aundrea543

I just want to thank the op and all who have commented. I'm in a similar situation and this thread has helped :bowingpur Thank you

I struggled with BP during classes and had to inflate 3 times on the State exam before I got it right. Haven't found a job yet, so I'm trying to keep up on the skill by practicing at home, and I've definately improved. I recommend you buy a cuff and practice on friends, family, and anyone lese who'll lend you their arm. You can get one @ http://www.allheart.com/aneroidbp.html Good luck :wink2:

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/cna/lst_training.pdf you can try looking here :) hope this helps and good luck

it definately depends on the employer, but just an fyi here is some info from the fl dept. of health. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/cna/cna-faqs.htm "q. are there instances where i may begin my employment as a nursing assistant prior to obtaining certification? a. yes, there are three (3) exceptions which allow you to work for a maximum of four (4) months (120 days) while awaiting receipt of your florida certification: (1) applicants enrolled in or have completed a state approved program, or (2) applicants who have been verified as being actively certified in another state, or (3) applicants who have preliminarily passed the state exam but have not yet received the certificate. (see 400.211, f.s.) all of these are at the determination of the employer." hope this helps, and good luck :)

Can anyone atleast point me in the right direction?? I'm still stumped on this one.

I have a general ? about working as a CNA hired privately by a family. To give you some background, I recently became certified in FL, and there is a possible opportunity for me to get paid by a family (federally funded) to "hang out" with their daughter who has disabilities. She is legally blind and is unable to get up from her wheelchair without assistance. I would basically be her chauffeur, and assist her to use the bathroom. Other than that I would mostly be keeping her company... I almost feel bad... like I would be getting paid to be her friend.:innerconf My ? is if I do decide to take this opportunity and work for the family privately... how do I prove I'm working as a CNA when the time comes to renew my license? Might be a silly ? but I've never done anything like this before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I tried to find some answers on the FL dept of Health website, but nothing really cleared it up for me... thanks in advance for any responses.

I just finished CNA classes and have no work experience yet... but during our clinicals in the nursing home my classmates and I have a pretty hilarious story when it comes to a particular resident. We'll call her Mrs. D. The classmate this involves is a 6'2" african american woman.... we'll call her S S was giving Mrs. D a bed bath and they were sharing stories about their families.... S had mentioned her husband... Mrs. D says "Husband? you need to drop those old balls and get yourself a woman" S didn't know how to respond and just kept on with the bed bath... later that evening Mrs. D's call light was on. Another girl from my class popped in to see what she needed. Mrs. D said to her "Where's that black Stallion?" :roll we all just about peed ourselves! S has a really good sense of humor and did not take offense to this. She probably laughed harder than we did... otherwise it would not have been funny.

Congrats! and Kudos to you on the decision for a career change. You are obviously going to be great with this as you truly have compassion. Congrats again and keep us posted on your progress

:anpom::hpygrp::ancong!::hpygrp::anpom: CONGRATS TO YOU BOTH!!!

i 100% agree i passed my cna skills exam with flying colors but i can promise you i wouldn't have done as well (or even passed at all) if i didn't take the class. you really learn better with hands on experience both in the lab at school and the real deal at clinicals. worth the extra $$ to know you'll do it right.

no problem. happy to help. starting pay all depends on your emplyer of course, but from what i've been hearing in my general area (sw fl - port charlotte) it ranges from $11.00 - $15.00 our instructor said that home health agencies typically pay better than nursing homes, and the other plus is you set your own schedule with hh. i'm not sure what hospitals pay... not too many good ones in/near my little town and not easy to get hired in one as a cna... being from orlando, you'll probably have better luck with it, and the pay ranges may be a little more. good luck

something else to keep in mind is that as a nurse you'll have cna's working under you. if you've done what they do, you'll appreciate them more and not become a "high and mighty" sort of nurse. just my good luck and congrats on being accepted to ns

from what i understand in fl you can challange the cna state exam without taking any courses at all. if you truly wanted to you could go to http://www.prometric.com/nurseaide/fl.htm you'll find a clinical skills checklist and other information. print the checklist, memorize it, watch the video lessons that are posted in the sticky on this forum if you need to refresh the skills a little more. https://allnurses.com/forums/f265/free-full-cna-video-course-191189.html watch the videos, practice the skills, apply for the test on the prometric site i gave you. that will get you the certificate. but i strongly advise against it. if you take an accredited course you will aslo recieve cpr cert, hiv/aids cert, and are considered employable the moment you pass your course and state exam. i work full time too, and just completed a cna course at a local vocational school that offered night/weekend classes and clinicals. if that is an option for you i would recommend it over challanging the state test and then getting your other certificates seperately. good luck with youre decision... hope this info helps.

like the other posters here have said... i don't know that any of these things would prevent you from being able to do the job... but remember that home health is an option as a cna and might be a better pace for you if you have doubts. good luck with your decision. :)

Great advice! Exactly what I would suggest