sakura_k

Being a CNA is much more than bedpan work. When I worked LTC, the work involved vitals, transfers, feeding, and being a social person for the residents who didn't necessarily have people coming in to visit them often. I created a lot of really good relationships with my residents and I think of them often...and that was three years ago. I work in a hospital now and the work still involves vitals and transfers and even some toileting and such (I'm in a specialty clinic) but I also do other things: assist with catheter changes, assist with wound care (which also means I do a lot of talking with patients to keep them distracted from what's going on - I make a point of checking the local news and sports scores and weather reports every morning to give myself some talk fodder), assist with care plans, assist with the different therapies, paperwork, ordering...and the more I put myself out there to learn more, the more the RNs and MDs offer to give me. (Does that make sense? I'm home sick right now so I'm not "all here".) Good luck and congrats on your first pair of scrubs! I felt so important the first time I put on scrubs. :)

My program actually required us to buy a stethoscope. They told us that on the first day of class and let us use "community" stethoscopes. Which brings me to my suggestion of keeping individually packed alcohol wipes in your pocket... :) We also had to have comfortable white shoes, a watch with a minute hand (preferably without a fabric band), our own BP cuffs, scrubs of whatever color the program required (navy blue for me), and our own gait belt (worn around your waist so you knew it was yours). Otherwise, pens, paper, books...and so on and so forth. :)

A lot of big hospitals (at least in my area) won't accept a CNA without them having at least 6 months experience and really. So you may want to start working in a hospital and apply to jobs from there. I work in a hospital now but was rejected from many hospitals early on because I didn't have enough experience. (I actually had less experience than the hospitals prefer when I got the hospital gig but I had a background that was very appealing to this particular clinic.) Also, just my two cents - CNA = paid work experience in the field. So you become extremely comfortable doing patient care (yes, even the "dirty stuff")...and you have a way to pay bills by doing so. Two birds, one stone...you get the point. Also, ironically, when I took the hospital job I had several moments of "I'm overwhelmed" panic (mind you, I work in a clinic) and that first time I got paged to help a patient who had accidently soiled his pants, I nearly wept with joy - it was something I KNEW HOW TO DO! It sounds hilarious now but I had genuine happiness there... Also, the beauty of being a CNA is that you start networking early - before you become a nurse. Because of the CNA jobs I've had, I have ties/networking contacts with three different hospitals and a nursing home (which is one of a large chain of nursing homes). That, to me, is totally worth it.

Everyone has already said it, but it is wayyyyy too soon to walk away! The first day in any new job is overwhelming and scary and rarely reflects what the actual job is like. You need to get to know your teammates and get to know your residents before you make any rash decisions. This may lead to something huge for you! Within my first three days in my current job, I locked myself in the storage room and cried for five minutes, positive that I had wasted everything I gave up to change career paths because I felt I just couldn't do this job. I'm still here, three years later, and thankful I stuck it out because it has been an amazing experience. Don't give up yet. Not yet.

I used to work 2p-10p. We'd set up the dining room for dinner, pass out meal trays, help feed those who needed help feeding, clean up dinner trays, help people with their toileting and washing up and get them into bed. After a certain point at night, the vast majority of the residents were in bed and we could chart/take our breaks and then we spent a lot of time answering call lights and watching out for those who would wander. The hardest part was when everyone wanted to get in bed at the same time. There was only so many of us CNAs to go around and several people required more than one of us to get them transferred into bed. :) I had a hard time adjusting to the evening shift, but I rode the bus so I wouldn't get home until about 12:45am. Which was brutal but not the fault of the nursing home. :)

When I was fresh out of training, I had a separate section on my resume for "Clinical Experience" and listed where I did my clinicals and what I did. I was told by the places I applied to that they liked knowing what my hands-on experiences had been - it gave them a baseline of what I had already done. After I got my first CNA job, I removed it from my resume.

:anpom: Congrats! And congrats on the new job and that big first step towards a nursing career!

I have three bits of advice: 1. Be fearless...you'll get more hands-on experience if you push yourself to be the volunteer, to be the first to take on more than one resident, etc. 2. Always carry a ballpoint pen. :) and 3. Ask questions if you aren't sure. When I did clinicals, I was told by the staff and my clinical instructor that the residents LOVED students because it was someone new and exciting and fun. Keep that in mind and go in with a smile - yes, you're there to learn but you're also there to care for these people and brighten their day. :)

I agree completely - being a CNA is not about being in the spotlight, it's about the patient. That's part of what I love about the job. I'm not here to get appreciation and tons of money, I'm here because I care about the people I come into contact day in and day out. And because I care, I have the respect of the multiple providers and RNs I work with in a hospital clinic. (Where I also do all sorts of interesting things, including assisting with wound care, lab cultures, and helping therapies.) The cost of becoming a CNA was much closer to my reach than the cost of becoming an MA. Not all CNA positions are alike. Sounds like the OP had a bad experience, which is really unfortunate.

I think it depends on where you're working. In some cases, nurse techs = CNAs. But I believe some hospitals hire nursing students who've finished the first handful of quarters of nursing school as nurse techs and they're able to do more than CNAs. I think this all really varies from location to location, though.

Believe me, I have my moments where I completely agree on this. :) (Like...right this moment.)

...well, at least I'm in good company. Good luck to those who already know they're doing the essay and to those who, like me, feel an ulcer coming on...shall I pass the Tums?

What works for me is to talk it out - the old mantra "see one, do one, teach one". In this case, I see the problem, I do a problem like it, and I teach someone else how to do it. The unfortunate part of that last one is that I usually teach my significant other...who's a chemist by trade. And is like "oh that's easy." How supportive of him. I'll second the Chemistry for Dummies. Chemistry and I don't like each other. Not even a little bit...and mine's now "too old" to be used for some of the schools I'm applying to, which means I get to relive the joys and wonders all over again. Good luck!

You're welcome! Good luck to you!

tnohe1 a LOT of the programs I'm looking into (including, now, the PA program as my plan B) require hands-on experience which, for nursing schools, typically comes in the form of a CNA or MA background. I considered both but MA is a year or so and a CNA was two months. It goes without saying that I invested in the shorter (and less costly) option. I'd recommend starting there. I took my course with a gal who was changing careers at 40 and thought for sure this is what she wanted to do. Two weeks into the program, she dropped it because she realized that she didn't want to be a nurse afterall, she wanted to be a baker or something. (Or open a restaurant...it was food related, I know that...) She told me how thankful she was that she'd only invested the relatively small amount of money into a CNA course to learn whether or not the field was her passion, rather than to go through the process of getting everything lined up to go to nursing school...only to discover that's not where she wanted to be. But I'd say start getting the experience ASAP. I figured out a few years ago I wanted to try this path and I took my CNA immediately after finding out I needed it for one of the schools I planned on applying to. It just showed me that this is truly where I want to be and I made the right choice. :)