lvmama

I just wanted to follow up with this thread and post my own issues with them so any newbies don't bother! I ordered several sets of Cherokee scrubs awhile back because like OP said, the prices were good. I didn't bother to read any fine print because frankly I didn't think it was necessary (duh). The scrubs were slow in arriving, but also didn't fit me the way I liked so I wanted to return them. I then found out they charge a FIFTEEN PERCENT restocking fee for returns!!! The email I received when I requested an RMA was horrible with incorrect grammar, intermittent punctuation and poor spelling. I did FINALLY get my refund, but like I said, with a deduction of that 15% restocking fee. Personally I have NEVER come across a clothing site with a restocking fee. Electronics and the like, yes.. but clothing? Give me a break. I'm never shopping there again. Grrr.

I love my Danskos, but like I said in the other thread, I don't think they make the Professionals in wide. I do have several pairs of them that I wear for "good" occasions... most Sundays I end up standing for an hour while holding a 30# toddler on my hip, and while normally my feet would be killing me, they don't bother me at all. I had to laugh when someone said their shoes were "dumpster-sized" -- my work Crocs are also a size 9 and my husband calls them my "bo-bo shoes" and asks where my horn is... ROFL.

I love my Danskos, but unfortunately I haven't found the Professionals in a wide yet. In all my other pairs (my church shoes, basically) the saleswoman has always told me the same thing about the way they fit. It takes some getting used to when you're used to your shoes fitting snugly, but they're worth it. :)

I'd buy shoes you're going to be comfortable in, because "just 6's or 8's" will absolutely kill you if your feet hurt. You'll be ready to cry by the 3rd hour on your feet. Try a pair of white tennis shoes out on a weekend excursion with a lot of walking.. you know, those days when you go sightseeing and don't sit down for the majority of the day. That will tell you whether they'll be good for clinicals or not. :)

Congrats!! I hope (like me) you'll find that when you spend SO much time with your classmates every week you become kind of like a little family. It makes it so much easier when you're comfortable with your classmates and you have each others backs. :)

I work part-time in a LTC facility in PA and I started at $15.25/hr for 2nd shift. I believe 3rd shift is more and 1st is less. I couldn't live on what most of the other places were offering.

I wish I could hug every person contributing to this thread! I had a brief pow-wow with my friend in the class who got sent to our other clinical location, and she said the same thing I did -- so I don't feel so bad about my getting sick over it. Unfortunately, our instructors are like drill sergeants, and while I think I could get away with a mask in the "real" world -- they'd freak if we tried that while on clinicals, since they'd find it degrading to the patient. I thought of something else I can try -- I'm a rep for Body Shop at Home, and we have these little bottles of tea tree oil (which if you've ever smelled, is a VERY strong smell) and I have the hand sanitizer. Maybe I'll see if a little dab of that under my nose might help. Of course, with the Hall's or the Altoids too.. ROFL! I just NEED to get through this, and I KNOW I can do it...thank you all for your suggestions and kind words. :redbeathe

I was thinking that too.. but besides.. if I breathe though my mouth, my Altoid or Hall's might fall out...

See, that's where my partner tweaked, since that was REALLY bad too (we actually think they hadn't been brushing her teeth.. she has a very weird rigidity to her mouth.. it stayed in the same position, half open -- never really closing all the way -- I'm not a nurse, so I have no idea what you'd call that) I think it's entirely possible the staff there just decided it was too much trouble to do or something. This same woman had about a stage 3 bedsore on her bottom too -- which in my book is just inexcusable.. ugh. Anyway, thank you. I feel better knowing that other people started in the same boat. I think it's hard for our instructors, since they've been nurses for like.. 30, 40 years... and some of the other students have experience.. but the rest of us have gone from doing ONE practice peri-care on a mannequin straight to an explosive very real messy behind. I have no doubt I'll work through it, but it's so discouraging to just have her look at me like "you're such a baby" because it made me sick the first go-around.

I don't have my book right in front of me, and I worked all day, so I'll try to remember accuratley.. LOL... Put the cuff on, locate the radial pulse, pump it up until you can no longer FEEL the radial pulse with your fingers. Deflate the cuff. Locate the brachial pulse, apply stethoscope, pump the cuff back up to +30 mmHg from whatever number the radial disappeared at... slowly release the air and listen for the standard starting/stopping sounds to determine systolic & diastolic numbers. We're required to do it this way.. and it just seems silly to me.

Anyone else doing these? I was told that in PA they're going to be making it the standard for nursing students to learn. It seems like an extra waste of time... but.. eh.

I'm planning to be an RN, but I've met plenty of people recently who have been CNA's for anywhere from 14-20 years, and they love doing just that. I think it's like anything else - just personal preference.

Ours are at a nursing home/assisted living/senior apt. conglomerate, but we've only been on the LTC floor. I know the hospital here does classes too, but they only let CNA's on the transitional care unit.

I thought I'd put this here, since you guys have so much more experience, even though I'm only training as a CNA right now. We're doing clinicals in a LTC facility, and today was the first time I got to change a brief (whee! how exciting!) Now, I'm not squeamish.. the idea of poop doesn't bother me, seeing the poop.. whatever. I'm good. But today the smell just hit me.. and I actually had to bolt and leave my partner there because I thought I was going to vomit. I was SO embarrassed because it was like.. a reflex. My supervising RN just looked at me and said (quite snottily) "and you have THREE kids?!" Sorry lady, but this was no baby poopie! What do you veterans do to deal with the awful smell? Resident was on tons of meds and pureed diet, so it was REALLY terrible. I feel so bad, because it's not like I was consciously saying "ew" or something. Is there a trick to this?

I start classes on the 22nd. I'm SO excited! I ordered my scrubs last night, and I have to go shoe-shopping this weekend. I also need to get 2 TB tests done (why 2? I mean, hello? Do I sound consumptive?!) and dig out my immunization records.. I feel like I have SO much to do in so little time. But I'm really excited. I met with the head of the nursing department at the school I'm training at last night, and she gave us a tour of the lab and stuff. We have this really awesome computerized dummy that apparently does everything short of make dinner. I'm tickled that I'll get to play with him soon. I do have a concern.. I don't know if you'd even CALL it a concern.. but she said we'll be practicing skills on each other, which is obviously fine and all.. but she even made a mention that it's a REAL bathroom in the classroom.. uhmm.. am I going to have to get toileted or something by another student? :uhoh21: I don't remember signing up for taking MY clothes off. I know, I sound ridiculous, but it's just a weird concern. Anyway, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! :yeah: