HELP! I DON"T WANT TO GO THROUGH CNA first...

[lookingforward]

This is really not to put any profession down but I've dreamed of being a nurse for soooo long, now only to discover that before entering my LVN program, I have to get the CNA title first! I am horrified of having to do some of the tasks described! This is not whaat I dreamed of all these years, I was thinking more along the lines of changing newborn diapers, not old folk diapers! CAN ANYONE BRING ANY CONSOLATION?

[CrazyPremed, MSN, RN, NP]

To the OP,

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to clean up crap all day long. I work in an ER where half of the nurses complain that they came to the ER to get away from all the CNA stuff. At times CNA work can seem gross and disgusting. Also, it can sometimes seem beneath a person.

I remember cleaning a LTC patient for the third time and thinking, "I have a bachelor's degree, got accepted to a competitive Master's in Science program, have an incredible resume, GPA, and am finishing up the premed science requirements at the top of my class. All of my friends are in graduate engineering programs or medical school, preparing for competitive surgical residencies or $80,000+ jobs, and I'm stuck here." To pretend that this does not bother someone is a joke.

What the CNA class does give is the understanding - from a pt's perspective - of why these tasks are important, and how they fit in to the care of a patient. By the end of my 3 month class my focus completely shifted. I developed a concern for a pt's dignity and respect, and enjoyed the process of getting to know a pt. Does this mean that I want to make a career of working in rehab or LTC, or now enjoy giving bed baths? HECK NO!!! But it did teach me to accept many of the so called negative aspects of nursing.

The truth is, you will probably hate your CNA class, but you will be a better nurse for it (meaning that your life as an LPN may be somewhat easier because you will learn to perform the things you hate quickly). Don't worry. Most of the people in your class may feel the same way you do.

Thanks for your honesty.

CrazyPremed

[pjgarrett1388]

To the OP I honestly think the CNA class would be very beneficial to deciding whether or not you would like to enter nursing. I had the benefit of getting my CNA certification while in high school and can honestly say I am glad I did! When I did my first clinical I was scared to death, but as I got to know my residents I was able to see how much I was helping them. They do feel embarrassed about not being able to do some of their ADL anymore, but they are so grateful to have someone their to help them. I know that I want to be a nurse and I know that it is not an easy job, but it is very rewarding to get to see a smile on a resident's face or see someone laugh who hasn't laughed in a long time! We had a classmate in my CNA class who was scared to touch residents; he didn't want to handle them so we ended helping take care of his residents too. Needless to say he didn't pass the class! I cannot imagine getting into Nursing School and finding someone who will not touch the residents or patients! I hope you are able to figure out if this what you want to do or not, but I think the CNA class could be very beneficial to you!

[Batman24]

One of the RN schools I applied to requires I get a CNA certificate before beginning nursing classes. If I get into the other school and time allows for it I might try and get my CNA before starting that school as well. It would only serve to help me in the end.

I don't think anyone really relishes the idea of having to change diapers, but I don't think that even remotely compares to those adults that need to wear them. I hope that when I become a nurse I make these people feel as comfortable as possible.

[PralineLPN]

All I can say, is that being a CNA/GNA (geriatric NA) was horrible and a hard, no-thanks, low paying, crappy (literally) job. But it payed off in dividends while in school. Also, as a LPN, I am easily able to transfer pts, and I learned a lot about talking to folks as a CNA. At school the non-cna's had an obviously harder time than the cna's with at least a few months experience. Just do it for a couple of months, you'll be glad you did. It also made me appreciate my cna's and treat them right. And furthermore, I think being a LPN will definately ease my transition to BSN/MS degrees. What with knowing procedures, sterile technique, Dx, meds etc.

Paul

[casi, ASN, RN]

I'm working as a CNA as desperately try to get into nursing school. All I can say is that being a CNA has made me want to become a nurse even more. I love what I get to do as a CNA and can't wait to learn more. Some of the best nurses I work with are the ones that aren't afraid to throw on a pair of gloves and help out.

One of the RN programs I applied to not only requires that you have your CNA certification, but that you have 48-hours of paid direct patient care experience.

[Jellibum]

...I am horrified of having to do some of the tasks described! This is not what I dreamed of all these years, ...

I'm just wondering what are some of the tasks specifically that "horrified" you?? What have you heard? Are these from the course coordinator or a lecturer or just your fellow classmates? Also, what kind of things did you dream of doing?? Please let us all know so we can help you one way or the other. I personally dreamed of being a nurse since i was 4 years old and cuddling little ones and making the sick feel better was a large part of that dream. Nothing has changed. I still love cuddles - now it's just from the young,middle-aged and my elders.... i still like making the 'sick' feel better but there are many ways to do that. cleaning up poop can be a way that my dream can help another (imagine you or your kin pooped themselves and had to sit in it....doesn't make you feel good) I remember one clinical placement where i had explosive poop splatter to clean off a pt and a wall. As a walked down the hallway with a plastic apron,plastic booties,gloves,goggles and with sponge & bucket in hand ... i thought to myself - I AM LIVING THE DREAM!! ... ok, cleaning up poop wasn't quite what i had in mind at age 4 but working as a nurse was! ALWAYS Look at the BIGGER picture! Many one this thread has said that cleaning up poop is a large part of the job... this is true. But the largest part of the job is figuring out what you can and cant do, and ways to cope the the gross stuff. These things may include cleaning up poop, but you can learn ways to cope and still get the job done. Most nurses have their dislikes - e.g sputum, vomit... and many more but they cope because of good training and coworkers. If it's the smell, put peppermint oil on the inside of your nose or on the mask and the smell is diminished! Sometimes... we nurses can get highly critical of each other, i just hope that we can band together as professionals and take a positive approach to help enable this person to either achieve their goal. This does mean that you (author) will have to face some truths of the job and knock down the unrealistic fantasies of Hollywood, but you can still havyour dreams!

[SharonH, RN]

I have been very critical and very vocal on this board of the idea that one needs to be a CNA first in order to be a good or effective nurse. I am the first one to tell you this is not necessary and I think that nursing schools who require this are dead wrong. They are probably trying to take a shortcut with teaching the basics. However, the truth is that at some point in your nursing career starting with your schooling, you will most certainly deal with adult incontinence and other unpleasant tasks.

In defense of the OP, I must say this. It is really not all that surprising that she has an image of herself as a nurse holding sweet-smelling newborn babies. This misconception of what nurses do is the fault of the nursing profession itself as in most recruitment advertising there is an unnecessary emphasis on the nurturing aspect of the profession, pics of nurses holding smiling babies and hugging cuddly senior citizens abound. Throw in other media images of nurses who are only in the background, nameless and faceless, whose most important job is to run and get the doctor when something major happens or perhaps wheel a patient either to the OR or to their car and it's no wonder that some people will enter nursing school with a distorted view of what their duties will be. Let's consider that.

[pink2blue1]

This is really not to put any profession down but I've dreamed of being a nurse for soooo long, now only to discover that before entering my LVN program, I have to get the CNA title first! I am horrified of having to do some of the tasks described! This is not whaat I dreamed of all these years, I was thinking more along the lines of changing newborn diapers, not old folk diapers! CAN ANYONE BRING ANY CONSOLATION?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you think you won't have to do any of the "tasks" described in the CNA job description as a nurse, you are sadly mistaken! Having a specialty in mind is fine, but I can tell you that as an LVN you will most likely not be able to go into maternity just as soon as you graduate. I was a CNA for 4 years before becoming an LVN and all it can do is help. If you think that the CNA "tasks" are only for CNA's, think again, it's what is called basic nursing care.

Good luck

[allantiques4me]

This is really not to put any profession down but I've dreamed of being a nurse for soooo long, now only to discover that before entering my LVN program, I have to get the CNA title first! I am horrified of having to do some of the tasks described! This is not whaat I dreamed of all these years, I was thinking more along the lines of changing newborn diapers, not old folk diapers! CAN ANYONE BRING ANY CONSOLATION?

I personally would recommend being a CNA and working as one for a while.You gain many skills ,believe it or not Also nursing school will be much easier and more comprehensible.I was a NA as a kid,it gave me so much skill and opportunity,nursing school was a breeze for me and I know it was because I had the opportunity to be a NA.And there is much more to it than changing peoples diapers.You learn valuable people skills.And much ,much more .Good luck

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

In nursing school you will probably do nothing but change briefs!! The nurses always seek out the students to help them complete these tasks... They say "Hey student, you really need to come see this... ever smelled C-diff before? How about a GI bleed? You really need to get this experience." So don't think you won't be dealing with briefs, bedpans, bedside toilets, and dirty sheets in nursing school. I just graduated and I worked as a tech during school. The one thing I hated most was a nurse who thought doing these tasks "weren't her job."

So get over it, and get used to it... Because "code browns" will occur everyday on every floor!!

[PANurseRN1]

I have been very critical and very vocal on this board of the idea that one needs to be a CNA first in order to be a good or effective nurse. I am the first one to tell you this is not necessary and I think that nursing schools who require this are dead wrong. They are probably trying to take a shortcut with teaching the basics. However, the truth is that at some point in your nursing career starting with your schooling, you will most certainly deal with adult incontinence and other unpleasant tasks.

In defense of the OP, I must say this. It is really not all that surprising that she has an image of herself as a nurse holding sweet-smelling newborn babies. This misconception of what nurses do is the fault of the nursing profession itself as in most recruitment advertising there is an unnecessary emphasis on the nurturing aspect of the profession, pics of nurses holding smiling babies and hugging cuddly senior citizens abound. Throw in other media images of nurses who are only in the background, nameless and faceless, whose most important job is to run and get the doctor when something major happens or perhaps wheel a patient either to the OR or to their car and it's no wonder that some people will enter nursing school with a distorted view of what their duties will be. Let's consider that.

I completely agree with this. One of the reasons I detested the Johnson and Johnson ads (haven't seen any in a while) was due to the emphasis on "nurses as angels." There were a few episodes of "ER" that I thought got a lot closer to the realities of nursing.

[jill48, ASN, RN]

I think it is only fair that CNA's, EMT's, or any other 'support' person get priority in nsg school admissions over a person who has never worked in health care - so long as they have comparable GPA's.

My CNA experience has come in very helpful as a RN.

I disagree with you. I was never a CNA before I went to nursing school.