SugarBabe99

Hi, I'm looking to enroll in a CNA program soon and hopefully obtain employment afterward. I had a few questions in mind that I was hoping someone with CNA experience could help with. 1. Do you need to type up a resume when applying for CNA jobs, or is just filling out an app all that's needed? Would it still be a good idea to type up and send in a resume anyway? 2. Being young (22) and obviously brand-new to the health care field, my job experience isn't that extensive. I've held two jobs in my lifetime -- working as a kennel assistant at a combined boarding kennel/vet clinic for over 2 years, and as a crew member at McDonald's, which I'm doing now. Now, even though these occupations may not have directly been in the health-care field, I still feel they're beneficial and relevant experience -- the kennel job shows that I can take care of things, can clean up messes, etc. while the McDonald's job shows I have customer service skills and experience dealing with people that the first job might not have given me. Do you think a prospective employer would look at it that way? 3. Now, one problem I have and something I'm worried might cause difficulty for me in getting hired is the fact that I'm kind of shy and don't always talk too much. It's not necessarily that I have horrible people skills or anything, but I'm just not super out-going and don't talk a lot unless prompted or if it's with someone I know well. I'm also somewhat nervous and insecure, and it's not always easy for me to hide this if I'm brand new to a job and unsure of myself. These traits have caused some employers to just immediately dismiss me, so I'm not quite sure what to do about it. I mean, I always put on a smile, try my best to be friendly, cheerful and talkative during interviews, but I think they still manage to sense an underlying shyness or insecurity underneath it. Any tips for how to handle this, appear more confident, etc? I know a CNA job is one where I'll definitely want to appear like I'm good at dealing w/ people, since that's primarily what the job entails. 4. To anyone who lives in Louisiana -- any idea of the job prospects of obtaining employment as a CNA in this state, how likely it is to get hired, etc.? 5. Something I'm a little worried about is if I'm required to give meds or not as a CNA, and other liability/safety issues. Now, I know in nursing homes CNAs are typically not allowed to give meds (unless they receive additional training/cert as a med aide) and the nurses handle all of that. However, I've read that sometimes they are expected to give them in assisted living facilities and home care -- is that true? This is just something I'm a little worried about because I'd prefer not to have to give meds as a CNA if possible as I'm worried about the whole liability aspect of it (a patient dying if I give them the wrong med, etc.) I'd rather wait to do that until I'm a full-on nurse as I'll have the education and training for it then. One of the reasons why I'm just going for CNA now as opposed to going straight for my RN is because CNA work is simpler and entails less liability, which I feel is better for me to start out with compared to full-on nursing where I basically have patients' lives in my hands. I'm under the impression that CNA work is mostly just making sure the patients are kept fed and cleaned, making sure they don't fall, and then other little things as far as safety goes (always making sure the bed is lowered and the side rails up before leaving a room, etc.), not really many of the drastic life-saving decisions you'd have to do as a nurse. 6. Now, this is something that may seem a little silly, but it's something that's a genuine concern of mine so I wanted to bring it up. How common or likely is it to get sexually harassed while performing perineal and other types of care on a patient? It's not the peri-care itself that I mind doing, just the possibility of a patient attempting to harass me or force me into doing something that makes me uncomfortable. I mean, I'm guessing that most of the patients you'll have to perform this on are old and debilitated (hence needing it done in the first place), so it'd be hard for them to really do anything TOO forceful, just maybe make some lewd comments (which I could deal with. If a patient does truly make you uncomfortable or crosses the line into downright abuse/harassment, what can you do about it?

Well, 3 months is understandable -- 3 months should be plenty of time to get the hang of a job and learn how to do it well. If someone can't learn the basics of a job in 3 months, then more than likely they aren't even trying. It's just, I had a job where I was booted for not knowing how to do everything in 2 days, which I think is ridiculous and perhaps why I kind of took chi449rk's comment to heart.

Now, I might not be absolutely correct on this - but from the research I've done, it depends on the facility you're applying for more than anything else. Some want those with prior training/experience, others don't and will train them from the ground up. A lot of facilities prefer those who are already educated/trained and know what they're doing, but it varies. Again, someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this. Personally, though, I want to go to school simply to have the education/training before I apply to a job. So I plan to do that whether I go for vet tech or RN -- take the 2-year program to learn as much as I can first. That way, I figure, the chances of me making a stupid mistake during the training will be lesser since I already know more. I want to know as much as possible to avoid making a mistake such as a med error that might hurt an animal, etc.

Yeah, like I said, the main reason why I'm not entirely decided on VT is because 1. it doesn't make as much money as RN and 2. I'm still not sure I don't want to be an RN yet. I'm thinking of becoming a CNA and doing that for a while to help cement my decision, since that will help me learn how much I like dealing with people and caring for them and decide whether I want to go for my RN or not. I realize that RN definitely makes more money than a vet tech, but at the same time, I don't want to be stuck doing something that I might not enjoy as much just for the money reason. Honestly, I think I'd rather be doing something that I love, but makes my financial situation a little tight, rather than something that I hate but makes a lot of money. Not saying I'd necessarily hate being an RN but you know what I mean, hypothetically speaking. Something which you love but makes less money might be more worth it than something you don't like as much but makes more, depending on the circumstances. Like I said, I don't plan on having kids and I'm hoping the mortgage will be paid off by time my husband is gone, so I'm hoping vet teching will be enough to pay my bills. And yeah, I realize some vet techs can get trained on the job -- however, I think if I do do it, I want to go to school for it first instead. Like I said, my local school offers a vet tech 2-year program, and that way, I can learn all I need to before applying for a job, and will be qualified for more procedures and such. Also, it'll lesser the chance of me making a stupid mistake during the learning process, because I'll already have learned so much from school. I thought of going on to become a full-on vet, but I dunno... there's just the fact that it takes several years of school, and I don't really have the time and/or money for that much schooling... and veterinary schools are EXTREMELY competitive... there is only one in our state and it is hard to get into. And honestly, I think I'd be satisfied with vet tech... just like I said, the only downside of being a vet tech is the money.

Hehe. Yeah, that might be a good idea. I really think that being a veterinary technician is a wonderful job, really the only downsides are 1. It doesn't pay as much and 2. doesn't offer as many opportunities for advancement as being an RN does. I just hope that if I do go the veterinary technician route over RN, that I'll be able to make enough to support myself after my husband's gone. But I don't plan on having kids, so...

Really? I've always thought of a vet tech as being like an animal nurse, but your mileage may vary. I think vet assistant or kennel assistant is more comparable to CNA than a vet tech. Vet techs tend to perform a lot of skilled duties - X-rays, lab tests, administering medications, starting IVs, assisting during surgery and with anesthesia, etc. It is true that there isn't that much as far as career advancement goes, though.

I'm having trouble deciding between the two careers and I'm wondering if someone else was ever, or is, in the same spot. On one hand, I love animals and working with them (my first job was at a kennel and I LOVED it) and I imagine being a vet tech would be something I'd really enjoy. On the other, I like the idea of working as an RN also; I like the idea of all the different specialties and things you get to do as an RN, plus I like the idea of helping people and taking care of them. Although, I know as far as money goes RN is definitely where it's at; it's often hard to make decent money working as a vet tech. My school offers Associate's programs for both RN and vet tech, so...

I was given the forms on my 2nd day but said I wanted to take them home to fill out with my husband... but never even got to that point because just a few minutes later I was told things would not work out. I did get paid for the 2 days I worked, though. As to why I was let go, it basically had to do with them not wanting the take the time out to train me and also because I got nervous and made a stupid mistake. I don't want to say exactly what the mistake was because it embarrasses me, just that it wasn't anything that caused the injury or death of a patient or anything truly awful like that, but was still really stupid and I should have known better. Also, for some reason they seemed confused about what kind of previous training/experience I had and expected me to know how to do things I'd never done before. I really thought it was kind of ridiculous on their parts, but I'm not a hiring manager so what do I know, maybe they were in the right.

If I worked at a job for 2 days, didn't even get as far as filling out my W-4 forms, and then was let go, am I required to list it on any future applications or resumes? I'd assume no, due to the fact that I worked for such a short period of time and didn't even fill out any paperwork, but some people were saying that you're required to list any and all places you ever worked at, because if you don't and later it's somehow discovered you did, it's considered immediate grounds for dismissal. On one hand it seems so pointless to list, but on the other, I'd hate to be working at a place for years only for it to somehow come out through word-of-mouth, etc. that I worked at x place and then to be terminated for falsifying an application. Also, will being let go after 2 days affect my chances of obtaining employment as a nurse at other places? I'm worried that some place will hear somewhere that "___ didn't do a good job and was fired after only 2 days" and decide not to hire me as a result.

I would, but I don't have the money. All the background checks I've found online cost money and I'm dirt broke right now.

Thank you guys for your help, I really appreciate it. I am feeling a bit better now. What these people were claiming was that when it's a government-mandated stay, that can be somehow be found with a background check, I guess because it's government-related. But here's the only problem I see with that, thinking about it logically: what exactly would it show up AS? There's nothing criminal or illegal about it, so I can't see it showing up in a criminal background. Also, their claim that it's different from other medical records due to the fact that it's psychiatric/mental-health related, and that makes it an exception for showing up; if anything, that seems like it would mandate MORE confidentiality due to the sensitivity of such material. I mean, I'd say employers are a lot more likely to be discriminatory in such a case due to the stigma and judgment that's often associated with those suffering from mental health issues. Also, they're claiming that it has to do with it being a 72-hour hold; that a 72-hour hold gets added to your criminal record and is a criminal/legal matter, not a medical one. Here's what they are claiming: [14:14] <____> yeah they probably lied to you [14:14] <____> ok, when they file a 72 hour hold, it becomes a criminal matter, and gets added to your criminal record [14:14] <____> i believe it also includes the circumstance behing the hold, but im not 100% sure

That's what I thought, that it wouldn't show up unless there were criminal charges involved, which wasn't true in my case. However, these people were claiming that if it's a government-mandated, involuntary commitment to a psych ward, that it CAN and WILL show up in a background check and affect your future employment chances. These people acted like they knew what they were talking about, too. They told me they were surprised I didn't know and hadn't done research on it prior to wanting to become a nurse. Well, maybe because I had ALWAYS read and been told that any kind of medical information and records is strictly, 100% confidential, be it mental-health related, an involuntary commitment to a psych ward, etc. This is really stressing me out. I thought that I would have no problems obtaining licensure/employment as a nurse given that I have absolute no criminal background, no felonies, misdemeanors or even traffic violations. However, last year, I was at a bad time in my life and not in my right mind, and tried to commit suicide. This led to me being hospitalized and then committed to a psych ward for a week. I would hate to think that a stupid decision made when I was going through a rough time in my life would affect my chances of becoming a nurse; I've dreamed of being a nurse since I was a little girl. In all honestly, I think it's screwed up that this could possibly affect your chances given that I was under the impression that ALL medical records, no matter what the situation, were STRICTLY confidential; in fact, I only admitted it was a suicide attempt after being ensured that my information would not be leaked or made public. The thought that I was lied to and my information could be revealed in a background check and affect my chances of employment even though I did NOTHING criminal or illegal or that hurt anyone else seems really not right to me.

Not sure if this is exactly the right forum for this, but if you were involuntary committed to a psych ward, can that affect your chances of getting licensed/obtaining employment? Some people were telling me that if you were involuntarily committed to a psych ward, it can show up in a background check and affect your chances of employment. This doesn't seem right to me, I was under the impression that HIPAA and patient-doctor confidentiality prevents any sort of medical information from being leaked, but they were saying it's an exception when it's related to mental health and government-mandated psychiatric ward stays.

I have a dilemma. Back in 2010, I was hospitalized and put in the psych ward for a week following a suicide attempt. I'm planning on applying for nursing school next year and hopefully becoming a nurse. However, some people were telling me I may have difficulty due to my history of staying in a psychiatric ward and mental health issues. Is this true? I was under the impression that any sort of medical records were STRICTLY confidential, that they wouldn't be able to find out this sort of information and that the only thing that would affect your chances of employment were a criminal background. I had NO idea that psych ward stays were public knowledge, I think this is screwed up. I didn't do anything illegal or criminal, I didn't hurt anyone, I feel this knowledge should be private and not affect my chances of obtaining employment. I'm really disappointed, I'm wondering if I should just give up on my hopes of being a nurse now due to a mistake I made during a bad period in my life.

... so let me get this straight. You fire someone just for ASKING if they can possibly be moved to a different shift? I mean, I'm sorry but that seems unusually harsh to me. Maybe they have extenuating circumstances or something comes up that would make working a particular shift difficult. I mean, if it was me, I wouldn't fire them just for ASKING if they could be moved to a different shift; if they absolutely refused to work the shift they were assigned to or didn't show up for it, then sure, but not just for asking. Also, as far as #2 goes... it takes TIME and PRACTICE to learn how to do things right, not everyone is a genius or has a photographic memory. To fire someone just for needing time to learn things and not knowing how to do everything perfectly during the first few days seems excessive.