cheleincali

I agree with the previous person. It is something you do eventually come to expect; however, there is always that one resident/client you bond with in a very emotionally intimate way who you will feel the loss of maybe more than another. Allow yourself to grieve, celebrate the great memories you have of time you spent together, talk about your loss, and then try to focus on the person being in a better place. This has helped me immensely.

If you are going to challenge it, I would recommend getting the book they would be testing you out of to review. For example, the Red Cross handbook for CNA's would be your go to in California.

Personally, I prefer working NOC over any other shift for many of the reasons cited above. Some nights are hectic, especially if there is a flu bug going through the unit; however, there seems to be a better dynamic in team members too.

Hang in there! Sounds like the CNA you were assigned to probably needs to reexamine whether this is a good role for her. It is possible she is burned out. Either way not a good fit for you. There are great YouTube videos and other resources to help you get through this. Main thing is to get your skills down and speed will come. To help you get organized and plan out your day, get a mini notebook to keep in your pocket. You can write down assigned room #'s, anything out of the ordinary for the day (someone leaving for hair appt, dr appt, etc), and showers for the day, etc. Would tackle vitals and showers first, then run through getting everyone up for meals. Other option is to leave your shower people in bed until after breakfast and just get them awake and sitting up in bed while you get everyone up and down to breakfast. Any extra stuff, you have the option to say, do you mind waiting until after breakfast. But make sure you follow through and always keep your word. It builds trust with your residents and of course your teammates.

I also live in the Sacramento area. I found obtaining my CNA while working towards obtaining my nursing degree helped immensely and in speaking to nurses, I found that the ones who had been CNA's before or during nursing school found it to help them be better prepared for certain aspects of their roles as LVN's and RN's. I also would like to think it made them kinder and more empathetic to the CNA's they worked with as they had been in their shoes at one point and were more apt to be mentor-ish to those of us furthering our education. I know if you are going for your LVN, most schools in Sacramento require or strongly recommend you obtain your CNA before applying to their programs. For RN schooling, generally they do not bring this up; however since the wait time to get into a RN program is so long locally, obtaining the CNA and then LVN and then doing the bridge to RN and BSN might be the quicker and better option. CNA's here make between $10-12 to start depending on where you work. If you have your CHHA with the CNA, most home health agencies will pay you more than if you do not have it. Not bad for only one more week of training. Incidentally, SETA will pay for your CNA training in Sacramento. They contract with one or two schools that are state approved training facilities in our area. This includes your Live Scan which you have to do before you can do clinicals and before the state will even issue your CNA as well as tuition, books, BP kit (stethoscope and cuff), school uniform (except white shoes), and American Red Cross testing. In roughly a month, you could have your CNA and can start applying for work the day you pass your ARC exam. The CHHA course is usually the week after the ARC testing and Curam College includes it in the amount they charge SETA for your CNA. So you get both for the price of one. Hope that helps some. :-)

In Northern California, most CNA's start out at 10-12 per hour. However, after a year or two of experience, UCD here in Sacramento is hiring CNA's to be patient transporters and they start at about 16-18 per hour. Dept of Corrections pays CNA's 2000-2500 per month plus benefits and opportunity for OT. Depends on where you work. Like was mentioned above, LPN/LVN is the next rung up from CNA and here in California schooling is usually less than a year including prereq's. RN programs including prereq's are lengthier, with most facilities moving towards requiring a Bachelors of Nursing to hire you as a RN now. Hope this helped! Good luck in your endeavors! :-)

I understand your frustration which is why I opted to go from CNA to LVN and then do the bridge to RN/BSN. Much easier to get into RN programs this way from everything I have found in speaking with RN programs in our area and the Bay Area. Luckily LVN programs are less than a year in length and are a natural progression up from CNA so the workload is not as bad while working from everyone I have talked to who has done it. In addition, many facilities are starting to hire LVN's again in our area. Worse comes to worse, will do LTC or Home Health Nursing or Correctional Nursing as a LVN as I move towards my goal of obtaining the RN/BSN.

When I was researching CNA programs in the Sacramento area, I noticed this one was not listed on Allnurses or really anywhere. However, they are contracted with SETA to be a preferred provider, which means SETA will pay for your schooling if you fall in a certain income bracket or are on unemployment. This includes paying for your BLS (which Curam brings in an outside approved vendor to teach), your Livescan fingerprinting, the CNA course, uniform for school, a gait belt, BP kit (includes cuff and stethoscope), books, state/American Red Cross testing fee, and of course the HHA course (good to have since some places including Dept of Corrections requires for their CNA's). Curam is relatively new from what I understand and located off Hwy 99 and 47th. Was not sure at first, but the staff is friendly and very motivated to help you learn and pass the exam. Our instructor was phenomenal and even though she was gruff sometimes, she was focused on making sure we knew our stuff and if asked would give additional tips on how to handle different situations. She also was good about pointing out what ARC tests for and how some things might be a bit different in real life applications. All in all it was a good experience and I would recommend this program to anyone. I also would recommend if you are planning on pursuing a career in Nursing, take advantage of SETA to pay for your certifications so you can save your money for the more expensive aspects of LVN and/or RN schools. In doing so, you can get into an entry level position in Nursing and be able to make some money while you are working your way through school.

I agree with what vintagemother stated. Patient safety, infection control, and privacy as well as communicating with the "patient" as you are performing tasks is key. One thing that helped me was to remember my training and act as if I was not being tested and was simply performing resident/patient care as part of my job. Helped with the nerves immensely. Good luck!

I would definitely file a complaint with HR and the Labor Board on this one. Not sure what state you are in, but here in CA, these are all big no-no's. For one thing your condition is a chemical imbalance and is covered under ADA laws. They cannot discriminate against you for it. In addition, she violated your rights under COBRA by sharing this information with staff. This should not have gone beyond HR as far as the information is concerned and only for the sake of the drug testing. You are not obligated to share your diagnosis with anyone you work for and they cannot penalize you for it either. I am sorry you are going through this. Hopefully you find another place to work so that you can get out from under the prejudicial issues this woman has.

One of the things, I learned quickly as a student was to figure out what kind of learner I was. Once you know this, it helps you build strategies that work for you. I am a visual learner and most instructors tend to teach to auditory learners, so I have learned to adapt how I study. I take copious notes and record lectures. When I get home, I transcribe my hand written notes and lectures and even incorporate things from books and handouts to help me. Afterwards, I read and reread my typed up notes based on my hand written notes, taped lectures and highlights from books and handouts to study for tests. I also make flashcards for important things I have to memorize. This has helped me immensely. I also will have someone quiz me from my typed notes and flashcards a few times before quizes and exams. Here is a link to a site where you can take a learning test and find out additional information on whatever your learning style turns out to be: Learning Style Quiz - My Learning Style - Your Best Learning Style Hope this helps you! Good luck with your studies!

Thanks for the information, CChezum. Definitely good information there. Was wondering the same thing. Just applied here in California to work as a CNA within the prison systems in NorCal. Had planned on working as CNA within prisons while I went after my LVN and then transition to working as a LVN and then go after my RN/BSN. :-)

I am in Sacramento and see the postings all over the place, but have heard that recent grads definitely have a harder time; which is something that concerns me. However, I am optimistic and flexible if need be.