Workhardbekind

I honestly have never heard of such a course. Sorry.. good luck with your search, though!

That's awesome =) You've got this for sure. I'll be rooting for you. Thanks again and good luck to you too!

Thanks modonn05! And I haven't heard about the UW Bothell thing, but my understanding is that winter and spring usually have less applicants, so I'm interested to find out what the lowest accepted score is too. I'm glad you're going to try again. You're determined, and I know you'll do great! What study material are you using? A lot of people suggested the ATI study guide, so I read that, and only that, front to back, did all the practice problems, and rewrote formulas and sentence structures to help me get familiar with them, and it helped so much. I was studying up until we were in line to get in to the test taking room lol

I got an 86% on my TEAS test, and I just found out I got in! I'm in disbelief. The letter itself was dated October 3rd, and I forgot to check the stamp for the date it was sent out, but I received it on the 9th. As for the question about the waitlist, the letter said I'd have to contact them in order to accept the invitation and secure my spot, or it would go to someone else. I called them first thing the next morning. lol Kkay29, I'm so sorry about your situation, and I can imagine how frustrating it is. I tried to do nursing 8 years ago, and I struggled so hard. I even dropped out of my prereq classes because I was having such a hard time. Chemistry alone left me crying every day. I changed career paths 3 times since then. And then last year, I decided to try again. I am not the smartest person by far, but I worked my butt off, had no life and no sleep, and for all the sacrifices I made, I have no regrets. If 10 years from now you can see yourself wishing you gave it one more shot, then keep going! If this is your dream, keep your head up, and keep working hard, and believe in yourself. You've got this!

I'm hoping to get in for Winter as well and am feeling nauseated over all this waiting. Good luck everyone!

WOOHOO! Congratulations!! I just passed mine recently, and I know that feeling of relief and excitement and accomplishment. It's so good. Proud of you, chica! Time to celebrate! Congrats again! :)

Thank you! I so very much appreciate the support and advice. This forum continues to amaze me with its kindness. My first day on the floor solo went surprisingly well, thanks to all of you. :) The residents definitely love the reassuring back rubs and gentle hand squeezes. I also tried linen folding, sweeping, and asking them to help with setting up and cleaning up the dining room tables, which helped since the Activities Coordinator and volunteers leave around 4:00, and there are generally no more activities for the more active/ambulatory residents in the evening. I feel bad that there aren't more of us CNAs in the evenings, or else I would gladly host a bingo night, but the residents do like being helpful, and there is almost always laundry to be done. I experienced them get frustrated with me because they couldn't hear me, so speaking face-to-face, slowly and clearly helped, especially with hand gestures. I have also found that leaving them alone is sometimes the only thing you can do, and just to check back later. I think the most difficult thing I have encountered during orientation and my first day alone was trying to help a resident change clothes when they didn't want to. Some void through their pants or they just get food all over their clothes, but they insist on wanting to sleep in them. I want to respect their wishes, but at the same time, it feels like I'm neglecting them if I allow them to stay in those same clothes. What should I do? What is it that you guys do? Thanks again!

I just passed my state exam a month ago and am finally working as a CNA. So this is my first job as a CNA ever, and I will be at an assisted living facility that specializes in memory care. I had 4 days of orientation. Day 1 was about 8 hours of paperwork and a tour of the facility. Days 2-4 consisted of me shadowing and assisting the CNAs on the floor--like it was for clinicals. Everything went smoothly. I love the residents, I have no aversion to BM or voiding, and I am the most patient, easy going person you will ever meet. But on my last day of orientation, two residents had really bad tantrums for no reason at all. It broke my heart, and I felt helpless. I am still waiting for my facility to get me scheduled to take a Mental Health and Dementia class, so I wasn't sure how to calm them. And at that moment, the CNA I was shadowing had left me to grab something while I had to keep an eye on the fall-risk residents. I was so at a loss.. So it was disheartening that this was how my last shift ended. And now.. Today, I am on my own. And I am so dreadfully nervous. Any words of advice or encouragement? Thanks in advance

I second Verene's suggestion. I went to the Nursing Training Institute in Shoreline. They also provide you with a book, CPR certification, and HIV certification at no extra charge. NATI in Shoreline is also one of the sites they used for the actual state exam, so you are able to get familiar with the layout of the room and equipment before your state exam. The test room is also available to practice in during the weekdays if there's no class! And once you finish class, you are allowed to come in for a free review class on your skills portion :) I loved NATI! Staff is super friendly. I took the class last year and was too anxious to take the state exam until this last summer! While I chose not to take a review class, I came in to practice my skills during their open test room time, just once--took my test--and passed :)

Hey guys! :) how long after submitting your applications did you get an invitation from EvCC to take the TEAS test?

I have a BA too and am interested in the ABSN program as well. Looking forward to someone's response!

I second all of the above! If it's offered, take college courses while you're in high school. In my state, they call it "Running Start." You earn credits for high school by either taking college courses on your high school campus or at your local community college campus. You could potentially finish up a year's-worth of college before even graduating high school. As for the CNA/NAC certification--like ebailey said--you can get that as soon as you're 16/17 years old to get direct patient care experience. You already have a good headstart on preparing for nursing school, because you already know that nursing school is what you want. I wish you a good journey!

That was super helpful. Thank you for sharing!

I called them, and they're sending me a volunteer application at the end of the month. Interesting how other hospitals have applications readily available on their site, but Providence only sends out volunteer applications to their list of people who have inquired about volunteering--and it's only sent out at a certain time. I asked the volunteer coordinator if there was a way I could fill out an application sooner, and she said that it wouldn't be fair to the others, and that's why applications are sent out at the same time. This is different than what I've experienced in the past at other hospitals, but I guess we'll see what happens! Thank you for your response!

I'm currently taking classes at NATI, and I've liked it so far. Being that it's summer, we have a class of about 40 students. During the academic year, it's not as full. But the number of people in the class doesn't detract from anything at all. The program includes HIV training, as well as CPR/BLS for Adults/Children/Infants. We've had 3 different RNs teach te class, and we've had guest speakers and videos. There are hours of skills training, and the best part is that you learn the skills using the exact equipment and in the exact setting the state test will be taken, because other than the location in Seattle, NATI in Shoreline is the only other testing site for the state exam. The staff are friendly, and they have a great policy on class attendance. The staff enjoy sharing personal experiences, which brings the literature to life for you. They provide a textbook and supplemental workbook for you to test yourself at home. The hours of training you have at NATI exceeds the required training hours in WA state, and in the nation, I believe. They really want you prepared, and they give you all the tools to succeed as an NAC. NATI is also one of the oldest (if not, the oldest) nursing training institute in western Washington, so you know they've got their information and ways of teaching that information down to a science. :) And if you need your TB test done? They do that too. The facility and location is clean and welcoming. In addition to day time classes and evening classes, they offer a variety of clinical options, including weekdays and weekends. For the cost and length of the program, I chose NATI over a community college. I would recommend NATI to anyone. I start my clinicals in a few weeks, and I'd be glad to get back to you on how that goes, too. Oh, and also, they have sign up sheets for days when you want to practice your skills in their rooms. NATI is awesome, hands down.