ChristiHamm8

it was a lot more specific. I had a few questions about ear structures and their purpose, locations of veins and their specific functions, vague descriptions of the body and how another body part would be positioned, a lot of terms that were just not covered and lots of specificity with hormones and locations or hormonal structures. I believe I recognized 3 similar sounding but worded differently questions from the app and book out of all of the questions I had in the A&P section. I know one of them involved Calcium and Bones. Math was almost all fractions and two or three conversions. It was mostly NOT multiple choice but type in your answer (which had me really scared!!) Vocab was ridiculously easy. Reading comp was easy too but there were a few tricky ones about what the reader was trying to convey, state of mind, or audience. Biology was very general. All of those were covered in the book and app and were very similar.

That is exciting! I have always wondered what it would be like to do EMT work. This semester is cram packed! I have: Anatomy & Physiology 1 Biology 2 Microbiology Composition 2 (online) Quantitative Reasoning I am working weekends as a CNA. I just took my HESI A2 and made an overall 88.4% but since I haven't taken A&P yet I did not make a sufficient enough score on that section and will have to repeat it. I practiced a lot and used the pocket prep app and the hesi study book but none of the questions I had on my exam were covered in either of those. It was really strange and I felt like I was guessing everything. Anyways, I made a 96 on reading comp, 98 on vocabulary, 94 on biology, 88 on math, and a 72 on A&P. I scheduled to retake it just in time for me to turn in my application before the priority deadline! It also had a personality quiz which told me I was creative and a people person (LOL not really but I guess it would think that!) and it had a learning style section that said I was a kinetic and an analytical learner. I literally had 30 minutes of sleep before I took the test so I assume that may have had some play in it as well lol. I go back to classes on the 11th. I am already working on my anatomy book and have been reassured that all of my professors are really great. I'm actually looking forward to this semester. I should find out if I make the nursing program between March or May. My hubby bought me a stethoscope and a BP cuff too

Last night I had an isolation patient with c-diff but she had a colostomy and an ileostomy bag. I got absolutely no direction in how to care for her and had to improvise everything. Every two hours her ileostomy bag would come unattached and the whole bed needed to be changed. I would tell the nurse and her response, "there is nothing I can do the skin is deteriorating and we can't reattach it correctly so you will have to keep changing the bed over and over again".... I basically had to turn the bed into one giant diaper right before the end of my shift. It was kind of fun going full hulk hogan on my isolation gown but that kept the night entertaining.

I ended up working 32 hours over the weekend and I ended up covering about 22 ( I was assigned 11) patients two nights in a row while every other CNA kept conveniently disappearing. I was changing, refilling drinks and supplies, turning, feeding, ambulating, bathing and assisting nurses with wound treatments for all of these people and finding my patients in completely drenched outfits and beds from the shift before all weekend long. It was grueling and I finally started to get a little on edge with some patients although I remained calm and collected. Thankfully all the right people are starting to notice and I am getting compliments from management, RN's, and patients... hopefully this will lead me to a better job with a little less demand. My favorite two moments other than them saying I could go home early was when a patient who used to be a CNA said that I have already ace'd nursing school and I shouldn't have anything to worry about because I am a wonderful CNA and when three nurses who were preparing meds looked at me and asked where I was assigned because they had seen me everywhere helping everyone. :) I love this job but I think I will burn out before I get out of nursing school because the demand on me is so high even with only 10-11 patients normally. What all tasks are you assigned at your job and what unit/setting is it?

I wouldn't dare assume that nurses aren't doing anything, I know they are swamped with paperwork and management duties. I've observed them and what they do and I have seen many of them not get lunch breaks and I myself have even added to their long list of patients demanding pain medications all at once. I also know that they have overwhelming responsibilities and liability all on their shoulders. I just assumed they would be more one on one with the patients and more hands on. I find it really sad that nurse duties are more paperwork than bedside tasks or at least the bedside tasks that they need to do are so short. Where is the patient connection? My job as a CNA compared to theirs is simple and a cakewalk although it is very hard on the back and feet but I also get to say " I will ask the nurse" instead of being held accountable for something. I get that their jobs are overwhelming and there is a lot I don't see but I just want to know will I be able to get to have a relationship with my patients like I do as a CNA when I become an RN? Has anyone ever gone from a CNA to RN and missed it? How different is the relationship? I hope I am making sense. This is in no way demeaning the nurses role and responsibilities. There is so much that I can't even comprehend until I am actually an RN and I hope I live up to those expectations.

I agree that they do a lot more, that's all that I could recall at the time. I also know their nurse: patient ratio is ridiculous (unless this is normal). I believe there are 2 nurses for 54 patients on our wing and 2 nurses per 55 patients on the other wing. We will have 5 CNA's per side most evening shifts. I have normally had 10-11 patients every shift. Is it normal for a LTC facility? Will I see a much more different dynamic in a hospital or clinic setting?

YouTube and Pinterest! Do some freezer meals where you take a lot of stuff and portion it out on Sundays then add the seasonings and such and freeze it. When you want it just dump in the crock pot turn it on and by dinner time you just microwave some sides, minute rice, or noodles and bam fully home cooked meal every night of the week. I have invested in a Sams Club membership and purchase in bulk. I also cook extra a few times a week so we have leftovers. I like ShesInHerApron on youtube. I like spaghetti too. I always cook too much so the next day I take the leftovers and add more cheese and bake it to a spaghetti pie.

I am working as a CNA while I am taking prerequisites for the nursing program. I figured not only would it give me a solid idea if nursing is truly the right path for me before I spend thousands on an education but it would also help me to gain experience for future employment (money doesn't hurt either). The quick CNA classes I took for licensing was enough to give me a good base but not enough for me to be fully ready to go. Most of this I had a general grasp on anyways so I learned by trial and error and really good CNA's in my first few days. Thankfully I am getting very good feedback from the patients, their families, and the staff. I was even told by the nurse supervisor that I should stick around so I could take over her job one day. Anyways, I think I had glamorized the nursing profession so much that I thought they would be in with the patients and truly getting to know them and their needs but come to find out the nurses at our facility basically pass meds and change dressings and the CNA's do everything else! This is just from observation, I know they are doing a lot more like communicating with doctors and the pharmacy among many other things. The CNA's are getting to know the patients, anticipating needs, communicating their needs to the nurses, taking all the vitals, repositioning, bathing, changing, feeding, transferring, etc. Some of the CNA's are even having to help some of the nurses with procedures because they completely forget how to do it or do it incorrectly every time (for example one nurse always forgets to hook up a feeding tube before turning it on and the food goes everywhere and the CNA has to completely change the entire bed if she is not in the room to remind the nurse to hook it up). It is backbreaking but very rewarding. I love every minute of it even when I am elbow deep changing a dirty brief. I just thought the nurses would be much more involved. Am I jaded with this facility or is it like this in most rehab and ltc facilities? I know it would be impossible for the nurses to do all the combined work and that is the point of having a CNA but will I lose touch with patients if I was an RN instead? Will I get to have both?

I feel the exact same way but I think the Hesi a2 score will determine my entrance or not. It is a big deal but try to remind yourself that it is a simple general knowledge exam. You are probably doing more than most have for prep ( I am doing the same as you and I LOVE POCKET PREP!). It is a lot of pressure but you know you are smart and determined. Remind yourself that you got this and you are doing everything just as you should. I take mine 3 days after you! GOOD LUCK!

I ended up having a quick chat with the people in charge of scheduling and none of them realized that I live an hour away from work and to work a double I would only get about 4 hours of sleep in between. So they no longer will be asking me to do doubles. I will still be able to volunteer when I need to but most likely only on a Saturday so I can recover on Sunday and be ready for my early class. Thankfully my Monday schedule is not as hectic and I will only have one class with its following lab. I pray to the college gods that the class workload will not be so heavy and I can get things done quickly so I won't have such a demanding semester! My first solo shifts went pretty well and I am hoping it remains that way :)

Khan academy. They have a youtube page too that helps out a lot!

It is certainly normal to feel like everyone is completely losing it in such a competitive group like a nursing cohort. It is hard to find people whose personalities match and all get along. From my very little experience it seems that some of this does carry over into the actual medical field. Personality differences and high stress can bring out the best and worst in people. I will make conversation with everyone I can, but at the end of the day I am here for one thing and one thing only, MY FUTURE! Don't let it get under your skin, remain neutral, and brush it under the rug as much as you can because these people don't pay your bills or make your grades better. If it truly starts to bother you, take a step back and look at why it is bothering you. As always, vent it out or cuss under your breath in a closet somewhere, but you are there for you! Keep your head held high and your eyes forward to your goals and let the bad seeds self implode :) Best of luck!!

I think you may be right. With the classes I have in Spring, 3 sciences a math and a comp class, I am already going to be pretty busy and then have the weekend job on top of it. I will see how hard it is and try to tough it out so that I can at least get through the summer before the nursing program if I get in. If I can manage that then I may be able to manage it until I get at least one year experience which would put me around November in the first semester of Nursing and then I can transfer into a less demanding job or let it go for the duration of the nursing program itself. I love being a CNA but I want to be an RN more!

So for the original school I wanted to go to gave extra application points for being a CNA. The current school doesn't care but they allow you to add it to your application. I do not believe there are "no working" requirements for the program I want to go into. I have picked up a weekend only and PRN CNA job and they really want to push me to do double shifts on the weekends. I have no school on Friday so that is my free day to study, get family appointments taken care of and recover. My family of 5 really needs the extra money to pay for my books, supplies, gas, and childcare. I have 5 classes next semester and will be applying to the nursing program for Fall entry before classes start. I really want to be able to maintain my schedule of working doubles on the weekends as much as possible and a full time student. I also wanted to see if there were opportunities to volunteer at my local hospital. If you have done this and successfully, how did you plan it out? Were you burnt out? Is my situation ideal for someone who has to still work? I love my job so far and think it has made my desire to become a nurse even stronger! Let me know :)

Look at it this way. In this field you have to learn to deal with a lot of $H1#! Learning the theory of how to communicate is crucial because a lot of nurses, patient, aides, management are stressed out and any little thing worded wrongly can set someone off. Having those mundane, basic skills to communicate clearly will end up saving your behind at some point. You know it is going to come in handy on those NCLEX style tests too. Yes it may be boring but it is critical to get those basics down and out of the way. Pay attention and get that easy A!

I have one more Final on Wednesday, it should have been over last week but ya know, hurricanes. I already have my book for A&P 1 for next semester and I am going to be working through it over Christmas break. Also, I will be working on my HESI prep for the test the first week of January. I am just ready to get down to business and knock out these three sciences in Spring!!

I know how you feel! I do not have a competitive GPA (in my eyes) but I am a working CNA, I have two associates in the healthcare field, and I am working my butt off to get in. I feel like my GPA is going to kill me. I only have one school within reasonable distance and they only take FALL applications so if I don't get in I will not be able to go at all because of my husbands job. I feel defeated already and I am trying desperately to make myself stack up as much as possible. My husband is disillusioned to how competitive nursing school really is and no one else has a true grasp. I just got three of my grades for this semester and I have one final to go and unless I make an almost perfect score on my last test I will not really move the scale on my GPA and I already feel like crying. I have too many credits to move my GPA in the right direction! I feel like the admissions team, besides my advisor, will laugh at my application and then I will have to wait another 3 or so years before I can start over. There are too many what ifs and too little definites. I don't want to say it is unfair because it is reality but it certainly feels deflating. Best advice is to grab a martini and apply anyways because what's the worst that could come from it?!

I am a brand spanking new CNA and also a full time pre-nursing student. I was just licensed in October and started work last night. I wasn't very actively looking for work. I put in one or two applications through indeed the first week and let it dwindle and then about 3 weeks ago started putting in multiple applications and was called two days later for an interview. I have no work experience. I am in the North Florida area and I work weekend evenings and can pick up shifts and work doubles as needed at a long term care and rehab facility. I am receiving $11 hourly (min. wage is $8.05). This will allow me to have one day a week to do any studying since I will not have classes on Fridays. So last night for my first shift I walked in and went straight to the nurses station where a few other CNA's were gathered for shift change. I probably looked like a deer in headlights. I was taken under the wings of a very well respected CNA but she had a very strong accent so I had to pick up a lot on context clues and just go with the flow and stay out of the way when needed. Be ready to jump in full swing! Make sure you bring water if you have a fridge or a locker. Pens and some scratch paper for vitals and to keep notes and pass codes and any kind of identification log ins. If the facility doesn't carry your glove size in every room find some and ask if you can keep some in your pocket because I had a heck of a time finding gloves and the too small ones kept getting holes and was taking up a lot of time trying to squeeze them on. Keep an eye on your times, even if you have no idea whats happening try to keep a general idea of the schedule of the facility and how you are being taught to do things in what order so that when you get off orientation you will have a general idea of how quickly you need to go and when your residents should expect to be at meals, bed, or other activities. I am going back tonight so it couldn't have been that bad lol. I think that's all I have for now. Best of luck to you!

I am on pins and needles for the next two weeks. My classes are all on the verge of an A or B depending on how my finals go. I could completely fail my last two tests in Biology and make a B or miss only 15 questions on both and have a solid A. My other class had been great until my group project which my other two partners were like watching a train wreck and we got an 80 on it so I will have to pull off a nice solid A on my final in order to get a strong A as well. My last class...well.... nobody knows, but I have a lot of extra credit building up so I should get a pretty decent grade regardless. I am so glad that this semester, my first time in on campus classes, is going as well as it is! Best of luck everyone. Finals are right around the corner. Starbucks better stock up because I am about to be there daily lol!!

It is not required for most programs, but my hiring manager at my CNA job said that they will hire an RN who was a previous CNA over anyone who was not every time because they know the work, how to delegate realistically, and already have experience. Plus on the nursing entrance application it shows how dedicated you are to becoming a nurse and working in the healthcare field (which was told to me by my nursing advisor who is an MSN, RN and on the selection board for the program). In other words, just what ZoeFrecn said ^^^

I found some answers in case anyone is interested. In Florida you can renew your license if you have worked for 24 hours as a cna, you can have your license transferred to GA if you have worked for 8 hours as a paid CNA and apply online and it will be mailed to you.

This will depend on your school and their programs policy. One school I was interested in would only consider you if the classes were completed and another school would consider you as long as you have them on the schedule and you will finish them before the program and for ASN you didn't have to have any of them done, you can take them with the nursing courses. Definitely talk to a nursing program advisor and check with the program director or office and their might even be something on the schools website! GOOD LUCK!

I just picked up a weekend only CNA job with chances to pick up shifts whenever I am available. They are out there! The shifts are 8 hours each.

bump :)

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. I am taking A&P 1, micro, and bio 2 with statistics and comp 2 next semester in order to get into the Fall 2017 program. I will probably be working as a CNA on weekends and managing my family of 5 :) I know I will probably feel like quitting after about 3 weeks but the dream is big and my ambition must be big too!