cna question.........

[sarahliz]

I worked as a cna over 6 years ago......havent worked as one since....

I got burnt out working 11-7 in a nursing home and going to college at the same time.....so I got done. I got pregnant with my daughter a month or 2 later and had morning sickness 24/7. After she was born we found out she has Hypoplastic left heart syndrome.......many surgeries later..........

I now have a 10 month old (perfect health!) and am thinking about working as a cna again........I really did love working with the patients (would prefer working for an agency or hospital this time).

Any way my question is where do I start.......... I live in Maine and know that I was suspose to have some education each year and was suspose to work at least 8 hours each year (or something like that) ......I wish now that I had kept up with that part. ...... Should I just take the course again or is there another way?

[LoriAlabamaRN]

If I were you, I would begin by contacting the nursing homes in your area. You'll probably find that many of them offer CNA education courses for free to attract workers. They will be able to check and see if you simply need a refresher course or if you need to retake the course in its entirety (I would think that you would have to retake it). That way you not only get the training for free, but you get a guaranteed job also.

[sarahliz]

I have heard of nursing homes around here sponsering people to take the cna course .......as long as you work for them for at least a year. I got lucky with my first course because it was offered through my highschool.

I emailed a nursing home saturday because I noticed they offer free cna courses 2x a year. It is a little far away but still a reasonable distance but I liked the sound of the place because they seem to allow the residence to have "gardens" and have more pets and children around so it is more of a community setting.

I do think taking the course over again would be more benifical to myself....after all a lot can change in 6 years....

[jmgrn65, RN]

Check with your local hospitals some hospitals do their own training and don't always care about a certification. Good Luck!

[sarahliz]

would I have to talk to Human service director?.........I would rather work in a hospital then a nursing home. There is a hospital in the state that offers cna training that I would love to work for but they are over 2 hours away ( (it is the hospital my daughter had her surgeries at)

[sarahliz]

just heard back from 2 nursing homes in the area.....they told me to call the cna registry because I can just retest.........

I still have my paper certificate..... but now that I want it the note book it is in is no where to be found (so I just have to start cleaning and maybe I will find it soon).

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to study for the retest? I remember how to take bp, temp......and kinda remember how to make the bed the right way....some of the medical terms I can remember too.........I kind of remember how to do foley care and a few things like that would need practice doing patient transfers.........