CNA1991

Good luck! I'm sure you'll get something if you keep trying. It's interesting that you worked in the dental field before becoming a nurse; did you ever check out the posts on allnurses about nurses using their nursing experience in a dental office? I guess a lot of nurses are married to dentists and I've seen some posts about it. I myself work in the dental field and have been trying to make the transition into nursing.

So, I have been looking at these forums for the past couple years and I have noticed lately that there hasn't been much posts from new grads who are having trouble finding a job. I was wondering if this means the new grad market has picked up? New grads, how hard/easy has it been for you to find a job? I am interested in hearing from RNs and LVNs. Thanks!

As in, what states have an adequate amount of jobs for and will hire new grads? Obviously, California is a horrible job market for new grads. Also, what would you recommend for a new grad looking for an out-of-state job? Whats the best way to look for jobs out-of-state? I am sort of looking for a list of "good", "bad", and "OK" states for RNs with either an associates or a BS. Thanks

Do you think this will be true in 2 years still? Thanks for the tip.

No worries! We are all here to learn

Recently, I found this ad on craigslist: tlc's institute of nursing education www.tlcnursingedu.com 831 424 3000 "The LVN Preparatory Challenge Course." The California Board of Vocational Nurses, allows experienced Certified Nurses Assistant's to take the NCLEX-PN(the LVN test). We offer a 26 week program that exceeds the California Board of Vocational Nurses requirements. Our program will ready the experienced Unlicensed Healthcare worker to successfully challenge the NCLEX-PN (the LVN test). Classes will begin 16 October 2012 Call to schedule an appointment for more information today!! Bring this ad and Recieve $100.00 off your paid Tuition!! tlc's institute of nursing education www.tlcnursingedu.com I have heard of CNAs with a lot of acute experience(5 years or more) and who have taken a pharmacology course being able to challenge the NCLEX-PN in California, but this ad doesn't seem to specify how much experience or what type of experience and that makes me question it's validity. Also, HHAs and CNAs are two different certifications in CA, but I have never heard of a HHA who has been able to challenge the NCLEX (it lists HHA in the title but not in the description). Is anyone on here familiar with this company? Is it a scam? Thanks

Thanks for the warning

Honestly, I feel that you will get biased answers if you use a site where there is only one sides view of their profession so as a pre-student for both, I will tell you why I am interested in both and attempt to give you an unbiased overview of the basics. Education Nursing:you can enter the field as a lpn/lvn in a year, or with a ADN or BSN in about 3-6Years(counting prereqs and general education).Most employers are trending towards BSNs now and your opportunities will be more plentiful with that higher degree. Ultrasound tech: you can enter this profession with a certificate, associates or bachelors degree. Usually, a certificate alone won't get you a job and most employers want an associates degree or hire. School/work You would probably have an easier time working while going to RDMS school because they spend less hours in school than nurses. Family/work Ultrasound:regular hours, pretty much no weekends/holidays. less stressful. Nursing: REALLY flexible schedule, you can work any shift, shift lengths vary, opportunity for overtime and extra pay likely. Salary: Depends on the area. In my area, starting pay is about the same but registered nurses on average make somewhat more money than RDMS, about 10k more. In some cases, a RDMS will make more but in most cases RNs make more.Nurses, however, have more of an opportunity to increase their salaries after specializing and getting advance degrees.

Congrats! I think you should be ok.

Beautifully written, your words are inspiring!

As of right now, I am a CNA with some home care/LTC experience but would like a change. My main question is, to those who were Pharmacy Technicians during nursing school, what shifts did you typically do? How many hours did you typically work per week? Can you work nights as a pharmacy tech and if so, in what settings(nursing home, hospital, mail order, etc.)? what setting did you work in? Assuming most nursing programs run from at least 7-3 everyday and sometimes longer for clinicals, was it hard to keep working with so much schooling and limited hours that you could devote to work? I was hoping to work 20 hours or so per week during my program,would I be setting myself up for failure? What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a pharmacy technician during nursing school? Thanks. Also, sorry for all the questions, I looked up a lot of things about pharmacy techs but could not find any "typical shifts" or shift information to save the life of me.

Congratulations! Hopefully it will be me posting this some day.

sad but true

I hear 1/5 nurses end up changing professions after the first year...not sure if that's true or not anymore, it's been awhile since I heard that. At least you can have the comfort of knowing that you are doing something for someone they couldn't do for themselves and you are doing a great service for the world.

Yes, that doctor was being VERY socially innapropriate and should have noticed that joke was not a good one to make. Also, don't think less of all doctors just because this one was being rude. I hate to admit it, but some nurses do let themselves go because the stress of their work gets to them BUT that's people of all types; most people nowadays let themselves go in one way or another and it's not just nurses...statistically speaking some will be though. I hope you feel better in the future.

I wish I could find a registry to work through, but even those require experience over here. It's either LTC,ALF, or homehealth with limited experience.

I did try telling my suprivisor, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. I am somewhat afraid to go to the DON because she seems to be someone who picks favorites.

I have been working at a LTC/rehab facility for 2 months now, and I am pretty sure I am going to be fired soon. The other day at work my suprivisor kept bringing up how my job is "at will, could end at any time" several times when she spoke to me. My main problem from what they tell me is body mechanics (leaning over instead of crouching, twisting, walking under things while leaning over, etc.); I try to do proper body mechanics, but I do slip up from time to time because these are my old habits. The real reason I think I will be fired is because my suprivisor keeps claiming to "remind" me of stuff that I had never been told before. Like, for example, the other day I was in a new dining area that I had never been in that has a different dining procedure than the rest of the facility, that I was never told of. I started doing the procedure that the rest of the facility has and I was scolded for the rest of the day about "not knowing" even though no one told me about the procedure. Also, when I was in training for the first two weeks, every trainer I had did something different for mostly everything, hoyer lifts, bed positions, what should be done at what time, etc. and when I did the procedures how I was taught to do them, my suprivisor told me that "I haven't learned anything" even though I did the procedures exactly how I was taught to do them by my last trainer. I feel like I can't win because whenever I do something as I was told how to do it by a trainer, my suprivisor always claims it's wrong and she also claims she has to remind me of stuff I was "supposed" to know but was never informed of before. I would like to get a new CNA job but I feel like I would just be setting myself up for dissapointment because of how things went at this LTC facility. I hear ALF are better to work in, but there aren't a lot within 20 miles of me and I would most likely have to commute to work and I am not sure if it would be worth it since most of my money would go towards gas at that point. I am also aware of home health companies (I also have a second job in home care that's part-time) but I am not sure I can do that either because the hours are sparatic and can vary and I am looking for something more stable. I would love to work in a hospital, but there's no way of getting into one in california's bay area without either knowing someone or having experience (and homecare doesn't count, and sometimes ALF don't count either when I have looked at hospital job postings for CNAs); and that's the only reason I was working in a nursing home in the first place. I know about patient transporters, but those jobs also have a lot of people scrambiling for them as well and are far and few between in terms of avalability here. My plans now are to try to get basically any job in a hospital and go from there or getting pharmacy tech training and going from there, since I don't think anything I could do with my CNA would get me to where I want to go. I just want a job in a hospital so I will be all set for a job when I graduate from nursing school, and I almost feel like I wasted my time and money to become a CNA because the reality is so much different from school and being a CNA might just not be for me. There's plenty of jobs in nursing homes, but there's about a million people all with the same/more experience than me applying to hospitals that even when I have the experienced required, I would still be out of my leauge. I am at a stand still, not sure what's the next step I should take because all jobs are hard to get in the Bay Area right now and I am just looking for something that will give me good experience to put on a resume and for an "in" for when I reach my future goals of becoming a nurse and hopefully put me one step closer to landing a job I actually want. Does anyone on here regret becoming a CNA? If so, what are you doing/what did you do after deciding that this may not be your route before nursing? Did you go on to get certified in something else and now are happy in that position? Did you try working at different places and found a job you are actually happy at? Thanks for any ideas, I could really use some right now to help me make my decision in the next step.

Ugh I know! I am so tired of being a servant to ungreatful people. Don't get me wrong, I have had some good patients/clients but most just complain. The other day, at my LTC job (I have 2 jobs) one of the residents said that my job "can't be that hard". Really? Unless you have been a CNA or any other menial low-paid job for super hard work don't talk to me about what is easy and what isn't. I am even considering getting some other certification besides CNA and going from there because I am thinking I should take it easy before nursing school instead of wearing myself out before I even get there.

I feel like I am in the same boat as you, I feel like I am going to get fired from my new LTC job. It's really frustrating because of the few mistakes I made, there were reported immediatly and I feel like some discriptions of my work as told to my manager from my trainers were inaccurate.....I was also cut down and another CNA asked how I even passed my state boards in front of some residents who then started complaining themselves about how easy the job must be (I would like to see you get out of bed and lift your own 500 pound ass to the side for a changing)....right in front of my manager. It's really painful to be fired but I do think you can recover as long as you don't list this job on a resume. Being a CNA is hard physcially and there's so many little things you have to remember when you're new. I hope things go better for you in the future!

I am sort of the same boat as you, I started in homecare and am now working at a LTC. I Prefer the night shift because it's a slower paced shift, I am not a morning person and I HATE waking up early, there's less activites and more time to do them at night. It really depends on what type of worker you are, if you get bored easily then maybe you should be a morning person. If you can stay awake and want thhe day to yourself do the night shift.

That's funny, because that was the thread I read right before I posted this....it's not really the same thing, but it throws out some good ideas. Plus, by the time I go to apply I will have some LTC experience and not be a new grad.

Recently, I have thought about taking an acute CNA course so that I could meet people within a hospital and network myself. I have been working in LTC for awhile (two months) and was thinking about taking the course this summer. Has anyone ever done this before? How should I go about trying to network while in school?

At the facility I work at, per diem employees submit a monthly sheet telling what days and times they can work for the month and then are called in only if needed during those times....Is this also how a hospital does their per diem shifts as well? I would like to get a second job at a hospital but would not want it to interfere with the job I have now. How does per diem work in a hospital exactly?

I think you should. Think about it, are you there for them or for yourself? Even if you hate it, this class will not be very long and it will be very beneficial for you in the long run. I remember when I went through my CNA program I also felt out of place (out of town, youngest person in the class) and I thought nobody would talk to me either. But to my surprise, I made friends very easily, our class was a team. We actually all held hands and prayed before taking our CNA state test at the end. People come to a CNA class ready to learn and it's not like high school where people judge you if you are different, you are there to be a team and pass that state test. Even if things don't work out as you would have liked, you can always study really hard and I promise you will eventually pass that test, support or not. Don't let others bring you down, you can do it! Good luck!