amlaboy

I took the course at Dunbar. It's a very good course and the instructors are both very nice and helpful. However, I have been certified since November, 2006 and am still unemployed. Go figure.

I attend TCC South and was thinking about taking a wintermester class? Has anyone ever taken one? How intensive is it?

Oh, I might add that on the 2nd to last class day, scouts came in looking for new CNAs with applications in hand. :)

It's too bad that the next class is so far away but for the price, it's worth the wait. If you want a sneak preview of the book we used, it was Mosby's Textbook for Long-Term Care Assistants (Paperback) ISBN: 0323019196. There's a workbook that goes along with it, as I mentioned. If I'm correct, it's the "background check day" that you must show up early. Once you pass the background check, you show up in a few days to a week later and pay your money and register. At that time, you will get your books. That was not the day I had to beat the crowd, but definitely be on time. A few classes later, they will get you an ID made up to wear at your clinicals. TCC South Bookstore sells the Sphygmo's for less than $25. Don't buy the poor quality ones at Walmart. Those have the stethoscopes and the sphygmo's as one unit. Yuck! You'll also need an oral digital thermometer. You'll need these items by your 2nd class. You'll need white scrubs by the first clinical date (Walmart.) For clinicals, shoes can be any color. Also, when you buy your sphygmo, make sure you don't buy the digital. We need to learn to how to read blood pressure on the dial ones. Your stethoscope can be any brand. Try ebay though. My girlfriend got a really nice Littman for less than $25 on ebay. Your A&P classes will serve you well. You'll do fine!! If you can handle A&P, CNA will be a walk in the park.

Did your book come with a CD? Mine did. It shows all the proper procedures in video form.

There was nothing hard at all about the class. If you have a basic medical background, it'll be even easier. There were some days that I actually thought it was a little too slow paced. There are 3 clinical dates towards the end of the class. My biggest problem was remembering all the Range of Movement (ROM) positions and using 12 swabs for Dependent Mouth Care. (Which swab was for which area.) Of course, I have a really poor memory. LOL We mostly used the book and hardly ever the workbook, so don't drive yourself crazy trying to get the workbook completed like I did...before class even started! I knew my TCC classes were about to start up so I finished the entire workbook before my first day of class, only to find out we only completed 2-3 pages of it. In the book though, be sure to do the questions at the end of each chapter. Maybe you could share the info she gave you in this thread for others. Good luck!!

Ok, more info. (Dunbar) The $144 also includes the fee for the state exam in addition to books. If you take a CNA class, save your receipt showing you paid for it. When you go work as a CNA, you can get reimbursed the cost of the tuition. See the link for Chapter 94. Specifically 94.3, Items P & Q. (page 9) Sweet! http://www.dads.state.tx.us/handbooks/lsna/94.pdf Good CNA information. Contact the school directly for information about their class. They will let you know when "first come, first serve" enrollment is. Be early!! They only take a certain amount of students and the number of people that show up outweighs the spots available. When I went, I was there 3 hours early...6th in line. About 80 people showed up. I think they only took 30-something students. (bring a book to read) You will need to pass a background check and then classes usually start the week after enrollment. Ok, I think I'm done now.

Oh, more info. My class was from August 15th to October 19th. You are allowed to miss no more than 2 days. Clinicals are either at Stonegate or Trinity Terrace, depending on your class/instructor. My group is the last to go for the exam. So far, everyone else has passed! If you have any particular questions, please feel free to ask.

contact information 5700 ramey avenue, suite 143e fort worth, texas 76112-7999 phone (817) 496-7688 fax (817) 492-7867 office hours: mon. to thurs. 1:00-9:00 p.m. & fri. 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. i think their new class just started. go ahead and call for information. my instructor's name was mrs. whigham. i highly recommend her. the class was an easy a. my state test is this coming sunday, the 19th. still no word on the cpr class but if i hear of anything, i'll post it. they also have medication aide training but i think you have to be a cna for 6 months or so. best of luck!

I'm currently enrolled at the one at Dunbar. It's an evening course 2X a week. It's $144 including books. You need to buy your own stethoscope, sphygmom, thermometer and scrubs (white only). When the course is over, they are offering CPR course for about $22. It should be a short course, maybe just a day or 2 long. The price of the CPR course is not set in stone yet. If you're interested, you can call the school for more information.

Wow, I wish we had something similar here in TX. LVN in 8.5 mos? Incredible. I wish I had something of value to share with you but don't. Good luck! P.S. Math stinks, doesn't it?! I have Algebra right now and it's the pits. My son had Honors Algebra last year and has been tutoring me but I still don't get it. No hope for me, I guess.

Thanks for the links but I'm not looking for a list of abbreviations. I'm looking for fonts.

When I look up medical fonts on the internet, I get fonts such as pharmacy pics and such. I'm looking for fonts such as: With (the c with a line over it), without (an s with a line over it), etc. Is this a dumb thing to ask or what? Thanks in advance. Mary

Great feedback! So which prereq books do you actually keep? I'm guessing Psych is a keeper as well as Micro , etc. What about books like Algebra, etc.?

Just wondering if anybody has a preference when buying books. Have you found that it helps to have used books that have already been highlighted and written in? If not, do you like to do your own writing in them or keep them in pristine condition. I've always tried to keep my books in good condition but someone recently told me that people actually like buying books that already have highlighting done because it saves them the time and effort of having to do it themselves. What do you think?