Just got my CNA certification! Scared as heck!

[lattefanatic]

Hello Everyone!!!

I hope all of you are doing lovely!

I just joined allnurses about 5 minutes ago, but have been following for some time now. So excited to meet all of you!

I am a career changer and plan on attending school in the fall for Speech Language Pathology and plan on concentrating in clinical/hospital setting upon graduating. I thought while in school I should start to gain some patient experience. So I went for CNA training and thought about adding the Rehad Aide cert later on. Besides working with patients, I also wanted a flexible schedule. My classes in the fall are right smack in the middle of the day (12-3pm or 12-5pm) as you can see, not much time for work. I thought CNA would be perfect. Long story long, I came home today to find my test results in the mail. I passed my CNA exam!! What is the problem you may ask? Fear. Well, during clinicals I started to gag big time every time we had a messy or "active" diaper change at the nursing home. I mean, I left the room and gagged in the corridor and left my classmate there with the resident. I know, I am not proud of those moments, it's horrible and I tried to keep it together as much as possible, but it still happened. I don't know what to think. I love people and I have a professional mindset when in comes to work, but I worry I may not perform well if hired as a CNA due to my gag reflex. Has anyone struggled with this issue as well? Any nuggets of wisdom are highly appreciated.

Many Thanks!

Lattefanatic

[MissChristi86]

congrats! what skills did you have to demonstrate?

[want2beagreatRN]

Hey! My best advice is just to keep some strong minty gum on hand. It helps me to kind of mask those unpleasant smells.......congrats on your new CNA title!! Good luck with everything you do!

[lattefanatic]

Thank you both MissChristi86 and want2beagreatRN ! Best wishes for you both in your future endeavors!!

Thanks for the gum idea! I hope that works, I'm going to find the strongest gum on the planet!!! It seems so petty to me to have such a strong reaction and even be afraid to apply for cna jobs out of fear of feces! Mind over matter I guess. I want to do this work and help people. I hope I can find the courage to stop being a wimp and stay professional.

To answer your question MissChristi86, my exam was just a written test. The only time I had to demonstrate the skills was during clinicals. My teacher had to watch us do all of the skills and then would sign off on them. If she was not there, no one got a skill signed off.