Is it the best?! HELP!

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2011

hi everyone! so, i'm new here and trying to get the gist of this site. but, anywho, i'm currently a junior in high school ( school is closed today so that is why i'm writing this thread:d) and i am in a magnet program for allied health (cna). i am qualified to get my cna due to me passing off last years requirements for my sophomore year which was to pass all midterms and finals with at least a c and same goes for each semester grade, and passing the certification in basic health science (which i passed yay! and barely people passed it). okay back to what i am saying is i have some questions on the cna and rn profession. i already know these two professions are two different things.
okay for the cna questions-
1.) what units can a cna work in?
[color="blue"]depends on the facility- most cnas work in nursing homes. hospitals usually have patient care tecnicians- who can draw blood and do ekgs

2.) what is the average pay for a cna in ut or md? ( i live in md and i'm either going to go to college in md or ut).

3.) what is the age a cna can start working at in md?
check with the state labor board :)

4.) is it worth becoming a cna and then advancing to become a rn?
[color="blue"]yes.....being a cna gives you great experience with people and time management

5.)is there any other information to know before thinking twice about doing my cna this year?
you have to be able to work in very difficult and hard physically demanding situations.... and you can't take it personally when someone with dementia gets upset- they can't help it..and sometimes, they're just really stressed out....it's not always about you :)

6.) what's the usual work schedules for a cna?
varies with the facility.

7.) what is the worst and best units to work as a cna?
whatever you can get :)

okays know for rn questions-
1.) what is better to do get your adn or bsn? or like going to 2 yr college and transferring to a 4yr college?
i went to an adn program and never regretted it- some places in the country don't care if you have a bsn- many do.

2.) if i went to a hospital and told them i have a cna and i am going to a 4 yr school to be a rn will the pay for my education?
some will- but then you will owe them a certain number of years working for them, or you have to repay the loan. some nursing home chains also do this - not just hospitals

3.) what is the worst unit to work in and the best to work in as a rn?
it depends on what you like- and you may not know that until after you start working (i hated geriatrics in school-- but loved working in nursing homes and with older patients as an rn :)

4.) do you regret or wish you didn't become a rn? or do you have a passion for it?
no regrets at all... "passion"- kind of- i wanted to be a nurse to work with people, and make hard times a bit easier...

5.) do you get breaks?
on a good day !!!. you may not get more than a quick chance to snarf down a quick sandwich- if breaks are a big deal, do not go into healthcare

6.) what are the possible schedules for an rn?(as in shifts-hours-etc.)
too many to list- it all depends on where you work....office, hospital, nursing home, long term acute care, rehab, psych, drug/alcohol rehab (i loved that one!), private duty, agency, traveler, etc

7.) is the nicu hard to get in and if they aren't hiring then what is the best to go to if you want to be a nicu nurse and same for cna?
i don't know how many cnas get into nicus... i thought i wanted nicu- ended up hating it when i floated there 17 years after becoming a nurse. you can't go into nursing just for one specialty, and refuse to work wherever you need to until a place opens up. i don't know if new nurses get hired in nicu- it's a very sensitive area to work in- those little ones need someone with a lot of expertise. new grads need to either be in a large hospital with a big teaching base, or get experienced in pediatrics (pedi icu is also a specialty), and then hopefully transfer. nurses don't just get to pick what they want when they graduate- they take what they can get these days.

8.) how do you know what you truly want to specialize in or what unit you love to most?
[color="blue"]work in different areas, and decide for yourself :)

9.) if i wanted to get my masters, could i become a np and still be able to teach nursing? ( i want to get my masters like after 3-6 yrs of working as a rn).
don't know that one...

10.) anything i should know about being a rn?
it's very hard work. you have to do a lot of things that are gross, stink, look disgusting, feel horrible, watch people die, work with unpleasant patients, families, and co-workers, etc- like any job, there are good and bad things about it. you have to be willing to put up with the lousy stuff- there's no way around that :)

11.) what is stress factor if you are a nicu nurse or any kind of nurse?
physically it can hurt your muscles a lot. co-workers can be a pain. doctors can be a pain. management in the facility can be very unappreciative. if you don't like dealing with really cruddy parts of people's lives, nursing isn't going to be very pleasant. with nicu- you have to remember that for all of the success stories, there are babies who have horrible problems, and die. nicu nurses have to deal with dead babies, and the terrible pain that causes their families- and you can't deal with your own pain until after you've helped the family....

thanks for answering my questions, i know it's a pain in the butt to answer them! but, it is so much better to research and get different answers from people working in the medical field. so any how, i'll be looking forward to seeing all of your answers:d

thanks so much!
~kayla:lol2:

best of luck :)

if you don't like to deal with some really unpleasant things, you may want to try out being a cna, and see if nursing looks like something you want to do. it won't be a total picture of nursing since nurses have a lot more responsibility- but cnas are extremely important to healthcare- and will give you an idea, before spending years on an education you may end up hating. nurses still have to do the gross stuff (often in ltc- nursing homes , the nurses have a lot of stuff to do and aren't always able to help with cleaning up poopy patients- but that doesn't mean they don't still have to at times, and many do)- so if a cna goes to nursing school thinking they're going to never have to clean up a mess, forget it !!! nurses have that, plus a whole lot more they have to do, that isn't at all pleasant.

Jenni811, RN · Aug 30, 2011

1.) What is better to do get your ADN or BSN? Or like going to 2 yr college and transferring to a 4yr college?

They are both equal. None is better than the other. You being young, i would suggest going for BSN. you will be more marketable and if you ever wanted to go back for masters it would be easier to get into grad school.

2.) If I went to a hospital and told them I have a CNA and I am going to a 4 yr school to be a RN will the pay for my education?

No. They will not pay for your education. Hospitals used to do tuition reimbursement after you graduate, but with the economy the way it is they do not do that anymore. It is actually pretty difficult to even find a job as a new graduate. Hospitals really want nurses with experience, so the difficult part as a new grad is finding a hospital that will give you any experience. sometimes that means getting paid really crappy. For example, i was a new grad last year and i accepted an offer for HALF of what my mom makes. We do the same exact thing.

3.) What is the worst unit to work in and the best to work in as a RN?

There is not "best unit" and "worst unit" it is a personal choice of what you want. I personally could not work in hospice/oncology. it is emotionally draining to me. this does not mean it is a bad floor to work on, it is just my personal choice. Same with Labor and Delivery. i personally think its the worst place to work on, but some other people LOVE IT. You will learn in your clinicals which units you like, what kind of patients you like. It may surprise you, so don't rule anything out.

4.) Do you regret or wish you didn't become a RN? Or do you have a passion for it?

Sometimes i ask myself what the heck i was thinking, but then i get days at work where i get close with a patient or a patients family then i remember why. i don't ever regret the decision i made. Maybe at times at work i'm getting frustrated with a patient, or a certain situation but i don't regret what i went to school for.

5.) Do you get breaks?

Most of the times yes, you will get some sort of break. it may be 5 minutes or it may be 30 minutes. I personally cannot take a break knowing i have a million things to do. Some nurses don't have a problem leaving their patients when there is a lot to do. My coworkers are always willing to step in. if they see im getting tired, and need a break they will ask "What can i do for you so you can go on break?" in this case, you take up that offer and delegate tasks. But for me, personally there are times i do not get a break or don't get one till really late. (i start at 630 am and sometimes don't take my lunch or "breakfast" break until 3 or 4pm)

6.) What are the possible schedules for an RN?(As in shifts-hours-etc.)

Depends on where you work. if you get an office job, probably 8-5 monday through friday. Or, i work in the hospital and i work 12 hour shifts. so i work either 6:30am-7pm or 6:30pm-7am. I work anywhere from 3-5 days a week. Often times i will get a whole entire week off without it affecting my paycheck. Some nurses work 8 hour shifts, but then they work more often. So they will work from 6:30am-3pm or 2:30pm-11pm or 10:30pm-7am.

7.) Is the NICU hard to get in and if they aren't hiring then what is the best to go to if you want to be a NICU nurse and same for CNA?

yes. usually a NICU will not take a new grad. that is the same for any intensive care unit. It requires a very high level of thinking and multitasking. These skills develop as you become an RN on another unit. My suggestion? go into a med/surg floor, learn the basics for 5+ years. Maybe go into a pediatric floor, which sometimes can be difficult as a new grad as well. Any OB/Labor and delivery can be difficult for a new grad to.

8.) How do you know what you truly want to specialize in or what unit you love to most?

Like i said before, you learn during your clinicals what you want. You are only in high school, so don't tell yourself "NICU is what i want and i don't want anything else" because the reality of it is, you are probably not going to get into NICU for a while. So go into it with an open mind, with the mind set that you might like this clinical. a GOOD nursing school will go through pediatrics, post partum, labor and deliver, med/surg, critical care, clinic nursing, public health, psychiatric nursing, geriatrics etc.

9.) If I wanted to get my masters, could I become a NP and still be able to teach nursing? ( I want to get my masters like after 3-6 yrs of working as a RN).

It would be very very difficult as both jobs are extremley time consuming. It would be hard to dedicate yourself to both, as well as have a family if this is what you want to do in the future.

10.) Anything I should know about being a RN?

it is a rewarding job :)

11.) What is stress factor if you are a NICU nurse or any kind of nurse?

i don't know about NICU nursing, but i work in cardiology& pulmonary med/surg. Most stressful part is the high demands on the nurse. hard to explain until your into it.

KaylaBrooke1695 · Aug 30, 2011

Actually, I do know Pediatrics and the NICU are actually really hard to get in because lots of people want to go to those Units. I do have my mind open to other things like Cardio, but I do know I don't want to do ER/Trauma/OR because I can't stand major gory things...I can deal with certain things, but I don't think I would like to see a person with lets say an eye ball hanging from their socket, but overall I do have a strong stomach.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2011

I'm just an ADN of 26 years,....but even I know that a BSN is more marketable - doesn't mean you have to get it at first- but in the end, in today's economy, being more marketable will definitely help... you could work for your BSN after the ADN- but you want to go on for your masters anyway, so doesn't sound like stopping at an ADN is an issue. :) I never needed anything but an ADN, and I got into management and supervisory positions (part of the country is a factor, also).

And, check with nursing homes about tuition reimbursement- "NO" isn't a universal answer :)

KaylaBrooke1695 · Aug 30, 2011

Okie dokie's. Plus, when I am a Senior next school year I will be doing community college for half a day and I can start next summer, and I was thinking to start working on pre-reqa for my nursing degree, which can help me knock out lots of money and credits for when I go to University (I hope lol).

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2011

Sounds like you've got some great plans :)

KaylaBrooke1695 · Aug 30, 2011

I hope so...and I want to start sooner because I'll be 16 in November and once your 16 you can start community college but have to take the ACT. But, I'll probably wait until this school years up to do a heavy load in the summer and try to get a job at Quest as a temp (and my grandmother works there so she is going to help me land a job), and so yeah.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2011

If you can get chemistry, microbiology, and/or anatomy & physiology out of the way, it will help :)

KaylaBrooke1695 · Aug 30, 2011

yep and that's what I am planning to do and get maybe some maths and English too.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Aug 31, 2011

Check with your state. Some states require you to be 18 years old to become/work as a CNA. Some states CNAs are under the board of nursing, other states CNAs are under the Dept of Health or other division.

KaylaBrooke1695 · Sep 2, 2011

Check with your state. Some states require you to be 18 years old to become/work as a CNA. Some states CNAs are under the board of nursing, other states CNAs are under the Dept of Health or other division.

I do know that my program is under the board of nursing, and I'll make sure to see what the age is.