ItsCheese

Thank you for your advice! I'm definitely going to do my research into TNCC, maybe I can get my hands on an ENA certification course book and at least read through it. I guess I'm at the point where I've got to prove I have what it takes and some random tack-ons to my resume aren't going to make a difference.

I do not spend much time reading my textbooks because it's just not a very effective learning method for me. I usually start with lecture slides and whenever I come across something that I don't get, I open up my book and read that specific section. When I get started on a 50-100 page wall of text assignment, an hour will pass and I can barely remember anything from it. On top of that I'm a slow reader so I could spend all day on my reading assignments if I read every word. However, when I open my book with a purpose and read the 1-2 pages I need for a specific concept it sticks with me. Sometimes, I still don't have a solid understanding and I head to the internet, watching videos from khanacademy.org or YouTube. With really tricky topics, I'll learn what I can and then try teaching them to my girlfriend who has no background in the field. If she can understand based solely off my teaching and I can answer her questions then I usually feel competent enough to be tested on the material and provide education to my patients. In short, some students will learn best by reading everything assigned and others won't even buy half the books. It's all about realizing how you learn best and using your method to master the material.

Hi all, I will be graduating this December and due to my accelerated program, I haven't been able to get certified as an ER tech or CNA during my program to beef up my resume. Apart from my clinical hours, I have no patient care experience. During my final semester I will be getting hours almost exclusively in the ER, which I hope will be enough to get my foot in the door, but I am trying to figure out ways to improve my resume and skill set on the side. I applied to some HHA positions, however, after talking to a few RNs about it, they seem to think it's not worth the effort so close to graduation. This has me looking to certifications, specifically first aid and ACLS. I'm aware that I'll probably already know a lot of what is included in a first aid class, but I feel that nursing school has not fully prepared me to treat a lot of basic injuries in the best way and would like to acquire a more well-rounded skill set for emergency care. NOLS has a wilderness first aid course that I am looking into as well, but I don't know how much anyone looking at my resume would care about that. Any ideas for other certifications? I would appreciate it if some RNs could weigh in on the usefulness of the ones I've listed in both practice and resume boosting.