CNA Training

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

Depends on which state you are in but here's how my experience went. Week one was a lot of lecturing, some practice on skills using other students and dummies, a couple of quizzes, one presentation on a subject of the instructor's choosing. Second week, more skills, signing off of skills by the instructors, getting better with taking manual blood pressure, worked in teams to do another class presentation. Week 3, worked in the hospital taking a morning shift and shadowing a CNA for a few hours before taking over with my own patients and had supervision over any direct care I had with patients. Tried to go through as many skills as possible. By the end of week 2, I was able to care for patients, asking for help with lifting and advice with how to do certain skills with patients of different abilities. A nursing home experience will be very different but will have an equal amount of classroom/practice and then clinical time.

I would say the first day of both the classroom and clinicals were pretty stressful because of all the infection control and safety concerns but it got better and was a very enjoyable experience.

Getreal2011 · Sep 3, 2010

Depends on which state you are in but here's how my experience went. Week one was a lot of lecturing, some practice on skills using other students and dummies, a couple of quizzes, one presentation on a subject of the instructor's choosing. Second week, more skills, signing off of skills by the instructors, getting better with taking manual blood pressure, worked in teams to do another class presentation. Week 3, worked in the hospital taking a morning shift and shadowing a CNA for a few hours before taking over with my own patients and had supervision over any direct care I had with patients. Tried to go through as many skills as possible. By the end of week 2, I was able to care for patients, asking for help with lifting and advice with how to do certain skills with patients of different abilities. A nursing home experience will be very different but will have an equal amount of classroom/practice and then clinical time.
I would say the first day of both the classroom and clinicals were pretty stressful because of all the infection control and safety concerns but it got better and was a very enjoyable experience.

Thank you for responding. That is good information. I went to the library today and got a couple of books on the basics of being a CNA. So, by the 3rd week you were in the hospital...wow! That sounds exciting and a little scary, but I'm sure they prepared you well. Is training something that you think bringing a digital voice recorder would help, or is it pretty much mostly hands on learning?

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2010

There is a mixture of book learning (rules, abbreviations commonly used, basics of care) and hands-on learning. Most is common sense and even most skills have a pattern of about 3-5 things that you will do with every patient/resident with each skill. Safety, infection control and dignity/privacy are always priorities. We all make mistakes and miss a detail or 2 but you never want to mess up when a patient's safety is at risk. Just regular note taking will do and you should have plenty of practice time.