amybear

I am in the exact same situation!!! I'm working my first CNA job and I only work every other weekend but I find myself dreading it days before I have to go in to work. I think I work in a decent place as far as nursing homes go but even so I feel nervous and depressed about going to work.

just curious what your availability is???? i am a nursing student/CNA too and i had a couple job offers for every other weekend 3-11 shift. i had the option of every weekend or every other. you could also apply prn.

Thank you for sharing!!! It's nice to hear about a positive experience. I am a new cna about to start the 3-11 and reading the posts on this site has totally freaked me out!!!

I started my nursing program last fall and I'll tell you what my instructor told us on the first day. She said that we were eligible to take the CNA exam after our first semester and she recommended that we do because it will open up alot more doors for us once we graduate and start applying for nursing jobs... just sayin :) I JUST got my CNA and I wish I had done it back in December when I became eligible. After applying for jobs and interviewing and working out my orientation it has taken about 2 months to even get started working as an aide. On the other hand nursing school is an enormous amount of work and I'm not even in an accelerated program. Just do whats best for you and don't take on more than you can handle.

I am also a nursing student and a brand new CNA and and was just hired for my first job working every other Saturday and Sunday 3-11pm and this is exactly what I wanted!! Chances are you will probably have to do some time in LTC like me but who knows maybe you will get lucky and find a hospital job. I think the shifts their are similar according to what the hospital nurses told us at clinical. Good luck!!! : )

Oh I also wanted to add that when I took my test for the second time almost everyone failed including my partner. I felt so bad for everybody. Myself and one other girl were the only ones that I know of that passed. After the skills test while we were waiting for our results they made us take a survey on the effectiveness of the program we attend/attended because so many people in Virginia have failed the test.

I failed the skills test the first time but passed the written. I didn't take a cna class, im in LPN school so I didn't really know the info on the written test as well as I thought I would so I was suprised that I passed it!!! In Virginia on the skills test we have to perform 5 skills and one of them of course is always handwashing. Also, we can take it as many times as we want... no limit. I passed ALL of my skills the first time except pulse!!! I kept losing my partners pulse and my count was off by too much. I passed the second time though and I am about to start my first job!!! Good luck and try not to let nerves get the best of you. I agree with one of the previous posters that said nerves can affect your memory!!!

I am currently an LPN student and I am taking my CNA skills exam for the second time in a few days. The first time I passed the written exam and also four out of five of the skills they tested me on. The ONE skill that caused me to fail was taking a pulse. I am extremly upset because obviously I know how to take a pulse or I wouldn't have gotten to the point where I was eligable for CNA. I don't understand what happened. I have taken a pulse a zillion times and could probably do it in my sleep. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was harder to get an accurate reading because the lady whose pulse I took for the exam was extremly obese???? Anyway I try again soon and I am so nervous!!! I know the skills inside and out!!! Any other advice for getting through the exam without screwing up???

My program sounds alot like what you guys are describing... the youngest I think turned 21 a few months ago and the oldest are around 50 (ish???). I agree that focus is individualized and cannot be judged by age HOWEVER, the cattiness in my group is totally ridiculous. Of course my first priority is school and learning but I am always polite and helpful to the other girls and I would never go out of my way to trash someone. I certainly don't wish failure on any of my classmates. Many girls in the class do though and do their best to try to make eachother look bad in front of the instructor. Even a couple of the instructors are catty and it seems like their goal is to weed out as many people as possible. I am grateful that I have found one classmate that I can depend on and I know is a good person. I have found the best thing to do is lay low, do your work, be polite and help out whenever you can.

I am on a hiatus from nursing school and will not start back till January 12 due to the structure of my program. I have completed fundamentals, geriatrics and med surg 1 and am about to take my CNA exam. I am worried about losing my knowledge from being away from nursing for so long... especially the math. Any suggestions as to what I can do to keep it fresh in my mind? I already have an NCLEX book would working through those questions help or is there something else that would be more beneficial??? Any info would be greatly appreciated!!! :)

I agree with tokidokifantasy... that method might work for some people but I am not one of them. I ended up having to withdrawl from Med Surg because of a similar situation. My teacher was a nightmare!!! I was also afraid to ask questions. I remember the first day I ever did meds I had three injections. I was so excited but the teacher's son was home sick and she wanted to leave early so she rushed me through it, degraded me in front of the patient and was just impatient and I did not learn anything. It affected me by making me nervous and forgetful in clinical and eventually it was interfering with my studies. I don't blame the instructor for that I blame myself for letting her get the best of me and doubt myself. I was so shaken up by her I had no self-confidence and looking back I know I give excellent patient care. She was at the computer most of the time and never saw what we did. Anyway I will not let it happen again when I retake the class. Congrats to you for making it through the entire class with a horrible instructor!!!

I'm about your size and I like greys anatomy petite x-small pants... fit me perfect though they are a little expensive. Their scrub tops are fitted but not too fitted and super cute!!!

I dunno... I am currently being bullied by an instructor. She has me so tied up in knots from her verbal abuse that it is impossible for me to remember anything or learn anything new : (

I have to agree with swirlo. There are some nasty teachers out there and if they decide they don't like you.. your life is a living hell as long as you are in their class. I am so sorry you are going through this!!! I am going through the same thing with a teacher right now too. At first I decided to suck it up and take the abuse and try to lay low as much as possible. This afternoon I had a discussion with a co-worker whose daughter is in a nursing program at my school (I work for the community college I go to school at) and he was ranting about how badly his daughter was treated and that people should do something about this epidemic of terrible nursing instructors. He encouraged me to write to the biggest name at the school so I did. I am not sure how it will turn out. To some extent I feel as though you should stand up for yourself but on the other hand if you do it could make things worse with the teacher. As far as your grades go it is pretty common to have this trouble on nursing tests, I don't think that means nursing is not for you. Also, is it possible the teacher is making you nervous when it's time for your check offs??? I know my teacher has me so messed up that I can't do ANYTHING around her. The reason I have been able to stick with it so far is because no matter how bad my teachers are or how much I don't know when I am with my patients I KNOW I am doing a good job. The patient is the most important part of the job not the dramatics of nursing school. One of my patients recently told me how wonderful and caring I was and that she knew I would make a good nurse. It made me feel so wonderful!!! So don't let a teacher bring your down. Hope this helps!!!

When I did my clinicals at a nursing the CNA's were rude and didn't do anything to help us. Now I'm in a hospital and I don't even know if they have CNA's!!! We basically do everything but the RN's on the floor are always very helpful if we have questions and I'm sure they would be understanding if the AM care took a little longer than usual. Actually where I am there is no set time that everything has to be done by. We just try to plan around the meds so we are not giving a bath when the nurse comes around with the med cart. It's really up to the patient when and what type of care we provide. And only three students in our class give meds once a week so I am not always responsible for that.

I am an LPN student in med surg right now and it doesn't seem any different from what you are describing. In my opinion nursing school is nursing school but the LPN program is all the info crammed into a shorter amount of time. I wouldn't expect it to be any easier. I have had days like yours so I really feel for you. I usually think about giving up at LEAST once a week!!! I just take a deep breath, and try to remember that my horrible clinical instructor who treats me like an idiot is a person like everybody else. I also remember why I even wanted to be a nurse in the first place which really really helps = ) I also have an awesome support system, family and friends who are all pulling for me and I don't want to let them down by quitting. I always try to eat breakfast, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep. I know its hard while in school but it's essential. I would try to maybe look at your schedule to see where you could possibly fit in a little more sleep. School is hard but it's not supposed to be so hard that they expect you to function on no sleep!!! I know I would fail if I only got 4hrs a night. As far as your instructor all you can do is your best. My instructor right now is insane and I am terrified of her and of making any kind of mistake even small ones. Try to focus on your patient care and charting and not so much about the teacher. I know the more worried about my teacher I am the more mistakes I make.

Congrats!!! And thanks for the words of encouragement for those of us still in school. I am having one of those times where I don't think I will make it but I only have 5 1/2 more months to go!!!

Thanks all!!! Unfortunately I think ashleyisawesome is right... this lady has the power to fail me as most of the grading is subjective, and going higher up will anger her even more. I am thinking about dropping the class and maybe taking it over next year. and imthatguy... your right my title DID make it sound like the teacher was coming on to me LOL... sorry ; )

I started my med surg clinical last month with a teacher I have never had before but some friends of mine in the class recommended that i take her section. I have only had four clinicals so far and and I feel as though this woman has been downright inappropriate. I have really stepped up my skills and patient care this semester and have really been feeling proud of myself. I really think the nurses on the unit respect me and they always aske if I want to do things with them. They are all so nice and I feel like they are taking the time to show me things which I really appreciate. On the other hand my teacher stands at a computer all day never observing out patient care. She has been very sarcastic and overly critical whenever I ask a question and I am now terrified that she will continue to berate me in front of my classmates ant the other nurses and doctors if I ask her anything else. When I chart she is standing over my shoulder telling me that I look bad and that she will never let me use a computer again and that just makes it worse!!! I get nervous and go blank!!! Last week I had had enough of her so when she dismissed us for lunch I went to my car (which is definately allowed) telling the class I had to make a phone call but really I just didn't want to sit in the cafeteria with her. I was back in time to walk back to the unit with my class. In fact I have always been very respectful of my teacher and have gone out of my way to do everything she says and to do it to the best of my ability. Well other classmates told me the day I went to my car for lunch she was making fun of me to them saying I ran away crying like a baby. Then she told the class she was going to do what she had to do to me. Am I crazy or is this inappropriat behavior??? I mean she obviously has a personal problem with me but I don't understand why she can't be professional while at the hospital. I can go on and on with the things she says to me but that would take to long. I did speak to the head of my program and she basically told me to talk to the instructor. I don't feel comfortable doing that without a mediator because this woman is irritable and defensive and I am afraid it will end up causing alot of unnecessary drama. I don't know what to do because she is the person who determines whether I pass or fail!!! I am so tied up in knots at clinical and the day before that I can hardly function (eat, sleep etc.). I am at the point where I feel like leaving the program but I love nursing, love what I am doing minus the teacher... I feel as though I am doing well and would make a great nurse... I just wish others would see it as well

I really sympathize with you because honestly it's a mistake I could see myself making (but thanks to this thread I will be extra careful). Most of us are exhausted and stressed out from clinicals and the huge amount of studying and paperwork we have to do. When you are sleep deprived, overwhelmed and nervous all the time it can really affect you psychologically. Not that that's an excuse but really... I feel as though I am under a microscope ALL the time in clinical and I can't always be perfect!!! People DO make mistakes and part of nursing school is learning from them so we will be excellent nurses when we graduate.

Hey there im in lpn school in richmond va... not quite va beach but close enough! I have been researching lpn jobs here because I graduate in about six months, your best bet is a physician's office or a long term care or rehab facility. Unfortunately hospitals don't hire many lpn's around here anyway. I am doing my clinical in one of the biggest hospitals in Richmond and I haven't seen one LPN : ( You can expect to make between $15 - $20 an hr for a new grad. Of course there are always exceptions to the norm. There may be some LPN's in the VA Beach area that work in hospitals and make 40-50K!!! I would LOVE to hear from any of those people to give me some hope LOL!!!

I started my second semester today. During break I was sleeping till noon every day so it was hard... BUT... we didn't do much of anything. This semester we have med surg and a leadership class. We don't start med surg clinical for a couple weeks so luckily I can get back into it slowly Also we are expecting snow tonight and im in the south sooooo they will cancel class for sure if it snows!!! Don't get me wrong I love nursing but I am definately NOT a morning person!!!

hmmm points??? im not sure... do u mean as far as the ranking system they use??? i had like a 3.8 gpa but i only had 2 semesters of prereqs... i got in on my first try!!!

So I am a first semester nursing student and I am doing clinical 2 days a week in a nursing home. Most of the CNA's are VERY rude to us and refuse to do their jobs. For example, a patient was being discharged and her husband had the paperwork done and he and other family member were waiting for someone to wheel her out to their van. I asked ALL the CNA's on my unit including the one responsible for the patient and NONE of them would help me. So becaue the family was waiting, and they had a three hour drive ahead of them, myself and another student from my class wheeled her out. When we realized that we couldn't life her enough to get her in the van, and didn't want to risk it, I went back inside to ask for help again and still none of the CNA's would help. I found two LPN's who finally helped me and said that it was policy for an employee of the facility to be there at discharge. When I explained that nobody would help they were upset and said they would have a meeting with them and tell them not to take advantage of the students. Well today, I had two patients and I was busy helping other students in our class who needed help. I spent alot of time assisting the physical therapist and another student give a bath to an obese woman and get her up and dressed. Nobody should risk their back trying to lift a 400 pound patient alone!!! Well the whole morning a CNA kept interupting me while I was helping with patients and asking me to do HER patient right away because she would get in trouble if the patient wasnt done by 10:30. Very politely I told her I would as soon as I finished what I was doing. She continued the constant interuptions. She started telling me she had to go to lunch and I had to get to her patient. So finally I did get to her patient who was totally immoble and unresponsive and had a peg tube. I needed help with her basic care like bathing, making sure someone was on the other side of the bed when I had to roll her over etc. and the CNA was nowhere to be found!!! I got another classmate to help and never got to eat. Is this normal? We arrive at clinicals at 6:45, leave at 1:30 and do not get time to eat or drink? By the time I leave I am so dehydrated and have low blood sugar. I certainly cannot be my best for patients under those conditions!!! Also if I am not hydrated and haven't eaten I start to feel lightheaded around 11 or 12. What can I do about this??? Our instructor said we can have 10 minutes but if she is nowhere to be found and the CNA's are throwing commands at us how can we get away for 10 minutes? And they are so rude!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated:)

Landau comforts... i have to wear all white leather shoes so I bought some $60 nikes trying to make an effort to still look cute at clinical... after the second day I bought the Landaus... not perfect but sooooo much better than the nike. I am also gonna try the support hose even though I'm young... anything to make my feet feel better!!!