Total Career Shift: CNA Training and Advice

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I am about to embark on a total career shift. I plan on beginning classes to become a CNA next month at the Red Cross in Philadelphia. I am extremely nervous. Not because of the nature of the job, but because it's embarking on totally new profession that is pretty much the polar opposite of what I've been going to school for since high school. I would also be very appreciative of any advice to help prepare me for this endeavor.

I want to briefly share my story. I'm an artist. Always have been, and always will. I've been training to become an advanced studio artist since my sophmore year of highschool. From sophomore to senior year, I took college level drawing and painting classes after school. During the summers I studied art full time at the local art school. By the time I enrolled into college, I was ahead of the game. I figured upon graduation I would teach or become a portrait painter. I trained in everything from drawing to painting to sculpture to photography to video. I'm well versed in a lot of media, which is great for my own personal work. Finally, about 8 years after in 2010, I earned my Masters in Fine Art degree. Throughout graduate school though, I had burned out. I interned as a teacher for several years and hated it. I did odd jobs in warehouses and telemarketing companies. The job market for art is air tight. With all the technical and theoretical skills I've become so adept at, the jobs aren't there. Or I don't have specific experience. It's especially bad if your an artist who isn't necessarily well connected, despite having a professional degree and being more than qualified for the work that is out there. Plus being so exhausted and jaded by the art world that I feel I need to leave for a while. For the past year and a half I've been sending out resumes and job searching like a fiend. Absolutely no bites.

My grandmother fell terminally ill last year. She is bed ridden. To take the weight off my mom and my parent's finances. I volunteered to take care of her for part of the days. It eventually turned into a full time job looking after her. I spent about three months living there. Giving her medicine, bathing her, diaper changes, the works. It was especially lucky to have a great CNA come by the house every few days to make sure everything was on the up and up. I stayed by her and watched how she worked. She showed me good ways to lift, change linens and such. So for the past several months I contemplated working as a CNA. I would be able to help people while earning a pay check for my own work. The past two weeks it became official. And I will start training at the end of next month.

There's no question whether or not I want to do this. After training, and after I find work, I'll then decide if I want to go to night school for computer technology courses. This career path may or may not last a long time. The issue is sort of this fear of the unknowing. I haven't studied in anything that wasn't art related since I was 20. What am I getting myself into? What will classes be like? What will the job be like? What do I need to do to mentally prepare myself for this? This is so different from what I originally thought I would be doing for work. I don't really have specific questions. Just any advice or words of wisdom would be appreciated.

[boogalina, ADN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN]

You sound well-prepared for class and an eventual CNA job because of your experience caring for your family member. While your fellow students and coworkers are not likely to have college degrees, you will find that most of them are smart, savvy people from whom you can learn many great approaches to caregiving. Invest in good shoes, because your feet will ache for the first month or so on the job. Good luck!

[tomc5555]

You sound well-prepared for class and an eventual CNA job because of your experience caring for your family member. While your fellow students and coworkers are not likely to have college degrees, you will find that most of them are smart, savvy people from whom you can learn many great approaches to caregiving. Invest in good shoes, because your feet will ache for the first month or so on the job. Good luck!

I would add that what you did for your grandmother is what you would expect in home care. Home care may offer the most flexibility for other pursuits. Enjoy your training with RC.

[student forever]

From what I have read on this forum, there are many folks who are making similar switches from other arenas. And many cna/lpn/rn, etc. going the other way, too! Life has its twists and turns and everything happens for a reason. Go with the flow. What you learn in this leg of the journey may help you for another venture still later on. Enjoy the journey!

I have done this career about-face many times and here I am in similar shoes to yours! Onward and upward!

[clockworkpixel]

Thanks for the information and support!