Starting my CNA class this Thursday, need advice.

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I am starting my CNA class the Thursday, the 9th! I am very nervous and excited at the same time. I am doing this through the Red Cross, has anyone else done this through them as well? What should I bring on the first day? I am doing my classes at the Louisville, KY location, is there anyone else out there that will be doing the classes then as well. Any advice on what to expect, what to bring, and so on would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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I know what you mean. I did my CNA training a few months ago in Baton Rouge, LA. It was at Advance Healthcare Institute. You have to take a lot of notes but other than a notepad, paper, etc. I really didn't need to bring much because everything was provided. My class was only 2 weeks though, how long is yours?

The most important thing is to get a good teacher that doesn't mind you asking a lot of questions! I was new to the medical terminology but my teacher took the time to explain things to me and it helped me pass the test at the end.

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I start this Thursday and it ends on May 7th, it is a total of 11 classes. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. Starting at 8:00am till 4:30pm. I have a pretty good knowledge of medical terminology and SIG codes. Will they help you build a resume? I would like to continue my education and move to LPN next will they help or give advice about any of that?

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Specializes in Geriatrics/home health care.

I would say bring anything to take notes with and maybe some water and a snack to keep you awake. Other than that, pretty much everything you will need will be at the school. Medical terminology is definatly a plus and a great thing to put on a resume. My school didn't really help me make a resume or find a job, even though the school advertised it heavily. Try to make some friends, it's good to have friends so that you can study and practice together. Half-way through our program, our teachers stopped teaching us and pretty much just said "do everything on your own" when we weren't quit ready. They taught us the books and the test questions but left us on our own to do the skills. A computer might come in handy when reviewing/learning skills, in my program, a few individuals constanly hogged the teacher so the rest of us had to piece together skills by what we remembered. Sometimes, it's nice to have an automatic blood pressure machine because then you can test if you took BP right. Some materials might not always be availible if the school is small. I was good at height/pulse, but terrible at blood pessure and always forgot how to change bed pans which my friends remembered and I helped them visa-versa. We all passed the test and did really well when the red cross tested us. I did not train with the Red Cross but, I hear training is similar at pretty much all schools.

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So you're allowed to bring a computer to take notes on? Man that would be great cause I can type faster than I can write, plus then I can organize it all when I get home. Is there a lot of homework or studying that is needed to be done at home? Reading chapters out of textbooks and answering questions and things of that nature. How much is an automatic blood pressure machine?

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Specializes in Geriatrics/home health care.

I would check with your teacher to see if you could bring a computer, I'm not sure if all programs allow them but you could probably bring one. I didn't really have homework or a lot of work I had to do at home, most of the stuff I practiced at home was skills, which is later in the program. For me, the questions were easy. The actual written test for the state exam was pretty similar to the practice tests we took in class. Mostly everything was taught in class. I hardly read the book that was given to us and I passed with almost 100%. I think the machine costs between $16-$40 depending on what type you get. You could find some cheap ones if you look around.

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