JinBun77

I passed, passed, passed. So excited. It was a little nerve racking not knowing what skills I was going to do , but when the examiner finally gave them to me, I was like "well alrighty then." It was very easy and not as stressful as I thought. As for the exam. Some of the questions are a little iffy but I passed so that's all that matters. YAY!

Hi Restoration, I started my CNA classes about a week ago and I absolutely :redbeathe it! A lot of the course work is common sense but as you go through the skills like full patient bed bath, perennial care and so forth, it is a lot to remember. Just take lots of notes and you will be fine. We started off with basic patient care, nursing assistant scope of practice (what we are and aren't allowed to do), infection control and so forth. This week we are on to our CPR certifications, skills practice, charting, etc. It all depends on the school you are attending and their curriculum. I was so nervous when I walked into the class the first day, but I am, like I said :redbeatheing it! I cannot wait to start the clinical part of the course, I am sure it's going to be very different from working on a dummy! I wish you the best of luck and have fun!

Thanks 8mpg, I appreciate the advise. I did sign up for a CNA training program that is a couple weeks long. Once I have that, then I will approach hospitals before attending nursing school. The PCT class was just too expensive and way to long and seemed like they were only after my money. Thanks for all your help

Hi All, I do agree with everyone above. I am keeping my job while going to CNA classes at night. Then I am going to work my full time job during the day and hopefully pick up some part time hours as a CNA just until i feel comfortable and know that this is what I want to do :-) I know it is but I understand how everyone feels above. Thanks for all the insight guys!

mikejjmay, I too am a career changer and taking a huge pay cut. I have spoken it through with my husband and I am basically keeping my full time job during the day, taking CNA classes at night. Once I get my certification, the I am going to work full time during the day and work part time as a CNA (weekends, nights, etc.) I will also be doing my nursing pre-reqs online as much as possible and prepare myself, my family and my budget for the transition into the full time nursing program. Good Luck!

Well that's not very good now is it! I took a tour of my CNA school yesterday and they are pretty stict about being to class late and actually suggested that people arrive 10 - 15 minutes early for the class. I would maybe see if this happens next week and then definitely report it. If you do not get the time, and training you need, then you are the one that is going to fail not your teacher ..... I hope it gets better. Good Luck!

Thanks for the clarification. I decided to go with the CNA certification and then get a job in a local hospital. I have also been looking into a phlebotomy class just in case I need that little bit of something on my resume to make me stand out from the rest. I am so excited to start my NEW journey as a CNA but I have to wait until January but in the end it will all work out Thanks for all your help!

Hi All, I am so excited. I signed up today for my CNA class and it starts January 4. If anyone in Texas is interested, I am going to Elite Nurse Aide Academy in Hurst, TX. They are the nicest people ever, affordable and the top ranked CNA school in Texas. I will keep you updated ..... TTYL

Hi All, I have been browsing around the boards and cannot find any information. Does anyone know what the difference between these two certifications? I went to PCI Health in Dallas and they want a large amount of money to get a PCT certificate but most jobs are asking for CNA certs. AAARRRgghhhh this is so confusing. I want to work in a hospital until I am ready to attend nursing school and not sure which route to go. One take 6 months to do the other takes 3-6 weeks. PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks, I happened to stumble upon TCU yesterday. These schools definitely do not make it easy to find this sort of program. Don't suppose there are any other schools in the area? It's sucks to be limited to those two schools only ....

Wow! I am so happy to read your post. I too thought that I was the only one that would give up my good paying job to do CNA then RN. Most of my family also think I am crazy but for years I have been wanting to get into health care and thought I was too stupid to do it. We just relocated to a new area as my husband just got out for the military and now that he is getting settled in his new job, it is MY TURN! I am too sick of sitting on my butt all day doing the same thing over and over again. I wish you the best of luck and keep us posted!

Hi All, I have a couple questions. I recently just moved to Arlington, TX and looking for a CNA/PCT training program that is available in the evenings or on the weekend. I found one place, Tarrant County College but I am sure that there are more options out there. Can anyone make any suggestions? I am a career change from Recruiting/Human Resources to my long life dream of being a Nurse, please help :-)

Hi All, I am currently finishing up my Bachelors in Health Care Administration with a 3.8 GPA. My ultimate goal is to be an RN but I cannot seem to find any information in the local area (Arlington, TX) about schools that offer an accelerated program. Does anyone know of any schools? I am also enrolled in Tarrant County College to finish up my prereqs and will be doing a phlebotomy and CNA class pretty soon. As you can see I am doing anything and everything to get into the health care field. This is a huge career change for me but I have this passion and decided that I was sick of waiting and it was time for me to do what I want to do! When i moved to Arlington about 3 weeks ago, I applied for alot of hospital positions but everyone seemed to tell me that I don't have the experience. I have a TON of admin but no actual hospital experience. I tried for Unit secretary, admission, etc. OMG, I don't know what to do next? Does anyone have advice or suggestions on schools, or how to get my foot in the door at a hospital and so forth? Any and all help is greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance :loveya:

Good Morning All, I am currently a Healthcare Administration student and I have been given an assignment:typing to interview a Nursing Manager or other manager within healthcare field for my assignment due on Thursday. I have been everywhere to try and do this and no one can help me out . I live in a very small town so there is not much out here. So I am reaching out to a generous manager out there that can answer a few questions for me. Nothing personal. Please PM so that I can send you the questions. Thanking you in advance TXNurse77

Hi All, I have always wanted to be a nurse and have put it off for many years now. I have finally taken the steps to get back into this field. I am currently finishing up my BA in Health Care Administration and should be done with that by June 2009. I want to get straight into a nursing program ADN/ASN and I know that there are a bunch of pre-requisites that need to be taken. I was thinking of taking some pre-req classes on the side (paying for them myself) while doing my BA to get them done. Has anyone done this ? I am concerned that if I take the a local college won't accept them or will they ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated:)

Hi All, So I am finishing up my BS in Healthcare Administration and want to eventually become a Nurse. I cannot start a nursing program until my husband (active military) gets out next year and we eventually settle down in one town (we move around alot). I am going to start doing my pre-requisites online to get ahead but do you recommend going for a ASN or an accelerated BS-BSN ? I think you can complete a BS-BSN in the same amount of time as an ASN ..... If anyone can help that would be great :nuke:

Hi All, I am new to the all nurses forum and have thoroughly enjoyed reading all your posts and comments. This seems like a great place to get to know people and also get some great information on nursing. Let me tell you a little about my situation ... I am 30 years old with 2 young children (3 and 8 weeks). I currently work in the Human Resources/Recruiting field and am sick and tired of doing a desk job just becuase. It has always been my dream to be a Nurse but never had the time to get it done as I have to work full time and cannot just give up my job. So I finally decided to just do something for myself and suck it up :nuke: So I am currently finishing up by BS in Healthcare Administration and want to start taking all my pre-requisites for nursing online. My husband is active duty military and will be getting out august 2009 and we will FINALLY be settling in one town and stay there. So i want to do all my pre-requisites for nursing and then get either 1) ADN or 2) BSN. I have read that many places offer an accelerated BS to BSN program but you have to have all the pre-requisites. Does anyone know of colleges ONLINE that offer AP I and AP II with online labs that I could go to and do all my pre-requisites ? I want to sign up at the college and complete all these classes and then transfer them to a college in the town that we eventually settle down in so that I can finish up the BSN/ADN program ? I hope someone can help because all of this is sooooo confusing and i just don't know where to start .... oh yeah, i am in TEXAS :nuke: if that helps