GUYS and CNA first

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Did any of you guys out there become a CNA or anything prior to becoming a nurse or applying to nursing school?

I called a hospital and they said it would be a lot for me to shadow (HIPPA etc) unless I am in a nursing program

I thought about taking a CNA course but I get the impression that it is low paying and does all the dirty work

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

At my hospital, we have high schoolers shadow us all the time. They just fill out paperwork in the education dept that includes a HIPAA form to sign. I was a CNA before nursing school, and it gave me a head start in the early months of clinicals. I mean, how many people have actually cared for a living person before? It also got me over my aversion to poop, pee, and old people smell....:>P

Steve

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thankyou for your reply..I called a hospital yesterday and they said it would be hard for me to shadow since I am not in a program yet

I cant seem to find any CNA programs and I get negative vibes when I suggest becoming a CNA

I think I will start my pre reqs this summer and PRAY I can get into a program by 2007

I think I may try another hospital outta town..What you suggest I tell them

again thank you sooooo much for your reply I appreciate it alot

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You know, being a CNA isn't glamorous. Neither is fast food, or the real world, for that matter. Being a CNA isn't that bad, and you've got to get your hands dirty at some point... whether it's now, or down the road when you're a nurse. I was a CNA fulltime for 2 months, and on call for another 6 working on saturdays. Now that I've gone through it, it's scored me admissions points to nursing school and valuable patient-care experience I would not have gotten anywhere else. Looking back, the pay wasn't great and the work wasn't fun, but I did it and now people respect me for it.

Having worked a variety of low end jobs, I can tell you that being a CNA isn't so bad. Besides, at least you don't have to wear a fast-food costume. You get scrubs.

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Specializes in Ultrasound guided peripheral IV's..

Nurseguy,

From my point of view, I would have done it no other way. I was a CNA for around 2 years before I started nursing school, and I feel that it gave me a ton of up front knowledge which made school that much easier, if you will. Not saying nursing school was easy by any means, it was NOT!

As for the CNA doing all of the dirty work, well, yes you are incharge of the patients care from the aspect that if they soil themselfs, you get to help clean it up, if they need a bath, yep, you get to help do that as well, combined with a long list of other duties too.

But, don't think for a moment that being a "NURSE" will keep you from doing "ditry work" because it sure won't. There are times that you don't have the pleasure of having a CNA to assist you with patient care needs, so that means that you will be cleaning poop, emisis, or what ever else comes out of your patients body.

My view on being a CNA is this, I am part of a team, I am the assistant/aid to the Nurse, I am there to assure that my patients are as comfortable as possible to within the best of my abilityand scope of practice, and, this is my personal quest, to make them smile at least one time during the course of my shift. If I have done these things I have done well!

The knowledge that you gain along the way is priceless, and will serve you well in nursing school. The pay, well, you sure can make more doing other things, no question about that, but what will you learn?

Just my thoughts.

Peace Out,

Dan

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Nurseguy,

The knowledge that you gain along the way is priceless, and will serve you well in nursing school.

Just my thoughts.

Peace Out,

Dan

Bump to that

Nat

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Nurseguy,

From my point of view, I would have done it no other way. I was a CNA for around 2 years before I started nursing school, and I feel that it gave me a ton of up front knowledge which made school that much easier, if you will. Not saying nursing school was easy by any means, it was NOT!

As for the CNA doing all of the dirty work, well, yes you are incharge of the patients care from the aspect that if they soil themselfs, you get to help clean it up, if they need a bath, yep, you get to help do that as well, combined with a long list of other duties too.

But, don't think for a moment that being a "NURSE" will keep you from doing "ditry work" because it sure won't. There are times that you don't have the pleasure of having a CNA to assist you with patient care needs, so that means that you will be cleaning poop, emisis, or what ever else comes out of your patients body.

My view on being a CNA is this, I am part of a team, I am the assistant/aid to the Nurse, I am there to assure that my patients are as comfortable as possible to within the best of my abilityand scope of practice, and, this is my personal quest, to make them smile at least one time during the course of my shift. If I have done these things I have done well!

The knowledge that you gain along the way is priceless, and will serve you well in nursing school. The pay, well, you sure can make more doing other things, no question about that, but what will you learn?

Just my thoughts.

Peace Out,

Dan

I couldn't have said it better, man! I got a CNA license in January, and not only did it help me get into a top nursing school, it taught me time management with patients, respect for CNAs and the importance of their job, insight into how patient care may go wrong in a nursing home, conscientiousness, and most important of all---HUMILITY.

Guess what most student nurses do in the hospital? CNA work! The better and more familiar one is with it BEFORE nursing school, the happier and more effective one will be IN nursing school.

Don't ever look down on CNA work, guys. It's the bread and butter of nursing itself. The arrogant folks who think they are too good to change a diaper or make sure a patient is fed correctly will have hell to pay when they get their nose out of their books and meet real patients.

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I start nursing school in August. I started my CNA job two weeks ago. I am fortunate enought to be working in a top notch facility. The pay kinda sucks. The residents are wonderful. The staff exceptional. Not to be too pollyanna here, but I find it noble work. I have no interest in making a career of geriatrics, but have been surprised as to how much I enjoy my first job in my new career. The skills that I'm learning now will carry me throughout my career, I'm sure.

I'm also surprised at how NOT disgusting it is. Oh sure, it's everything I expected. Plenty of poop, drool, pee, and other people-sauce to go around. But hey man...these are people...sick people that need care, that's all. Lord knows there's been some pretty nasty things come out of my body over the years that I've had to clean up.

It took me about five minutes to fall in love with our residents. I'm happy to help them. I'm grateful for their patience with me as I learn.

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I decided to become a CNA before i started my pre req's. Being a CNA is hard work especially at first, but it gets easier once you get the swing of things and get your own pace set. When i first started CNA clinical i was a little overwhelmed with everything, and at the end of the first day i wanted to run away and never go back. But i went back and then eventually i got the hang of it and now i don't think of it as hard work, maybe because I'm so used to it. I'm glad that i became a CNA before starting nursing because i can only imagine how overwhelmed i would be in nursing clinical if i was that overwhelmed in CNA clinical. I'm not saying that i am gonna be any more ahead of anyone when i finally start my program, but i have the basics like knowing how to bath,clean up,feed and overall deal with people that i wont have to worry about learning once i start actual nursing school.

As far as finding CNA programs you might want to check with your State HEALTH DEPARTMENT and/or Board of Nursing. Here in PA the PA Department of Health and the BON have info for PA CNA programs

Also if you cannot find one, you can look into group homes for the mentally retarded and disabled. There are tons of places where you don't have to be certified and what you do is take care of mentally retarded and disabled people, a lot of places out here in PA like that pay better than the facilities that hire CNA's.

Hope i could be of some help

Andy

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I was wondering how can one become a CNA? Do you have to attend a community college? Or can you just get certified independently by a hospital or a senior instead home care facility?

Thanks,

Jackie

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I am currently a CNA and love my job. Taking care of the resisdents is very rewarding and satisfying. I will finish my pre reqs up this quater and start my clinicals in the Fall. I believe that being a CNA has taught me how to cope with DEATH, Illness and difficult personalities. Also the nursing staff where I work has shown me very valuable skills and techniques that I will either be able to use in clinicals or when I graduate or both.

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i wanted to take a cna course myself while i am doing my pre reqs..just that i dont know if i can handle the work of cleaning poop,pee,etc...i sometimes think i am choosing the wrong career...

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