Hello all, I was hoping to ask a few questions....

rivershark2005 · Nov 10, 2012

CNA as a way to LEO? Odd choice. Nothing personal. Having a good job reference is going to go a long way towards becoming a LEO. But if I may make a suggestion from experience...

If you ultimately want to be a LEO, you need to get some type of experience in a related field. Before I became a LEO, I worked a few security jobs, with my last one being fully armed. I took classes in criminal justice, I hung out with the senior officers at the department I wanted to work for, and I worked part time as a K9 trainer. I did all of this over a matter of five years. I also kept my nose clean. I also took part in SWAT operations, first volunteering as a set designer (over inflated name for basic carpenter) then as a hostage taker. While doing all of this, I obtained a couple of very nice rifles and taught myself to shoot tactically. But, my goal was to be a SWAT sniper/counter sniper. By the time I applied for an opening, the brass all knew me, the patrol officers all knew me, even the narcs knew me. I went into my first oral board with 15 letters of recommendation, ranging from the Chief himself to the LETA staff. I aced my first oral board, set the fat boy record on the obstacle course, flew through my background check, and was hired four months after I took the exam. It is a long, arduous process, but it is very rewarding. I do not work as a LEO anymore because I had to have three knee surgeries and can't pass a medical check. I miss it. I was an officer for three years, in which I had five felony collars and three deployments as a SWAT team member.

I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming a CNA. But the fields are in no way related. You need to consider your final goal and take steps to achieve that.

uRNmyway, ASN, RN · Nov 10, 2012

Hello everyone, my name is Steve(I assume first names are ok) and I am a PC technician. Where I am located in Northern New England there are not many jobs in my field, so I have been debating trying out another. My ultimate goal is to become a law enforcement officer, and I figured maybe experience as a caregiver or at least general medical experience would help me attain that goal.
I guess the place to start would be with what I am interested in, which is a CNA certification. I know that many of my questions could probably be answered with a internet search, but there are so many conflicting answers and generalities that I figured I would ask the experts and maybe get a few direct answers.
I know the basic idea of what a CNA is expected to do, but are there any specifics to expect, or specific job types to look for? How hard is the actual CNA to get? How long would it take, and how much would it cost(I would prefer to forgo college as I am still paying off the loans I have now)? What is it actually like on the job? Anything else I should know?
I am sure the answers will lead me to ask more questions, and I thank you for your time. -Char

I'm going to agree with the previous poster that a CNA position is a strange path to law enforcement.

As far as what is expected of you as a CNA, it completely depends on the facility, the department, and from my understanding, state. For experience, I would probably go for a job in hospital, but that is just me. You might consider ER or trauma, as that would expose you to things you might encounter as a first responder.

Depending on where you are located, CNA classes might be anywhere from months, to a few weeks. My employer has a CNA program, it is 15 days, and costs like 950$. Then you take the state boards.

As far as how things are, it totally depends on the facility and department.

rivershark2005 · Nov 14, 2012

Seems the OP has disappeared. Perhaps he/she changed their mind.