Theresa92

Thanks. Actually, yes, they do offer differentials for evenings, nights, and weekends. They also offer a Baylor plan which includes a differential. So I guess I'm the end, I do have options. Thank you for your help!

Hello all! I just finished a state approved CNA 1 class and will be testing soon. I live in a somewhat rural area of North Carolina that has plenty of senior care centers around. On the last day of the CNA class, the director of nursing and the hiring manager from a relatively new nursing home/assisted living/rehab complex came to speak and hand out applications. They said that they have quite a few spots open and that they would even interview us BEFORE we take the state test and hire us if we passed the interview and test. Both the DON and the hiring manager were very professional and friendly, and I really got the sense that they have a positive working environment over there. I did some research on this elderly care facility and turns out that it has very high reviews (from both families and staff members) on several non-biased sites. The only problem is that the base pay hourly rate for a starting CNA 1 is $9/hour. I was a bit disappointed because I made more money working as a dog bather in a grooming salon. I also was disappointed because some friends who got their CNA 1 certifications months ago are making 11/12 an hour. Before I started CNA 1 training, I spoke to CNAs and did research and it was to my understanding that 10 or 11/hour was the standard in my part of the country. If I had a choice, I would rather work for less money in a company that had a positive work environment, than potentially make more money working in a toxic environment. So my question is, should I "jump" on this opportunity and fill out an application so that I can be guaranteed a job at a reputable place (if I pass state tests and if they like me), or should I shop around for centers that pay a bit more than 9/hour? I am planning on applying to strictly elderly care centers (assisted living, skilled nursing, etc. NO hospitals). Aside from the CNA certification, I have two bachelors degrees, one of which is psychology and the other is business management. I also have a lot of volunteer experience. Should I use my degrees and volunteer experience to negotiate a higher salary of 9.50? anyway, I know this was a long post and so I thank you for reading! I appreciate any help!

Hello all! I want to take the time to post something that has been weighing on me lately. I know this post is long but I do truly and sincerely appreciate any advice or thoughts. I am going to take the state CNA test in less than a month. I want to be an effective and efficient CNA, and so in my skill practice I have heavily focused on correct documentation, safety, infection control, and bedside manner. After I get my certification (hopefully I will pass the first time!), I plan on applying to long-term care, skilled nursing facilities, memory care, or hospice. Not only do I want to be an effective and efficient CNA, I also want to be a team player and maintain positive professional relationships with other CNAs, my supervisors, nurses, and all other staff I will be working with. However, I am a bit worried because of a bad experience I had at my previous place of work. Previous to starting the CNA class, I worked at a county substance abuse/mental health facility as a tech. I am naturally a quiet person, and so I initially gave off the impression that I was unhappy. In fact, the first week I was there, I had two coworkers tell me that I look unhappy. Even the director mentioned something about it to me. I have had this problem my whole life. Whenever I am focused and in the zone, I appear angry and unapproachable. I'm not sure if I'm scrunching my forehead or scrunching my eyebrows or what the problem is. But anyway, after I spoke to the director about it, I made a conscious effort to smile more and speak up more. After a few weeks of working there, I felt more comfortable and my professional relationships with my coworkers, nurses, etc. improved dramatically. A few of my coworkers even complimented me and told me that they enjoy working with me because I am proactive and am a team player. A few months later, I started to sense that one of my fellow coworkers was starting to be cold towards me (She was very nice and professional at first). I tried to maintain my friendliness and professionalism with her, but I was starting to be met with silence, the cold shoulder, and short answers whenever I asked her something. She did NOT treat anyone else this way. It eventually got worse, and I resorted to confiding in a few of my other coworkers about the situation (yes, I realize this was probably a bad decision). They told me that while they don't have this problem with this specific coworker, they have indeed noticed her negative behavior towards me. The coworker's behavior towards me started to escalate. For example, there was a situation where the nurse asked me to perform a certain task. After I performed it, this coworker comes up to me and tells me that I was wrong for doing what the nurse asked because according to her, "that nurse doesn't know what she is doing". She then started telling me that I lack work ethic. Her behavior soon turned into borderline bullying. She would deliberately hide things from me (towels, wash cloths, etc.), she would find any reason to tell me that I am not doing my job correctly, and the cold shoulder/silent treatment continued. The last straw was when she raised her voice at me, telling me I was going too slow. She did this in front of the patients. The confusing thing about this situation is that I had received excellent reviews from my supervisor. My supervisor specifically told me that she notices my teamwork skills and she notices my ability to multitask when necessary. Also, my other coworkers told me that they enjoy it when they are scheduled on the same shift as I am, because I am a good team player and am efficient when I do my tasks. After this coworker yelled at me in front of the patients, I decided to take action. I spoke with my supervisor about my problem. My supervisor told me that she does not tolerate bullying in the workplace and that she will arrange a meeting with me and the coworker to find out what the problem is. I also utilized my work place's Employee Assistance Program to seek counseling regarding the situation. After 6 months of working there, I decided to quit. I feel horrible and embarrassed to admit this, but the only reason why I quit was because of the bullying. It was not only affecting me outside of work, but it also affected patient care a few times. The meeting that me and the coworker were supposed to have with the supervisor NEVER happened. My supervisor just brushed it under the rug. The whole situation was very bad. This coworker would deliberately do things to mess with me and confuse me. I would go into more detail but this post is already long enough. So here I am, several months later, and am about to finish my CNA course. I know this probably sounds stupid, but I would really like to make a good first impression when I start work. I have already made a mental note to smile more and engage more in conversations with the staff. I have also made a mental note to be open to constructive criticism and be extremely careful not to step on anyone's toes. In addition, this time I want to be prepared in case there is another toxic coworker who is looking to prey on the "new kid on the block". At my former job, I feel like I did EVERYTHING I could to avoid stepping on the bully coworker's toes. I tried my best to communicate with her. I had no problem with any other staff member at my former work place. I am still perplexed as to why my former coworker turned into a bully. Now, I realize that in the nursing field, it's a given that you will always encounter some coworkers that are grumpy. And I realize that it's not uncommon to experience some bullying. I'm not expecting to be best friends with my future coworkers. My duty as a CNA is to assist the Nurse, perform skills within my "scope of practice", and ensure patient safety while openly communicating with the Nurse and my coworkers about any issues that I notice in patients. I KNOW I am not at work to make friends with my coworkers. However, I will not stand for any bullying or belittling, ESPECIALLY when it has a negative effect on patient care. The only thing that I would like is to be treated with respect, not given the silent treatment (without communication, how are we supposed to coordinate our tasks and patient care?), not have a coworker deliberately hide supplies so that I can't find it, etc. Is there anything I can do to avoid this? If I encounter someone like my previous coworker, what is the professional way of dealing with it? Should I immediately tell any potential bully "I want you to know that I do respect you as my coworker. But I will not tolerate your bullying and belittling. If I have done something to offend you, please let me know so that we can resolve the issue". I think that if I had spoke up and stood up for myself sooner in my last job, the bullying may not have escalated like it did. I don't want my last work experience to taint my view of the nursing/healthcare field. I plan to eventually further my education and become an RN, once I have gained enough experience. As I said before, I 100% acknowledge that the health care field is a stressful environment and sometimes coworkes will be grumpy or snap at you. I also don't expect to get along with everyone. But what I DO expect is to be treated with respect, to have open communication between coworkers (which is SO important for patient care!), and to have a professional work environment where teamwork is present. Any thoughts or ideas? Is there anything I can do to prevent being treated like I was at my past work? I have ALWAYS been respectful to all staff at all my other jobs. I always got along professionally with others in all of my other jobs I have held, so I doubt that I did anything to upset this coworker and cause her to bully me. How do I respond to a coworker (not a supervisor, but a peer) who deliberately plays mind games and is increasingly disrespectful and doesn't communicate? Thank you for reading my long post and I SINCERELY appreciate any thoughts, opinions, or advice.

Hello everyone! I'm pretty new here, but am a long time lurker. I am a CNA 1 student who just started clinicals at a long term care facility. My class does clinicals from 17:00-21:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays. My class has 8 people in it. I decided to become a CNA because I am interested in working in the healthcare field and I enjoy helping people. Anyway, I have noticed that the nurses and CNAs (especially the nurses) at the facility we do clinicals at are so darn rude! My instructor has given us strict guidelines to follow (such as only performing patient care once we have gotten in checked off AND only doing patient care once we have permission and are under supervision). I am fully aware that as students, we most likely get in the way of the nurses and CNAs. In a way, we probably are somewhat of a burden to them. I have truly done my best to stand back and stay out of the way, and ONLY perform patient care when I have the full authorization to do it and full supervision. I have also tried to only ask questions that are necessary, as not to get in their way. However, they are just so darn rude! A few of them are pleasant, but 90% of them sigh and roll their eyes whenever we have a question. I was even sent away by a CNA when I asked her where the blood pressure cuff was located (my instructor told me to practice blood pressure). They were even very rude to my instructor. I don't know why they so rude. Their rudeness has made me start to re-consider this profession. I enjoy healthcare, I enjoy helping people, and I can work at a fast pace while also being effective. However, if my coworkers are just going to be so rude and unprofessional, then I definitely don't want to work as a CNA. Is their rudeness a standard within the healthcare field, or was I just unlucky to be doing my clinicals at a facility with rude staff?

Thanks again for your response and I apologize for responding so late. To answer your question, there was no specific research that told me that specialized nurse training is required for psychiatric nursing. It just seemed that way when I did my research. i have a question about continuing education. Do CNAs need CE? Also, how do nurses go about getting CE and where do they record it? (I'm assuming that nurses have to prove they got CE). Thanks again for your help.

Thank you for your response! To answer your question, I am located in the US. If I am understanding your answer correctly, are you saying that specialized training is not required, but is preferred?

Hello! First of all, I apologize if this sounds like a dumb question. I have done some research and browsed this thread and I still have a question. I would like to work in the psychiatric field one day. I have my bachelor of arts in psychology and a bachelors of science in business management. My initial goal was to work in Social Work, but grad school is out of the question for me at the current moment. I weighed all my options, and decided that CNA training would be the best fit for me right now. Eventually, I would like to work my way up and work in a psychiatric setting. I have been contemplating working my way up into the psychiatric nursing field, starting as a psychiatric nurse and maybe eventually a psychiatric nurse practitioner. My question is, is specialized training required to work as a nurse in a psychiatric setting? Someone who is currently in nursing school told me that specialized education is not required, but my research says otherwise. Could anyone please advise me on this? I appreciate your time, patience, and responses! Does one become a "psychiatric nurse" simply by working in that field, or is there specialized education required?