I am a 50-year old former teacher pursuing a 2nd career. Last Fall semester I applied to an RN program at a community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. This particular program had 160 applicants. Only 48 (
Most of my classmates, on the other hand, will be busy with 3, 4, or even 5 classes per semester, as they haven't already completed a college degree and are basically starting from scratch. With relatively a lot of time on my hands I decided I wanted to gain some work experience in acute care. Problem is, hospitals don't hire 50-year old former teachers with no experience in a medical field. At least not for acute care, at least not in New York state.
So, a month ago I sat down with a representative of a local CNA course, asked a few questions, forked over $1,600+ out of my own pocket, and just today completed the 4th week of a 5-week (125-hr) CNA course. A week from tomorrow I hope to complete the Prometrics proctored exams and apply for an acute care position at a small regional hospital known for hiring CNAs.
Last Saturday was 1 year since I joined this AllNurses group. I had lurked for a few months prior to joining. I have learned an incredible amount re Nursing, far more than any other single source, and have recommended this site to several RNs and prospective RNs.
Until now I really haven't had anything to contribute, it has only been take, take, take, and no giving back. But finally I have something I'd like to offer. If you are paying for a CNA course please do yourself a favor: pay for one that your fellow classmates are also paying for themselves, and not one where your classmates' tuition is being paid for by the taxpayer.
I am in a class of 13 students. Ten of whom are employees (UAs, Unit Assistants) of a local nursing home and 3 (including me) who are not. The ten are on paid training.
So get this: the ten on paid training are not only attending a $1,600 course for free, but they are getting paid $10+ per hour x 125 hours = $1,250+ over a 5 week period. And, like anything else in life, when something is handed out there's little to no appreciation for it.
Topics initiated by the ten on paid training in the last 4 weeks during class time: Bieber, Trump, sex (hetero), drugs, sex (transexual), who can hump the mannequins fastest (this one complete with enactment), the cheating boyfriends (boyfriends of the female students and boyfriends of the male students) who gave them gonorrhea, latest tattoos (this one is show-and-tell), how much of the neck can be covered in tattoos until it's actually considered face, and other themes fundamental to the pillars of society. These were just the ones of greater than 20-minute duration. There were others of shorter duration, all Jerry-Springer-worthy. All in all non-CNA related topics have constituted at least 1/2 of our class day.
And the three of us who collectively chipped in $4,800+ sit and look at each other in amazement. What about the 4 skills that require documentation? We know we are gonna get one of those on the test, right? Let's hammer those home, huh? And the 6 "Promotion of Health and Function" skills that we are also guaranteed to see one from. Hey, can we talk about them? Or better yet, how 'bout we practice them some more.
The instructor is an RN, and means well, but is all too easily persuaded to talk about anything other than boring CNA stuff. That she is leaving for another job next week, and that this is the last CNA course she'll ever teach, doesn't offer much incentive to stem the tide of garbage.
Back to "The Ten." They couldn't give a flying, fornicating, fecal fragment whether or not they get through the Prometrics hurdle the first time around. NYS taxpayers are pathetic suckers, 2nd only to Californians. How dare you discriminate between those who pass and those who fail. Don't you know discrimination is bad? Tolerate them and grant them another chance. It's just money. Give them a hand, they won't take an arm, really. (This is why states like Texas are losing their population at an ever alarming rate to states like NY and CA and... er, um, wait, what?)
Age is the factor here, right? The Three are older than The Ten, right? Well, I'm old. But the other two are not. They are the same age as The Ten.
Education is the factor here, right? Well, I'm educated, but the other two are high school grads, like The Ten. Hospital prospective employees vs nursing home prospective employees? Hmmm... I've given this one a bit of thought. The three of us are, in fact, not interested in nursing home employment.
But in the end I'm left with source of payment as the only real variable. As sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in West, it's the source of the funding, and the ensuing appreciation (or lack thereof) that's the only thing at play here.
I drive home each day knowing that I'll pass the written portion with flying colors. It's not nearly as difficult as A&P I & II, and Micro. But lately, more and more, I have been up at night trying to memorize the materials needed, and all the sequential steps required, for perineal, and catheter, and dentures, and partial bed-bath, and bedpan, and the other "Personal Care Skills." After all, somebody has got to, and it sure as Hell ain't gonna be The Ten, so might as well be me. And wouldn't it be ironic if "the RN student" you know the idiot who paid for the course out of his own pocket, was the one (or one of the ones) to fail the CNA test?
I still can't help to think though, that all that time spent on Jerry Springer rehearsals could have been better spent on CNA stuff. Another 60+ hours on CNA skills could have gone a long way toward easing my concerns.
I don't blame The Ten. I can't. I'm an existentialist, so I can only blame me. I blame myself for not asking the question last month, "How many students are paying their own way vs how many have duped the taxpayer into paying for them?" Well, I wouldn't have worded it quite like that. Fiscal conservatives aren't popular in socialist New York. But I'd certainly have searched for a CNA program that consisted primarily of paying students.
I blame myself for enrolling in the CNA program nearest my residence, instead of driving up to an hour away for a CNA program funded by the students, not by the taxpayer. I am kicking myself harder and harder each day for not asking the question last month. Don't be me. Ask the question. Get into a program with like-minded people. Don't make the same mistake that I did. And now that you've read the post that I wish I had read a month ago, you have no excuse.
