driveintothesun

The skills that CNA's perform are not any sort of foreign tasks. Everything we do as a CNA are things that relate to every day life. You know how to eat, take a bath, brush your teeth, make a bed, clean up a mess, etc, so now you're just applying those concepts and performing them on other people. Skills such as taking a blood pressure or getting the brief on the patient while they are still in bed are things that you can only master with practice- and no one expects you to be perfect at first (or even close). With time, you will be more comfortable working closely with other people, and more confident with your new skills.

As a working CNA and a pre-nursing student at a university, I highly recommend working while you go to school. I got my CNA when I was in high school, and then went into a pre-nursing program after graduation. I used my first semester in college to get comfortable with my new surroundings, and then began submitting applications during winter break. I got an interview at a local hospital and starting working there by late January. One year later and this job has been one of the smartest decisions I have ever made. Here's why: 1. Working in healthcare can allow you to determine if this is the right field for you. So many people get into it, thinking it's what they want, and find out they spent a lot of time/money on something they don't really like. (Clinicals don't count!) 2. Working in the field before nursing school can help give you experience and advantages that most students don't have. Many nurses are more than happy to teach you things along the way. 3. Extra money. Hospital CNA pay is enough to keep you afloat and then some. 4. Many nursing school applications will give you extra points in the process if you have significant experience in the field. 5. Many hospitals will offer you loans or scholarships for nursing school. My particular hospital will pay for my nursing school if I repay them with my service. Basically, I have to work there X amount of years until the loan is payed. In regards to time restraints, it is difficult to manage school and work. Try and get a weekend contract where you only have to work Saturdays and Sundays. I usually try to arrange my schedule where I fit all my classes on Monday and Wednesday (or Tuesday/Thursday) so I can work Thurs-Sun. Hope this helps!