diana10

Hello everyone! I'll be taking a CNA class starting on June 9th, which is a 4 week course. I plan on looking for a job as a CNA as soon as I get my certification, but my problem is that I have already made plans on going for a 3-week vacation in my home country in December. If I estimated correctly, I'll be taking the board examination either late in July or early August, then apply for a job as soon as I can. I haven't purchased any tickets yet but I'm planning to sometime this month, but I am not sure if it is alright for me to go on a 3-week vacation during my first year working. I am also not sure if I should bring it up before or after I get the job. Help please? Thank you!

Really helpful tips. Is it okay if I copy and print this and then post it in my wall (My bedroom wall, that is) as a reminder? I really need this. What I do is that I'd write a question down but in different wordings in different cards, keep them in chronological order, then try to answer them as much as I can, separate the ones that I know from the ones that I don't then focus on the ones that I know then shuffle them WAY TOO MANY TIMES. I always had a flash card in my hand ever since I started API. Even when I'm doing my business in the bathroom, I still had flashcards with me. And yet, I still failed my AP.

Congratulations! I don't know who you are but I'm really happy for you!

I took anatomy and physiology 1 this summer, even though I knew that it was going to be a tough one. I wouldn't say that I was prepared, but I wasn't UNprepared either. I was able to keep up with the lecture, asked the teacher things that I did not understood, I even went to a tutor to expand my knowledge about our topic. First exam came, I was feeling confident. I made flash cards, read the book repeatedly, listened to the lecture that I recorded over and over just to make sure I did not miss anything. I was sure that I was gonna get a good grade, but when the results came out, I got C+ My seatmate, who was also in the same introductory biology class that I had, got a C-. I was disappointed with my score because I studied my behind for it, but I got over it because it was only 5% of out overall grade and swore to myself to work even harder. My seatmate's score was what surprised me. She seemed really knowledgeable about the lesson, always participating and it was obvious during the first day of the class that she did her reading because she could answer all the questions the teacher threw at us. Just like what I told myself, I worked even harder for the next exam. I went from 8 hours of studying to 9-10 hours everyday, including the hours I spent looking through the microscope to figure out tissues and identifying if whether the tissue is a simple squamous or whatever and where it can be found. It was a good thing that I have no job an kids/little siblings to look after because studying was all I did for the whole 8 weeks. So when the second exam came, I was, once again, feeling okay about it. I was hoping for a B, but to my shock, once again, my score was C+. I started asking myself what I'm doing wrong. I talked to the teacher about it, and she said that I should work harder. So work harder I did. By then, from the moment I woke up (5 or 6am) until before I turn to bed (9pm, 11pm every friday), I was either reading or writing or listening to recorded lectures or memorizing stuff or understanding stuff. Of course, I took breaks, not including the times when I'm at class and the travel from my house to there. I also asked my classmates if I could join their study group. During our study sessions, I noticed that they really know what they're talking about. One was an LPN, the other was taking AP1 for the second time, the other has a degree in anthroplogy, basically everyone but me has either a degree or was working in medical field. I felt left out, but at the same time really happy because it meant that I'd learn much more from them. Third exam came, my confidence started to dwindle. The third exam was about ANS and PNS. I understood the questions and I answered them with confidence, but by then, only a little. To be honest, I was no longer shocked to see D on my results. I came to class and asked my study buddies what their results were. To my utter surprise, their test scores were even lower than mine. The LPN one got an F, and my seatmate got a D-. That was when I started to ask everyone in my class. All 9 of them (we started with 21 and by the end of the term, only 9 were left, including me) got D's and the highest was C+ (79.43). I thought I was the only one who was failing the class because I really expected them to have B's or A's. In the end, my seatmate also dropped the class. I, being a stubborn person, continued on with the class even though I knew I'd get a really low grade. And low grade I got. My final grade was D, and now I'm on Alert 1 status, meaning that I have to take an online class to make sure that I'd still be able to sign up for classes next term and I only have 3 more strike before they dismiss me. I need to retake AP1 again this fall. Sigh. I sacrificed a lot for that AP class, even my waistline (I gained 5lbs because I did nothing but sit). Don't get me wrong, despite all the hardships, I fell in love with AP, and even though I epically failed my AP class, I would love to take it again. I just hope I'd do well this time. I started writing flash cards once again (my mom threw them out because they were all over my room) 2 weeks ago and I have started reading the book. And also, if it's okay, could you guys give me tips as to how to do well in AP1? Thanks!

Thanks for the responses. Where did you guys found(?) CRNA that you can shadow? I've been looking online for hospitals near my place where I can shadow one but so far, I haven't found any.

I'm currently doing prerequisites for BSN but I really want to know what CRNA is like. I'm conflicted between OBGYN and CRNA so I atleast want to shadow CRNA and an OBGYN but I don't really know when I should shadow one. Can I shadow now or should I wait until I'm 2 years in nursing (not the prerequisites)? I'm 17, so will they allow me to shadow them? And how did your shadowing go? Thank you!