse, and I think that is important. I work in LTC and there are some nurses there that think they are above the CNAs and dont have to help at all. I am going to help CNAs when I am a nurse! :coollook:

NurseKatie08, MSN · Jun 7, 2008

I became an aide after I took my fundamentals clinical, and found it extremely beneficial. I worked in LTC on a dementia unit immediately after that clinical and found that it made me very comfortable with performing basic care. I now work as a student nurse II (just another fancy name for an aide) on a medical unit at a large Boston hospital, and the skills i've learned will greatly benefit me as a new nurse. Since I have worked as an aide, I know how tough their work is, and don't ever feel that i'd be a high and mighty type nurse that would talk down to the aides. I just graduated from NS & I'm currently still working on the same unit as a student nurse II until i sit for my boards. I get to see a lot of what the nurses do, and they always make it a point to teach me things that I will need to know.

PianoGirl20 · Jun 7, 2008

I'll be a junior this fall in a BSN program, and I'm working at my first CNA job this summer in an LTC facility. While I haven't done anything too fancy (no catheters, etc.) or glamorous, I feel that I've learned a lot of other, not-so-tangible things that are really important.

As someone already said, it gives you a real chance to increase your comfort level when it comes to giving really personal care (especially if you're like me and not an incredibly outgoing person in the first place) and especially if you're working with the elderly, you'll learn A LOT about patience and talking to people with Alzheimer's/dementia. I think it also teaches you a lot about time management (how will I put all of these people to bed before my shift is over!?) and working with other aides and nurses. And, although this sounds a little pessimistic, I think it helps you develop a pretty thick skin-one of the residents where I work is INCREDIBLY rude to all of the new people :angryfire (and no, there is nothing I can really do about it), so I think many other future patients that would scare me will seem much less threatening in the future :chuckle

~Jill

P.S.-I have to say that you will learn A LOT more in nursing school than you probably will as an aide. Skills aside, the scientific, critical thinking and assessment skills you will gain in any GOOD program far exceed those you'll pick up as an aide (although, as I've probably already made clear, aide work gives you some pretty awesome real-world experience!)

southernbelle4lu · Jun 10, 2008

Hi! I'm a second semester nursing student in an ADN program. I took a CNA class in highschool and I have found it very helpful. I strongly advise you to take the CNA class and Anatomy/Physiology if those classes are offered at your school. Some of the best decisions I made in high school were deciding to take those classes because they allow you to get a good basic understanding of the healthcare field. I also recommend that you work as a CNA a little while. It's good that you are thinking ahead! Don't give up. If this is what you really want to do.. you can do it! Good luck!! :coollook:

baldee · Jun 10, 2008

Howdy! I start ADN program next week, and have been certified as a HHA.

CNA is something I will get between quarters at a 75 hrs per a 2 week course (1/2 time is homestudy), where they administer the test near me. Whenever I can get $520 that is ($375/class + $125/State Test + $20/TB test).

Not only do you start to handle the wide variance of people, which is somewhat endless, but it is the start of being State Certifiably liable. So knocking these two stressers out initially puts you at an advantage over those who do not.

Plus the extra income of a few shifts a week helps the finances out too.

Good Luck!!

CrazyMommy, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2008

I've been a CNA for six months now and hoping to start this fall with the RN program. Still waiting for the letter! But, as a CNA I have learned alot, from pt care, how to talk to pt's and their families. Just about everything a CNA does is very beneficial for clinicals and I bet many students will look up to you and ask you for advice. Nevertheless I know that I will not treat the CNA's that I will work with in the future like they are the nurses slaves, with respect CNA's are very vital and play a big role in pt care.

Michelle123 · Jun 12, 2008

This may be partially due to my age, and other experiences in the workforce, but I find being an aide has really helped my clinical experiences. Not only am I already competant in the basic patient care stuff (bedpans, toileting, showering, making beds etc) but I am around patients and other nurses all the time. I can see the processes that go on behind the scenes and it allows me with extra learning experiences when I see things that relate to what I am actually studying in class.

We don't have a great deal of clinical placements in our course, but I have found that since I am familiar with the basic routine (even though things are a little different at each place) I don't have a problem with interacting with patients or finding stuff to do.

The last placement I did, I was pretty much left to my own devices. Anytime I needed to do something that I needed supervision for, such as complex wound dressing, med admin etc I would go and get a nurse to supervise me. But I basically got to have a pt load and determine the time management and was responsible for all their care. The personal care stuff and what I do in my job I could do, without too much worry, but the meds and stuff I needed supervision for.

The other RN's were happy with this too.

I think that my experiences at work help me to be less self conscious about my interactions with people.

It also means that I will quite happily answer the phone and take messages on floors that don't have unit clerks, and if I find myself with a period of time where all my stuff is up to date, then I know about things like the floor tidy or whatever, or I will go and read up on pt notes for my assignments. I don't hang around waiting to be asked or told to do stuff.