HELP! Need to make decision!

[LaurynZara]

Hi all!

I have a quandary I need help to think through. I just finished up my first semester of nursing school. I have a break in between my semesters and I am in the process of getting my CNA license( which can't happen until transcripts are released and then I go take my test and get my license). In the meantime A few of my instructors have mentioned the local Phlebotomy course offered( every Saturday for a few months) as a potential course I could take and beef up my resume when applying for jobs in the summer while I finish nursing school.

MY question is: is this something worth pursuing? a phlebotomy license? I live in California btw and I really want to get employed in a hospital setting while I finish up school( not working is not an option for me). Fellow nurses and nursing students and potential nurses help me out here, is this a good avenue to pursue? Thank you all!

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

7 minutes ago, brownbook said:

I am hoping you're a Russian troll....but if not you're giving me a good chuckle.

Have you ever fed a 65 year old dementia patient who doesn't want to eat, resists and turns away every time you put the spoon near his mouth? I would love to have you come with me when I babysit my 14 year old special needs grandson. He exhibits the same behavior. And his anti seizure is mixed in with some of his food!

I REALLY can use your expertise in getting him to eat. Honestly if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Thanks in advance.

Maybe I've been feeding myself wrong??

@brownbook thank you so much, this post is exactly what I needed coming off of a long night shift.

[SilverBells, BSN]

If you're able to do both, I would think they both would be worthy of your time. CNA certification is good for perfecting basic nursing skills such as performing ADLs. Working as a CNA would also be good experience. While I earned my CNA/Hospital CNA certificates, I never actually worked as one and thus, I am not as efficient as assisting with ADLs as nurses/CNAs with that experience. Also, if your nursing school is anything like mine was, very, very little time is spent on learning phlebotomy skills. In my case, it is because our local hospital has its own phlebotomy/IV team, but if I were to want to work at other hospitals, I would be at a disadvantage because those skills would be needed and I wouldn't have them. Definitely worth checking into!

[JJBookman]

Go for it. And CNAs don’t have licenses; they have state certification.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

22 hours ago, brownbook said:

Have you ever fed a 65 year old dementia patient who doesn't want to eat, resists and turns away every time you put the spoon near his mouth?

Yes, and so has every other person who has ever had a kid, so, the majority of everyone who's ever existed. This reaction is that common. It means that they don't want to eat. You do the same thing every one of them does.... Wait a little bit then try again. These are not profound skills.

[brownbook]

1 hour ago, tonyl1234 said:

Yes, and so has every other person who has ever had a kid, so, the majority of everyone who's ever existed. This reaction is that common. It means that they don't want to eat. You do the same thing every one of them does.... Wait a little bit then try again. These are not profound skills.

Thanks so much, why didn't I think of that? You are a brilliant young CNA. I've always admired the common sense of CNA's.

[BlueShoes12, BSN, RN]

Pursue a job as a CNA, preferably in hospital if that's where you're planning to work as an RN - I'm an RN who worked as an NA in hospital during nursing school and it made a huge difference for me (I started as an NA right before starting nursing school with no prior healthcare experience). I frequently precept nursing students and it's extremely obvious which students had previous healthcare experience.

Having the basics down regarding ADLs, taking vitals, doing finger sticks, ambulating and moving patients, etc. makes a big difference. As a nursing student, you don't have to worry about being distracted by the basics and are able to focus on critical thinking: consider pathophysiology, interpret lab results, educate yourself about medication being given, etc. I always ask my students, "WHY are we performing this particular intervention as ordered? WHY are we giving this medication?" It's easy enough to learn anything in a rote process, but it's not always so easy to think on a higher level.

On another level, it's not necessarily even about the skills - it's about becoming comfortable in a hospital setting and developing the communication style necessary to interact with people who are, in some cases, living the worst days of their lives.

[Red Shirt 6, CNA]

It can be very challenging to get a hospital job as a CNA so getting additional certifications will give you an advantage.

[Orion81RN]

On 12/19/2019 at 8:52 AM, tonyl1234 said:

Not to sound like a jerk, but outside of knowing the right way for any exams or a skill test for your certification, if you don't already know how to do these basic things by adult life, you're probably a danger in nursing. I can understand needing to watch a 2 minute video on checking a blood sugar if you've never done it before, and obviously learning how to use the equipment where you're working / doing clinical, but these are incredibly basic skills that millions of people do for themselves every single day.

Sorry, but if you have to learn to put soap on someone, then rinse it off, and don't wipe their back with what you just wiped their crack with (forget the rationale behind it, just knowing "that's gross" is enough to stop pretty much everyone from ever doing that) you're not going to grasp the more complex stuff that comes with nursing.

Being a CNA did help me with my first semester and made most of it just a review for me, but after that, it doesn't do much. I'm with tons of people in clinical who never worked as an aide before, and you'd never know, because it's common sense and they're not idiots.

Body mechanics and positioning for a heavy completely non mobile trached and vented patient....is not common sense. I do private duty nursing and my patient doesn't let me change his shirt bc Im awkward at trying to do it. He cannot even hold his head up. He chooses to wait for the nurses who had plenty of experience with bed baths and changing from before becoming a nurse. I was a CNA, which was invaluable, but I worked as a sitter very part time not getting much experience. I'm the only one here. Turning him, changing him, cleaning him is still a point of anxiety for me. And I am by no means dumb, nor a danger to my patient, thank you very much.

[Megarline, CNA]

On 12/21/2019 at 2:38 PM, Orion81RN said:

Quote

Body mechanics and positioning for a heavy completely non mobile trached and vented patient....is not common sense.

As a CNA, these are kind of my patients. I was lucky to get in. Other patients are independent, limited assistance or setup help only in toileting and showering. Some are on foleys and ostomy bags. Some use urinals. It doesn't bother me either I clean them myself or not. I do clean them out properly to prevent or exacerbate infections when they're total care.

FYI, I live in a metropolitan area.

[Megarline, CNA]

On 12/19/2019 at 8:29 AM, brownbook said:

Maybe I've been feeding myself wrong?

?

[Megarline, CNA]

I'd suggest to get yourself in LTACH.

[159Nursesrule, ADN, BSN, CNA, EMT-B]

Phlebotomist vs CNA stress level would be less as a phlebotomist. I believe they also make more money?

I agree working as a CNA can open doors for future nursing positions and help develop skills.

Make sure that if you are performing tasks while working as a CNA that are RN's tasks that you have permission from your facility (in writing) as this is a liability issue should something go wrong.