JC_NC2019

While I hope that this isn't the situation, I have heard of CNA testing centers intentionally failing students in order to charge for additional testing (particularly with the skills). In my state it is over $100 to do the skills test, and I have heard rumors of the testing agency actively lying about the weight of someone or the pulse rate of a person just to fail a potential CNA. Of course, these sites are reported, but these things still happen. It's sad that anybody would take advantage of a situation like that, as preparation for the CNA testing is so stressful! I am not saying that you should jump to these conclusions, but if it seems like they fail you no matter what you do, it might prove useful to switch testing centers. Different centers might also have different PPE! Best of luck with your testing! CNA work is physically taxing but very worth it!

You can definitely work in an outpatient clinic as an RN. I have worked in an outpatient setting that employed both MAs and RNs. The RN was over the MAs, and was in charge of triage. As we also had many emergent situations, the RN basically took charge during the emergent situations. Both roles were needed and appreciated. The RN made a LOT more money. Have you tried to shadow both jobs? I feel that the RN is a little more versatile than the MA. But, this may not matter if your goal is to work in a clinic.

While not separate jobs, at least in my hospital, any nurse off of orientation (6 months for ICU, 4 months for everywhere else) is able to pick up in any unit within their specialty across the entire system. The system comprises of many hospitals, including a level 3 trauma and a level 1 trauma/teaching hospital. Also, if you are an ICU nurse, you can pick up in ANY ICU, as long as the manager on that unit is willing to approve your shift. So, if you are trained in CVICU as a new grad, you can still pick up extra shifts in Trauma ICU or Neuro ICU. The same is true across Med/Surg-- cardiac tele nurses can pick up on a post-surgical floor and vice versa. Not quite a different job, but there are plenty of opportunities to learn from other units. I have also always been approved for over-time in my hospital. If a unit really needs help that week, they will pay you overtime to work their. As a result, I have been able to float to tons of different units across multiple hospitals and learn a lot along the way.

While I am just a nursing student, I agree with what the previous posters have said. I have worked for years in many settings as a CNA, and some inpatient rehab/LTAC units can have some patients that are very acute. In my rehab clinical, we had patients with chest tubes, trachs, LVADs, pleural vacs, wound vacs, and IV therapies. We also had a lot of skills like catheters, blood draws, and even the occasional code/rapid response. I actually did the in-patient rehab clinical for nursing school after working in the hospital in ICU/Med/Surg settings, and I thought that going to rehab was going to be too slow-paced and lack skills. I was definitely wrong, and I have a huge amount of respect for the rehab nurses that provide support and care throughout the rehab process. Don't knock the unit until you have seen it. Many rehab/LTAC units offer a lot of skills with acute patients. Honestly, I occasionally had sicker patients in rehab than I did in my Med/Surg CNA job. Whatever you decide, you will make a great nurse! Clearly, you care about your career and want to help others!

I am one of 2 guys working nights on my floor, and honestly, most complications come from patients and not from the fellow staff. I have always felt supported by my co-workers, but you always have those patients that assume you are a doctor because you are a man, or they assume that you want to go to medical school because you are a man. I just simply correct them, saying that I am a nurse, and shrug it off

Hey! I'm actually applying to Columbia's PhD! I too want to study LGBTQIA+ to an extent, but my emphasis is more on HIV/lack of access. I hope you get into the program! It sounds like you already have a great research foundation. I've actually heard through the grapevine (aka, my professors who applied to these programs) that some of the PhD programs in NC actually fund for much more than $20k/year. IDK if that's true, and it certainly isn't my motivator in my studies, but it's nice to know. I'd love to hear more about your background! I am still learning AN, as this is my first post, but I finally saw someone else interested in research, so I had to respond. I don't know if PM works?? Best of luck to you