With all due respect, you can not go into nursing with the mind thought that you will only EVER take care of a certain population. This is not at all realistic. I'm NICU nurse and the standard to entry is at least 3-5 years experience on a medical surgical floor, which will include caring for people of adults of ALL ages with a wide variety of health issues. Most schools now require this certification which is good, because in all actuality one can say they want to be a nurse but lack real life experience to back up their desire. CNA work provides this experience and a lot of other skills (both physical and interpersonal).