Not a CNA or EMT....can i still be a good nurse?

[Gannon1qb]

Hello all....I keep thinking that becasue im not a CNA or im not an EMT that i will not do good in nursing school or be a good nurse when im out.

For some reason im thinking that i have to be a CNA first..i dotn know why. I do work in a nursing home but not as a CNA. I order and stock all of the medical supplies, i do some transporting, & i do some medical billing. But i feel like i should be a CNA or EMT before i enter nursing school. Is this true?

[samclaug]

I start nursing school Aug 20th and I have been a little worried about this too. I have a previous degree in social work and I am hoping that helps some. It doesnt help that I recently had CNA tell me that they thought it should be required for nursing students to be a CNA first and said that they wished they could be there the first time I had to deal with something that smelled. I know i am smart enough and am just hoping that my strong will and desire to be a nurse will make the difference!

[stpauligirl]

I start nursing school Aug 20th and I have been a little worried about this too. I have a previous degree in social work and I am hoping that helps some. It doesnt help that I recently had CNA tell me that they thought it should be required for nursing students to be a CNA first and said that they wished they could be there the first time I had to deal with something that smelled. I know i am smart enough and am just hoping that my strong will and desire to be a nurse will make the difference!

While lworking on your social work degree you most likely have aquired excellent communication skills which is VERY important in nursing. Like someone else said, we all bring special talents with us depending on our age, cultural background and life experience. WE all have our strengths and weaknesses.

Smelly stuff.....if you ever had a puppy, cats or a baby you should be fairly hardened. I will never forget to be stuck in a traffic jam with my son in the back seat puking after a 4th of July celebration in the sweltering Texas heat, he went on too many spinning rides

[grace90, LPN, LVN]

Nah, not necessarily. We had several waitresses in our class, and our instructor told us that waitresses often make great nurses because they're so used to multi-tasking and keeping track of several people's needs at one time.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Hello all....I keep thinking that becasue im not a CNA or im not an EMT that i will not do good in nursing school or be a good nurse when im out.

For some reason im thinking that i have to be a CNA first..i dotn know why. I do work in a nursing home but not as a CNA. I order and stock all of the medical supplies, i do some transporting, & i do some medical billing. But i feel like i should be a CNA or EMT before i enter nursing school. Is this true?

Oh, my goodness, if I had believed that would be a requirement for success, I might never have gone on to be the nurse I am today :)

My only experience with nursing prior to entering school for that very goal was to be a patient a few times myself! In hindsight, it's NICE to have CNA experience, because then the fundamental clinical components would have come easier to me, I think. I learned in class, though, and that was that.

I have never been an EMT or anything remotely close. I WAS able to adequately stick on a bandaid when necessary. But I have been told that I'm pretty good at what I do, as an RN now, so I guess all the fancy experiences some others brought to the table didn't matter much in the end.

Go for it. Study, pay attention, be helpful and friendly, volunteer for new experiences. And then graduate and pass NCLEX, because I could use a few more co-workers! :)