Miwila

I've never heard of LTC work being an impediment to gaining hospital employment. If a CNA in LTC finds he or she can't get hired at a hospital, then they ought to go to their community college and take classes in EKG and Phlebotomy. Upgrade your skills and you'll be more marketable.

If it's any consolation, these abrasive teachers kind of sound like a lot of the nurses you'll have to work under. So maybe they're just trying to get you prepared for the "real world".

I'm always wary of private training centers. The teachers and teaching methods in some of these places are just shoddy and unpolished.

Can I ask what kind of institution you're taking this CNA class at? Is it a Community College, the Red Cross, or a private training center?

Either class is probably of equal value. As an above poster said, if you want to be a PCT in a hospital, take a PCT class, and if you want to make yourself marketable as an EKG tech or a Phlebotomist, take classes that specify in those areas. Especially if you live in an area where you can get all of this training affordably at a CC - go for it. Just try to avoid these places that take your money and don't teach you anything. Although if you plan on being a nurse maybe you don't want to spend so much time taking extra vocational classes.

Thanks for the youtube tip. I would never have thought of that.

Exactly how much do you need to know chem to be sucessful in this course? My school doesn't require chem as a pre-req either but it is "highly recommended". If A&P is already challenging, I'm nervous about enrolling without first taking a course that is "highly recommended".

I appreciate all this insight. I recently took a biology class and it was as if the harder I studied the worse I did on tests. I felt overwhelmed with foreign information. In retrospect, I figure I had a professor who literally expected her students to devote 3 hours a day if not more to studying. My studying 10 hours a week might have seemed like a lot to me, but it wasn't enough. I just surfed amazon and saw I could buy a few A&P study guides really cheap. Hopefully I could use along them with what little extra private tutoring I'm able to afford, to navigate through this course. At any rate I feel a little more confident now...although a little more wary as well.

I'm planning on taking A&P 1 next semester and I am wondering what makes it so difficult to pass? I already knew it was going to be challenging, but I've been thinking it was more along the lines of heavy memorization. However, reading this forum and especially hearing about how many students drop out of this class after the first couple of tests, I am getting really, really nervous. If anyone could enlighten me as to what seems to make this class so difficult to pass I would really appreciate it.

Sorry to hear that. I've always been curious about what makes some R.N.'s "tick", what goes on in their heads that they treat aides like that. Aides are there to help; you would think nurses could be a little more supportive.

Oh dear. Disillusioned after 3 weeks huh?

Anything is believable when it comes to Everest. Once they get that government money for placing your body in one of their classes, they don't care if you learn or not. They don't care if you're eventually able to find a job or not. I wonder if one of the reasons the government is finally starting to scrutinize these places is because too many graduates are defaulting on their student loans because they can't find jobs (not because of the economy, because of this second-rate "education").

i know; she annoys me every time.

Not so much for the worse. For too long for-profits have been charging extremely high tuition for substandard education. By the time students realize they've been scammed, it's too late. It's about time the government started to look at these "schools" more closely.

http://www.cnatips.com/classes/nursing-assistant-fl.php the page i sent gives a list of all the schools in broward county that offer cna. if you scroll all the way to the bottom, it gives you the option of looking up schools in miami. it seems to me most of these places don't have web pages so you'd have to call for info. vo-tech in pembroke pines has a web page, but they don't give a price. their class is six weeks long, meeting four days a week.

Go to the Miami-dade college website - I believe tha's mdc.edu, look for continuing education, then look for something similiar to health careers or classes. A friend of mine was just looking day before yesterday. They have new CNA classes starting next month, three at their Medical Campus, and a fourth in Homestead. The Medical Campus classes run from September to December. You can pick one of three classes that meet once a week; Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. These are all day classes. I believe they meet from 8am to 4:30 or 5pm, and the cost of tuition is $700-$800. I don't know if that includes books and supplies. There are other CNA courses in Miami and south Broward that won't take four months to complete, but I don't know if the teaching in those places is quite up to par. I say that because I took a cheap HHA course years ago and didn't learn squat. Anyways - good luck.

I think Eduardo means well; maybe he is just having a hard time expressing himself. Eduardo, technically speaking male CNA's and female CNA's do the exact same thing.

Wow...that's scary. I would think Palm Beach County would be the easiest place in the state to find work as a CNA. The last time I went up to PB I saw nothing but retirees and retirement communities.

Caring, unfortunately that is the way it is in LTC. Anyone with a pulse can get hired in some of these places - even people with no business taking care of the elderly.

your aunt is absolutely right; atlantic is an excellent school. atlantic also has two "sister" schools, sheridan and mcfatter, which offer 6 or 7 month patient care technician programs. i wanted to enroll in one of those programs myself but their schedule doesn't work for me right now. if the opportunity ever arises, i would enroll in one of their patient care tech courses in a new york minute. the difference between those schools and nursing unlimited is that the first 3 schools really teach you and give you a thorough education. some of these places just take your money, show you a few shortcuts, and then you're on your own. atlantic, sheridan, and mcfatter, are known and respected in the community which means having them on your resume makes that resume stand out, and their career placement services are a lot better as well. so whatever time you put into those schools is well invested. good luck.

On days that I work I usually get home at 9 in the morning. I go straight to bed and sleep the rest of the day. It sounds crazy, but on my days off I also go to bed at 9 in the morning and sleep for the rest of the day (unless I have to be somewhere). I think maintaing the same sleep schedule helps me from being thrown off kilter. While at work I usually have something with caffeine to keep me awake halfway through my shift, although a more health-conscious person might try an energy bar. Good luck with your first job.

Good for you. The argument you dismiss is a very valid one. Why work with people who are old, sick, and experiencing dementia if you don't want to be bothered? Anonymous or not these people deserve their dignity and not to be ridiculed by so-called caregivers. Attitudes like the ones considered tolerable in this thread reaffirm the stereotypes people have of CNA's being unintelligent, unprofessional, and unqualified to go anywhere near sick people.

I never said it was wrong. I just suggested people consider how they would feel if someone was using a website to mock their elderly mother who was in a medical facility. Actually I rather agree with you; it has become normal in our culture to mock people who are old, sick, and demented.

Food for thought: To you guys who are using this thread to mock, demean, and express condescension towards the patients you "care" for, think about how you would feel if it was your mother in a hospital/LTC and someone else was talking about her like that.

Yikes. Some of the comments in this thread have confirmed by resolution never to place anyone I love in a nursing home. Thank you!