Purple93

For me I would have to say ABSOLUTELY. Me and my friend were both thinking to be nurses so I became a cna first to see if it is for me because I wasn't completely sure and didnt want to go through the trouble and then find out I didn't like it afterwards. I actually figured out nursing was not for me on my first week as a cna. I'm still a cna, but just as a job on the side of school now. However, I am on track to be a speech pathologist which I am excited and extremely interested in.

I work at a hospital on the medsurg floor. We have 52 beds on that floor and it's the largest unit of the hospital. On a good day I have 10 patients and and a bad day I have about 15-20 patients. I started on this floor on the day shift and man the day shift is always so short staffed that sometimes there were two cnas with a full house and man it would get really stressful. However, I am now on the night shift and staffing is much better and I am much more relaxed. Glad I switched because I was going to go insane on day shift.

So just an update. I have been working for about two months now and I just wanted to let you all know how much of a help you were in dealing with the pain with all of the useful suggestions. SO, I am happy to say that I did indeed get used to it. I think i wrote before that I bought some New Balance stability shoes and they make a HUGE difference. In fact, one day it flooded like crazy near my house and my friend who was dropping me off had to let me off down the street from my house or else her car would've gotten stuck like the other fifteen cars did So, my shoes got soaked through and through. The next day I was forced to wear some super flat, very poorly made champion shoes and my feet hurt all over again until my New Balance shoes were dry so the shoe really does matter. I also bought some arch support insoles for the shoe which helped too but were annoying b/c they only go halfway in the shoes and they kept sliding down towards my toes which made my feet hurt again so i haven't really been wearing them. But yeah, on most days i feel absolutely no pain anymore (but on some days i will have a minor foot ache but nothing like before). As you know when I first started I felt so horrible and weak. So this is a major improvement thank you all.

So, I work on the med/surg floor at a hospital but when i went in to work on Friday they sent me to the ICU b/c the day CNA was on vacation. As soon as I got there, a nurse told me she needed me to help here with post mortem care. I was dreading having to do this b/c this is the one thing I wanted to avoid as long as i could. So when I finally did go in there I did not react as I thought I would. I thought I would be overwhelmed with emotion, but to my surprise i was not. In fact, i felt numb and emotion-LESS. I didn't know how to think about it. I mostly felt sad for the family afterwards though. But now I've been wondering what type of person i must be to not feel anything. Am I that cold?

Haha! I'm a CNA in a hospital and let me tell you, our nurses get down and dirty. All of the nurses at my facility readily help me wipe someones butt, give baths and everything. It is in their scope they just have a much wider scope but I truly appreciate it because I know they are super busy and the fact that they don't think it's above them to help me is awesome. But on another note I personally believe it was worth it for me. I did my CNA class last fall semester and just started working as one in April. It's only been a month and I know already that I do not want to become a nurse. Before I became a CNA I was so confused about if it's what I wanted to do and luckily I took the time to become a CNA so I wouldn't waste even more time becoming a nurse and THEN finding out it wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I love what nurse do but it is not for everyone. So I would advice that you become a CNA especially if it's free and go from there. Well good luck in either way you choose.

So as I posted recently I just started as a CNA. Friday was my third and last day shadowing one of the CNA's that already worked there and Monday I will be on my own. Well yesterday, I was feeding a patient that had been asking the nurse several times for medication and so while I was feeding, the nurse came in and put some medicine on the table that I was feeding from (I was actually done and was cleaning up at this point). It was a liquid med in a little cup and she told me to give it to her to drink and I said "Umm I don't think I'm supposed to give her that," and she said " No it's fine, just give it to her." She walked out and I was looking puzzled, but I know I cant do that so I told the patient bye and walked out. The nurse saw me when I walked out and was looking like "why didn't you give it" but she went in and gave it to her. Now the nurse is very very nice and polite and I know she was very busy but I CANNOT give meds. How do you guys respectfully tell nurses this when they try to get you to do this. Hopefully this will not be a continued problem there.

Thank you all for the advice. I just got home from my third day and I am soaking my feet in warm water as I type. It hurts extremely bad and I think what makes it worse is that fact that I am super flat footed and I have no arch in my foot so I ordered some new balance shoes that are supposed to have good arch support. I think I may get some brooks too later one to mix em up. Besides the whole body hurting thing, being a brand new CNA on the busiest unit of a hospital is really hard. I'm just trying to learn how to prioritize my time and figure out what all the machines mean, and what those terms mean that the other staff are saying. I came in knowing nothing AT ALL since I've never worked so it's a bit overwhelming and I'm supposed to be on m own on Monday and I honestly don't know how well I will do but I will just try my best. Thank you guys!

I was wearing nike shoes (nike initiator

So as I posted the other day I started my first day as a CNA today at a hospital. OMG! my body feels like it is going to fall apart, i even cried after my shift walking to the bus stop because I was so weak and my body from my lower back to the tips of my toes were in so much pain. Even though I'm only 20 I have always had lower back pain when I stand for too long. The CNA that I was orienting with today said that she just got used to it. She's in her 40s and a little bigger than me but it didn't even effect her she seemed just as fine as when she started the shift I couldn't understand it. i'm going to go stretch and I will start doing some back and thigh exercises to strengthen my body. I started working out not too long ago b/c I'm 40 pounds overweight (but even the people bigger than me don't seem to be effected). Any advice about how to deal with severe pain after a working in this field?

Hey! I replied to you already but then I went to your page and noticed that you are taking your class at HCC. That's were I took mines (at the West Loop Campus).

I started my class Sept. 2012 and it ended Dec. 8, 2012. I applied to a bunch of jobs in December when I was done, about 30. I got hired by a home health agency in Feb. but it didn't work b/c I have no car (but the woman who hired me said it would be okay and she would give me patients on the bus line). I also told here that I needed to know a day in advance for a job assignment b/c of the bus but they continued to notify me the day of. Anyway, out of the blue a hospital called me about two weeks ago and I went in for three interviews with them and they hired me! I couldn't believe it b/c I have barely any work experience in life at all. I got hired on the med/surg unit along with 4 other CNA's who have a lot of experience and I'm the only one who is a newbie. They also hired a brand new CNA like me for the post partum unit and we were both talking about how blessed we were to to new and get in at a hospital. I honestly expected only nursing homes would hire me but trust me you can definitely do it. Apply to every hospital in your area even if they say you have to have experience. If you get to the interview let them know that you're a quick learner and that you are a determined person. Good luck!

Okay thank you so much! We have to enter those things into the system and I was highly confused but when I go to my unit on Monday I will definitely ask them. I don't feel comfortable doing something I've never done without being shown how but I just wanted to at least know what they were. So you guys were very helpful thank you so much.

Okay so I went to IT&S Orientation today to learn how to use the computer systems and how to enter patient info, etc. There are a few things that I was not familiar with b/c my CNA class did not cover them. I've never heard of the terms sp02%, ivpb and 02 flow l/m. What are they and how do I calculate them? Please help thank you :)

I just got certified as a CNA in January and I have been hired at a hospital. I've been at general orientation the whole week just learning stuff about the hospitals policies and such but also about patient care somewhat. Well, I officially start on Monday working on the Med/Surg unit. I'm trying to think how I will manage my time as I am brand new and don't know the best order to do things. I know we have to do VS as soon as the shift starts (I am day shift 6:45 AM to 7:15 PM). I think my day will look like this: Take VS Do baths/showers Make beds Mouth care/grooming Passing breakfast trays to isolation patients/feed Rotate every 2 hours ROM Ambulate Take VS at 11-12 clean soiled patients Take VS at 3-4 etc. Am I forgetting anything? As I said I am brand new and do not know how to manage my time but I'm trying to mentally prepare myself so I will have an idea. I will need to find out what time breakfast and lunch come so I can make sure they are clean and teeth are brushed before they eat. Also, while I learned how to measure intake and output in theory, we never actually did it in clinical so the teacher talked about it once and never visited the subject again. Can someone explain exactly how it works? Any advice about time management and how to be an effective CNA? I'm kind of nervous as you may be able to tell :).