Last day of work

What is your fondest memory? Rural Montana sounds interesting! What was it like?

I can't pinpoint one specific memory. Just getting appreciation for being patient with a lot of them was the best thing for me. It made all the hard stuff worth it. This is the first CNA job I've had so I really have nothing to compare it to. It's a small facility for sure and the ratios seem to be smaller than some places in bigger cities. The nice thing was I lived two blocks away so was able to go home for lunch when I got one. What I find interesting is that a majority of the residents lived in the area most of their life so they have stories to tell about this town that I am new to.

Update to this...I ended up getting hired in this same facility as an RN even before I took the NCLEX. My boss actually called me a few days before I graduated and asked if I wanted to pick up nursing shifts. As soon as I got to town we set everything up and I have been running full bore ever since. I took NCLEX this past Thursday and knew by Friday that I was officially an RN. My boss who was having to supervise me when on the floor, was very excited about this as she had to be there whenever I was working. I am just so happy I decided to get a job last summer and that they enjoyed me so much that they were willing to hire me as a new nurse. I really like being in a place where I feel wanted, even if it is not my dream job.

That's wonderful, congratulations!

Thats so awesome ruralnurse84 -- sounds like some of the great advice we get here as far as working as a CNA/LNA is very beneficial for those going on to become an RN. And you made good connections with staff who decided they wanted you to work for them! Leaps above some candidates who are still struggling to find work. You'll get valuable experience and can decide later when you want to change to a different healthcare setting to broaden your practice. Way to go ;o)!

This was great to read. I didn't particularly care for working in LTC, but I always admired and still have a lot of respect for the Nurses and aides who do. There always seemed like a nobility and self sacrifice to the work they did you don't find in a large hospital, where so many Nurses and Nursing student techs seem like ambitious prima donnas and aggressive ladder climbers, and the techs who aren't nursing students tend to be burned out, cynical and even passive aggressive.

What a happy and inspiring story, ruralnurse84. Thank you for sharing it. Congratulations on all your achievements. I'll be interested to see where your next steps take you. Like Autymfyres says, whether or not you decide to stay in LTC, you have a terrific foundation for the future. Wonderful that your transitions have been seamless. Well done.

Thank you everybody! I definitely appreciate this first opportunity and am happy that I decided to make those connections last year. It truly is worth it. It seems as if most of my classmates have also found success in finding jobs because they also worked in healthcare during school, either as a nurse extern, CNA, LPN, MA, or nurse tech. Those few that didn't work or didn't have connections seemed to have a little harder time finding a job, but I think on the whole our class has managed fairly well. Our instructors prepared us well and I know a good majority of us have already passed the NCLEX.

This is so refreshing to hear from a CNA that they were sad that a last day of work was coming because they loved their CNA job. Most of the time it is because they are unhappy that there is a last day. What a thrill as well to find out you can work there as a nurse now. The hard task of finding a job did not even have to come to you and you get to work at a place you know you love. CONGRATS