AlexandrAnne

I know this thread is relatively old... but I was actually wondering what organization you were working with if you don't mind me asking? I am currently enrolled in LPN school and plan to get to MSF the hard way (LPN-RN Bridge, RN-BSN while working) so it will be awhile before I can apply, but in the meantime I would love to find a similar organization to work with maybe. I went to Haiti last year as a volunteer in an unrelated field, but ended up helping out at a clinic anyways. It was a wonderful experience! I hope everyone's interview went well!

Honestly... I was a CNA who really disliked nursing students. For almost the same reasons as yajaira21. There were a couple who were very helpful but for the most part, they thought that the CNAs were the facility's dumping ground for tasks they didn't want to perform. It was a little demeaning. I was a little territorial as well, which was exasperated by the students walking around as "competent" nurses (even though they created extreme safety concerns for all of the residents they touched) who owned the CNA's. Looking back now (as a student), maybe if I wasn't so mean to them, they would have responded better to my criticism (which was constructive in and of itself). As a nursing student now, I am very very (probably hyper-) conscious of what the staff thinks of us. Two of my classmates have already gotten on some of their bad sides, and they assume that all of us have the same sort of mindset now. We have a lot of restrictions on what we can do, as we are only in the early stages of the fundamentals course. We can't even get vital signs or transfer patients without the instructor present. I sit there so frustrated because of how useless I feel, and also by the fact that the staff thinks that we are trying to be useless on purpose. Some of my other classmates feel the same exact way. So we walk around and organize rooms, pass trays, tidy up linen closets, fill out paperwork, WHATEVER we are aloud to do - but they just couldn't care less. I try to answer call lights but they shoo me away. I wish that the staff would judge each student on an individual basis, and also understand that we *are* going to make mistakes and at least TRY to accommodate that. For the most part, although we might not understand EXACTLY how stressed/behind/overworked they are, we sympathize with them and want to help. I don't subscribe to the "nurse's eat their young" mindset. It exists simply because people think it should, but it is no way to treat students JUST because of the fact that they are students. It benefits no one, and is the OPPOSITE of what nursing stands for. Self-concious students make more mistakes, staff spends unnecessary amounts of energy being catty to them. Exerting kindness is far less stressful and produces better results for everyone. This is not to say that some students don't deserve discipline, but it shouldn't be a one-fits-all guilty until proven innocent attitude towards students. One nurse at the facility came up to me yesterday and asked if I wanted to observe a straight cath. After that she let me observe her check placements on some NG/G tubes, and we had a really good conversation before she got back to her med pass. She wasn't super duper out of the way nice to me, but she wasn't mean - and that meant the WORLD to me. I was on the verge of tears, just because someone treated me like a human being. I felt more confident the rest of the day, and was able to think more clearly. I even found some loopholes in my instructor's restrictions that aloud me to help the CNAs on the floor more. Just because of that one nurse. I plan to be that nurse someday. And I hope that more nurses plan to avoid that stupid stereotype of "student eating" in the future.

I just started on the 6th - it is absolutely nothing like I expected. My professors are so so supportive, and are very good at making complex theories easy to grasp. I am behind on the reading, studying 5-6hrs a day (from 3-10ish sometimes!), and about to go into my second test tomorrow, but I am loving every second of it! I was a nervous reck the prior to my first day, but after the day's end everything came together. Good luck!!

Agreed. I have bags of ice and a cooler as back-up, and set my freezer on the coldest temp. I'm pretty much expecting a power outage, though.

I'm starting in 9 days (and anxiously counting!) I'm sooo nervous. I've read the first two chapters of all of my books, made up notes and flash cards for them and I'm making pre-made meals to put in my freezer so I have more time for studying! Neurotic, much? Maybe (definitely) I'm going a little overboard, but I can't help it! This is a new beginning for me in a very real sense. Congrats to everyone and I hope that you all update us on how things are going! I will try to do likewise!! :)

I just received my acceptance letter yesterday! I was soooo nervous!! The mailman was getting a little annoyed at all of the stalking during the past week of waiting, haha. I start in September! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

What I wanted to say when Mrs. Coworker sat there pretending to fill out I+Os while fixing her hair while three call lights (whom she knows is sick residents with loose stools and vomit on the other end of the call button) are going off right in front of her: Get off your lazy $*@#&% behind before I dump a bedpan full nastiness ALL OVER YOUR PRETTY HAIR. And of course at the end of my shift I look over to see the I+Os aren't filled out! So guess who has to do it before she punches out? Yah. What I wanted to say when Mr. Resident gets a hard on after doing pericare and then asks me to sit on his lap and abruptly yanks me over to him: Get your disgusting gross perverted nasty hands off of my waist! Just because you're a resident does not mean that you have permission to ABUSE the staff! If I ever become incontinent and pooped all over myself, I'd be disgusted with myself if I thought that I was attractive to ANYONE at ANYTIME and let it get to a point where I was trying to molest the nursing staff!! What I wanted to say to Mr. Resident who was trying to report me for taking his shoes off: You JUST asked me to take your #$&@^!&$ shoes off for you, why are you biting my head off? What? NO I can not allow you to take your car home, you're in a locked wing - in a wheelchair - and you're car isn't even here anyways! NO I will not go get it from your daughter! I understand that you don't want to be here but why is that my fault? Fine, go to sleep with your shoes on, YOU'RE going to be uncomfortable, not me! Of course later on he asked someone else to take his shoes off and blames me not wanting to take his shoes off as the reason why they are still on!! UGH!!

It really is trial and error. I have some Nike Shox that are really comfy, but I also have some no-name brand running shoes that are almost as comfortable as well. A lot of people like Crocs or Clogs, but I personally cannot stand them.

Congrats on your GED! I got my GED literally RIGHT before I took my CNA classes. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine!

Yah I'll probably end up looking for a job at a hospital. I know that this job fits me per say, but maybe just not this LTC facility. Thanks :)

*Warning... Rant* Have any of you had second thoughts about being a CNA? I recently graduated and got a job at a great LTC facility. Orientation went great, but I just finished an assignment by myself yesterday and I was in tears by the end of it. I had 10+ full care patients with Alzheimer disease which would not be bad if they didn't attack me and and refuse care. I didn't have enough time to get my showers done (I had two on the assignment) and did not sit down the entire eight and a half hour shift! Also, everyone who was supposed to have an alarm didn't have them on yesterday, so I kept letting people go to the bathroom without assistance because they didn't look like a fall risk. I was dehydrated and hungry by the end of the day, and all in all I just don't know if I'm cut out for this. The CNAs seem supportive but they're always talking about how bad another fellow CNA is - so it makes me wonder if they're doing the same thing about me. *sigh* I want to be a nurse eventually, but if this is how it is everyday...