thomasbrooks07

hey everyone I am still a college student and work as a CNA at a home health and hospice in Washington state. I work for a non profit agency which all ready pays below what my areas going rate for cna's is and I knew that going in. The people I work for and with are amazing and we have multiple awards to prove this. The problem I have is that as a student I am really only able to work weekends when school is in session. I work two 12 hour sleep overs and one 12 hour day shift every weekend. My strait pay rate is $9.75 an hour but the way medicare is set up even tho I work 12 full hours at night they only a flat rate of $70.04 for the whole 12 hours. That is only $5.84 an hour which is complete slave wages. They pay $5.84 federal min wage is $7.25 Washington state min wage is $8.55 my strait pay rate is $9.75 $5.84 is $1.41 less than federal min wage 2.71 less than washington state min wage and $3.91 less than my actual pay rate. I have been killing my self working full time 37 hours a weekend helping make those who are scared and in constant pain be as comfortable as possible in their homes. I get no sleep at work I spend the whole night watching over my patients cleaning up after their accidents and I make less than I would if I worked for minimum wage at burger king. I have never been political before out side voting in elections but I have been doing this almost a year and its not right. Someone has to speak up and I know its probably hopeless for one man to change the system but if no one says anything than it will never change. I am planning on writing my my political officials and seeing if maybe I can get a story out in the local news outlets. Hell maybe even get a petition started to show community support against the slave wages the government has decided to pay for some of the most disgusting and emotionally hard work in the field. If anyone has any ideas on how to go about this or what their feelings are this subject I would love to hear them.

I have been threw a few interviews not one for that position since I am still in school for it lol. Any way a good way to ace any interview it to turn your strengths into your weakness. like Your best strength is that you are filled with compassion and a helping spirit and if you get the weakness question turn it around and say your weakness is that you care too much. Also look into what ever company you want to work for because im sure you will find a why do you want to work for us question. If you know their mission statement and general back round for the company then you can ace that question easy. Instead of just saying well I saw your news paper add and thought what the hell. You should also think about your work history and find a situation in which you had to deal with a very difficult person or situation and how you solved it with a good outcome since that often comes up. I would also think hard about what it is that drew you into the nursing field and what your short medium and long term goals are as a nurse because that is another big question they ask a lot. The last thing I can think of to plan for is what you most like and dislike about the nursing and medical field.

I am in a CNA class right now and I finish 3-12-10 I have been looking at online job sites to see what the job market is like. I have seen very very few cna jobs but a lot of caregiver job postings. The caregiver jobs I have seen pay 5 to 15 cents more then the states minimum wage. Is a caregiver the same thing as a CNA or is it something different? Do they want CNAs for those jobs but have a different job title so they can pay 3-5 dollars less then the average CNAs pay? I was also was wondering should I wait 3 more weeks until my class is finished and I am signed up for the state licensing test or should I not look for a job until after I have my license in my hand?

im in Washington state and my school is 725 dollars and takes 20 days 8 hours a day. MY teacher said that any nursing home that is your first hire has to pay for your cna class and books by some state or federal regulation. They normally dont bring it up so you have to bring it up. They normally give you a little extra money a pay check so that you dont get your first paycheck and just split and dont come back.

good luck starting your class tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it my first day was really really boring. We spent the whole day going over the legal stuff and gray areas of the cna job like putting a seat belt on a patient at risk for falling in a wheel chair is false imprisonment unless you have a doctors order to do so.

I am taking my cna class right now. I go 8 hours a day 5 days a week for 10 days in class 10 days in internships starting 2 weeks from now. Any way we were given a lot of lectures about how to do things and what we will be expected to do. I was just wondering how often I'll see things that are towards the extremes of what they talk about in class every day. Like doing anal stimulation with your finger on a constipated patient to get them to have a BM. Is stuff like this something I should expect to see everyday or is kind of stuff something they cover just in the off chance you run into it some time in your career?

I got a pair of mostly white with a little black new balance training shoes. The lady at the shoe store said new balance was what all the local nurses wear. They were 18 dollars off to so what was nice^^

I start my cna class on Monday. I have to wear my scrubs to all classes and internship but they dont say what kind of shoes I should wear? I want to pick up a new pair of converse sneakers would that be ok for the class setting?

lol crime doesn't scare me really. I am 6'1" 250 pounds of fighting Irish stock. I keep big dogs sweet as sugar but sound pretty tough when they want to. lol as big as my dogs are my guns are bigger and I am a fan of house alarm services. I would like a house out in the country or sticks but work in the city but I wouldn't turn down a charming house in a transitional neighborhood though.

I am out in WA state and I finish my CNA class march 12th. I am going to work as a CNA and continue to go to school to get my LPN, RN, and BSN. I am looking to move and buy a starting house by the end of next year and Oklahoma and the oklahoma city area are on the tops of my list of where I Would like to go. What is the states economy like in for nurses and what would a ball park figure be for a CNA and LPN hourly pay scales? I was also really amazed when I went to a real estate website for Oklahoma City and saw a bunch of houses fore 12-20,000 dollars. Is housing really that affordable because it seems way to low even for a boy from Washington state lol.

I am enrolled into a accelerated CNA class at the northwest regional training center in Vancouver which starts next month. I was wondering what is the average pay for a CNA in our state is and if I should expect any kind of benefits like medical, dental, and help paying for continuing education? I in south west Washington about 35 miles from Vancouver I am actually thinking about moving closer to the Vancouver area or up north to the Seattle tacoma area or possibly out to Spokane if I can afford to live on my own will still in school getting my LPN and RN degrees.

I would ask your school if they need it from the state your from or the state your going to? I assume it really wouldn't matter since the states share criminal history data banks. I Just picked up my back round check sheet today. I went to the Washington State Highway Patrol office like my school told me too and got it there. It is just a single page form and will cost like 10 to 15 dollars when you turn it back in at the office. I hope this helps clear up your question a little.

I Haven't started my CNA class but I am enrolled just waiting until it starts in mid Feb. Anyway what both my college and the accelerated school I choose to go to for mine both require the same things. You have to have a GED or high school diploma, a Washington State patrol back round check, 2 skin tuberculosis tests, a few pairs of navy blue medical scubs, the nursing text book they use in the class and the work book as well.

Hey there everyone. I am enrolled in a accelerated CNA class at the Northwest regional training center in Vancouver. I don't start the class until Feb 15th so I still have some time on my hands. I am pretty nervous about this class since it will cram 3 months of school into 20 days. The first 2 weeks are in school classes and the last 2 weeks are a internship at a a nursing home or hospital someplace in Vancouver. Other then a 7 hour class 5 days a week what should I expect to see in the classroom? Are there tests and reports to do or is it all hands on learning? I am also kind of wondering what kind of material I will actually be learning. Will I just learn the basics like taking blood pressure, patient temps, and ummm basic patient sanitizing and care or does it go way beyond that? I have already completed my first quarter of full time college. It is my first time back in school in 4 years since high school and I had the highest grade in all 3 of my classes. I earned a 3.90 gpa and made the Presidents list for my college which is exciting but this is not a English, Algebra and Sociology lol. Am I really stressing more then I need to?

i just registered for fall quarter at my local community college. i am just taking a math and english class i need as part of my prerequisites. i am also signed up for my sociology 101 which is for my rn degree down the road. i am sort of curious if i should go back and ask to switch my sociology 101 for a class that goes towards my lpn degree or if my college advisor made the best call? i have gone threw a 50ish page book on the federal aid but i can’t really understand if i can use any of those programs? pretty much im 21 i live at home and i haven’t been able to find a job for about 2 years. the economy is has been horrible here for the last 2 years. anyway does anyone know if the federal programs only take into account my financial situation or if they will only look at my parent’s pay scale? i don’t know what my dad makes but hes your average middle class tax bracket lol.i am also kind of stumped on how to pay for all of this. my parents are going to help with my first quarter to get me started but im on the hook for everything else. i am not sure how federal student aid and student loans work. i am also thinking about student loans that aren’t from the government. i have been to a few sites and they seem to require that its for a 4 year + college program. right now i am going for a lpn then rn degree after words so i can't don't qualify for those right? are there student loans for community colleges and aa degrees available to me? also should i look for a loan from a large bank that i would find online or should i try a small community credit union in my area first? thanks for any advice given