Safetymouse

Try asking the ones at the hospital you work at, just make sure it is at a time when they are not busy. Sometimes after various nurses and advanced practice nurses see a patient on my floor and neither of us are busy I just ask questions. Nearly everyone has been receptive and enjoyed answering my questions or clarifying something for me that I heard them mention to someone else. If they don't want to or can't talk they tell me so and go off my floor, no harm in asking.

I should think it would be doable. My experience with a second job is different since teachers practically have the whole summer off to work at bagging groceries, tutoring summer school children, being counselors at nature camps, etc. I could see most store hours working well on your days off.

Mine was a certification and I knew right after the exam I passed (they handed me print outs to keep/take to employers). I recieved a letter approximately a month later telling me I was officially in the system. For my state I go to the cna portion of the BoN website and am able to find the registry. For employment, my supervisor went to the registry and I put in my SSN to be looked up in the system then they printed those pages for my file to state I really am certified with a clear record.

Another suggestion would be to widen/broaden your job search. Had there been any places you did not apply to such as smaller hospitals, a more out of the way LTC or ALF? Did you try any of the places you have done clinicals at? If not, I might do like ivana said and take it for experience if you want that more than the money.

For some reason, it does not want me to edite the post to add some clarification...I'm a bit slow after 4 hours of sleep... I'm still on orientation so I'm mainly helping out other techs and we get asked about all sorts of things from discharges to types of soda available for me to fetch patients. I'd never educate on their condition but we can say something like "please don't get up yet, I need to pin your drains to your gown. this is because they would become terribly uncomfortable if they were hanging unsupported when we go to transfer you to the chair, etc". I would never say anything outside my scope of practice (especially regarding medication).

I try hard not to speak to patients of things I do not know for certain as a tech because I do not want to tell them the wrong thing (but I may be spoiled for being on a small floor and most of the nurses being easily approachable). If I did say something in error and a nurse heard it, I would expect and not be mad at her for correctly me politely and then educating both patient and I. If during your educating on the subject, another tech walks into the room to learn too don't be surprised. Most all the techs on the three floors I've been on at my hospital are nursing or pre-nursing students with varying degrees of curiosity.

At the hospital I work at, there is a nurse in the float pool who goes all over the hospital with at least three very visible tattoos on her arms and a small one on the back of her neck that is shown off when her hair is up. As far as I can tell...nobody bothers her about them.

If a store nearby or anyone you know will let you try out their stethoscopes you should because everyone is different. I can't remember what type of Adscope a friend has, but I hear out of her stethoscope better than I do my Littman Classic II S.E.

A nurse in hospital orientation with me told me she went to an ABSN program in another state several years ago. When she went to her first job interview, they wanted to hear about her school's program and were very impressed with her grades/success at completing the program and she landed the job. Of course there is no telling how your outlook will be where you are and what the job market will be in a couple years (the hospital I work for did not hire any new grads from 12/09 but had up 4 new grad postings for 05/10) from now because I sure can't see into the future (though wouldn't that be handy)? My philosophy is to not stress too much and try to get my foot in the door somewhere for the experience and networking while I am still finishing up pre-reqs and hopefully continue through nursing school.

We got a brochure that had EXACTLY what we needed to do spelled out for us for each of the possible test skills. I just looked over that booklet and watched some videos another teacher in my state made and posted online. Though you may feel silly, I wholeheartedly encourage you to talk outloud as CoffemateCNA mentioned about what you are doing. It helps you to focus (and possibly relax) and remember what step you are on and can help you in catching a mistake BEFORE you make it. Overall just relax, they aren't actively trying to fail you...just take a deep breath, think about what you would want if the roles were reversed (you definitely want an explanation and to check the water temperature before someone starts to bathe you, etc), and talk your way through the motions you already know!

Handwashing, Partial Bed Bath, Feed the Patient, Measure Urinary Output, Put on PPE From what I remember my partner had: Handwashing, Count Respirations, Knee and Ankle RoM, Female Peri Care, and I can't remember...maybe ambulation or transfer to a wheelchair but I want to say it was something that did not involve me...

With no cna experience prior, I was hired at $11/hour plus shift differentials

LOL Kohala71! I've done this to my husband by accident back when I was in clinicals at the nursing home, I was just mentioning some interesting highlights of my day.

I was very nervous and humor definitely helped (I inadvertently had both my tester and patient rolling during the first third of my exam). Another thing to help you focus and to catch yourself if you forgot something BEFORE you make the mistake is to talk about what you are going to do. "Hi so-and-so I'm going to give you a bath today and then change you into a clean gown. (OOPS! Forgot the gown, run and get it and make sure you didn't forgot something else crazy like the soap. Come back and keep talking. You wouldn't be penalized for it because you had not started washing the patient.) I'm going to wash your face, arm, hand, etc. Before doing that would you test the water..." Good luck!

I was taught in my NAI course that CNA's could only clean foleys. However hospitals are allowed to give NA's advanced training and competency test them to do other tasks (an example our instructor used is administer enemas). They cannot do it outside the hospital, only inside and only if they are deemed competent.