New Oncology CNA

[secretsunflower]

Hello all!

I'm a new member on this site. I joined because I just took a job as a CNA on the oncology floor of a local hospital. The floor only has solid tumor patients, and the nurses who interviewed me said the patients were usually high acuity. I'll be on the night shift from 7 pm - 7 am. As this is my first CNA job, I have no idea what to expect. I just received my CNA certification a few months ago, so I'm very new. This also makes me extremely nervous. I am finishing up my prerequisites for nursing school, and would really like to work oncology when I get my RN, so I'd like not to screw this job up. Any tips from anyone about what makes a good CNA? What can I expect to do on my work nights? Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

[Trjl]

If you are a nursing student, that alone will make you a good CNA. They are usually the best CNA's on the unit and we hate when you graduate (cause you can't help us any more). Just remember, you are the nurses right hand man so to speak. Make sure you let the nurse know when their vitals are high or low. Or even when the pt is not acting the same. If they are now having diarrhea and not before. As you work on the unit, you will learn what things to look for and what you should report. Try the best you can to get any blood sugars (if you do that at your hospital) on time. And at change of shift, try to make sure that dirty linens are put away, and wet pts are dry, etc. I think if you do not leave pts a mess first thing in the morning, hopefully the day CNA's will give you the same courtesy at he end of their shift.

I think nights, you will most likely have too many pts to feel like you can give everyone really good care. That is becoming a national problem. You just have to do the best you can. You may deal with some emotionally heavy things. Just remember that you are helping to make these peoples lives a little better by the kindness you give them when they are at a very vulnerable place. If you are in school, you may not have a lot of free time, but certainly try to do some things you enjoy to not think about what is going on at work, so you do not experience burnout before you even get to be a nurse.

Best of luck. Oncology nursing can be very rewarding. Being a CNA will also help you in nursing school, because you will see a lot of what you will be studying and that will increase your knowledge base.