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I wasn't going to feed her, I should have made that clear. I understand what NPO means. The lunchroom doubled as the rec room.

Weren't you a student once?

The TV is in the lunchroom, and another CNA told me to take her in there. I guess I should have mentioned that I wasn't planning on feeding her. I sincerely hope that you are more welcoming to new staff members than your comment suggests. Calling students a liability is totally unfair. Maybe if nurses and other CNAs were nicer to new staff and students, there wouldn't be a 'liability.'

Now I get your dilemma. It wasn't Lear at first. Take A&P I now.

I'm currently a LTC CNA and I hate it. It doesn't affect the care I give, but before and after work, I dread going back. I, too, hate the hopelessness. I can only hear 'why don't I die?' so many times before it grates on my nerves. I'm looking forward to starting Nursing school (waiting to hear if I got in!) and hopefully getting work in a hospital. I prefer that environment.

Maybe this has been covered previously, but I am finding that it doesn't matter where I am, Nurses and CNAs are not very friendly to new hires. My first experience was in clinicals. Not one of the CNAs working there introduced themselves to me or anyone else in my class. Only one spoke to me-to yell at me for bringing someone who was NPO into the lunchroom. How could I have possibly known that? I volunteered in an ER and on a Med-Surg floor and had the same experience. After a few weeks, I got friendly with the Nurses and commented on the atmosphere and they all said that they also had a hard time in the beginning. My first job was in a Nursing home and my God, it was/is unlike anything else. Everyone has negative things to say about their colleagues, shifts are very cliquey, passive-aggressive notes indicating what a failure everyone else is are the norm, and the supervisor is totally worthless. When I began training new hires, I made it a point to be supportive of the new hires, friendly to them, and gave them a heads up that people were frosty to me in the beginning, too. I ended up going to part-time overnights and taking a second job in another nursing home to get away from it. It is better, but I just can't believe that this is the norm everywhere.

This is also what I would suggest (wearing whatever they where in the unit you're interviewing for). They can picture you in the role, plus you've already bought a set in case you get the job.

I volunteered in an ER and on a Med/Surg floor for experience. It worked.

I would never want to work with a nurse who didn't think being a CNA first is of any benefit. The nurses I have worked with who never worked as CNAs have beyond ridiculous expectations and think they're overqualified to help wipe someone's behind. On the other hand, nurses who were CNAs previously understand what it's like and have a more practical, collaborative mindset. I really can't stand Nurses who think they're better than CNAs and that's the vibe I get from this post.

You need to call the court and find out how to get the record corrected (its not likely to be expunged). I have a misdemeanor worthless check charge from 7-8 years ago and had no problem getting a job.

I also don't recommend sleeping on the job either. It just seems unprofessional to me. The family is probably making accommodations that they think are necessary to keep good employees, but you can show them that you are a professional and that you take the job too seriously to risk sleeping through your patient's calls for help. I work overnights and have for about three months now in a LTC facility (worked days for a year before that), and will continue to through the summer and I stay up by reading, browsing the Internet, studying and cleaning. I have blackout curtains in my bedroom and sleep while my daughter and husband are gone to school/work. It sounds like a great opportunity though! Best of luck!

This is great advice. I sometimes struggle with this. I'm always triaging in my head when I need to focus on the task at hand.

I work in two different facilities and it's all the same. I moved to overnights so I don't have to deal with this kind of crap anymore. I'd start looking for a new job and chalk it up to experience.

You know it's an NCLEX, right? It worries me that you don't even know the name of the exam you're taking. Missing little details like that add up in patient care.

Try volunteering to get experience. That's what I did. Don't waste that qualification.

This is why I moved to overnights. I cannot comprehend why people in Nursing are such narcs. And between shifts it's worse. Instead of complaining about everything the evening shift didn't do before I get there, I just do it myself. I get the psychology behind it-Nursing produces a very competitive environment, but people are ridiculous. My advice is to document everything and always try to keep your cool.

I'm a CNA and a Medication Aide in Nebraska. I work at two different Nursing Homes and the level of care I'm allowed to provide differs between the facilities. In one, I do everything except injections, IVs and catheter changes, and in the other facility, the Nurse Aides can't even apply ointment-the nurse has to do it. I agree that there can definitely be more professionalism among CNAs but that is up to each individual to be a professional. All the qualifications in the world won't make you good at something unless you take pride in your work.

My advice is to take notes while you're being orientated to the facility and the patients. Everyone has their own preferences and elderly patients can get very agitated if they have to repeat the same things to you. But if you already know what they want, they'll be much more cooperative. I worked the day shift in a facility with 13 patients for a year before I got burned out. 13 might not sound like many but myself and one other CNA were responsible for all of their ADLs, baths, activities, etc plus I am a Med Aide so I would regularly also have to pass meds. Now I work overnights. I do rounds to change briefs and reposition people every two hours, answer a few call lights and study or watch movies the rest of the time. It's so much less physically demanding.

I got my CNA qualification in November and started volunteering weekly in a hospital Emergency Department to get experience shortly after. I also have a great resume, plus three years experience working for a life insurance company documenting medical history for applicants so I have a ton of experience in medical terminology and pharmaceuticals, etc. Why am I having such a hard time even getting an interview for a CNA position? Can you give me some tips on getting a CNA position? I have a completely open schedule (other than Monday and Wednesday nights when I have a math class). And I follow up on interviews for which I have been told I am not being chosen because of a lack of experience. How much experience can a NEW CNA be expected to have?