What to expect with CNA training?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hi there. I'm a 20 year old male living in Philly. I'm new to this site, so, I apologize if this isn't the correct forum to post this in.

I am considering attending a month and a half long CNA program with the Red Cross. My hope is to complete this course and eventually find employment with a local hospital or LTC facility. There are plenty of both nearby where I live. Which is good since I don't have a car. I can just bus or bike it. Anyway, I was just wondering if any CNA out there could give me a heads up as to what I can expect with a program like this? How is the work load? How do clincals work? I was told I would need my own scrubs. White top, red pants, and to quote the lady I spoke to, "white leatherish shoes." I suppose white leather sneakers are out.

Is this a good place to start? I'd like to get my foot in the healthcare door with this to see if this is really what I'd like to do as a career. Hopefully I can find employment, gain some experience, perhaps become a Medical Assistant eventually and move up to a full RN.

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

CNA training will teach you how to provide basic nursing care to a patient. You will be taught how to bathe, feed, turn, and position the patient. You may also be taught how to perform tasks such as vital sign measurement.

If you want to test out the waters this is a great way to start. As for the shows sneakers are inappropriate. If you go on amazon.com and search male nursing shoes you will be able to find some nice ones that aren't too expensive.

Best of Luck!

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Thanks! I thought sneakers wouldn't work... I'll try online, just hate buying shoes without trying them on. Oh well. Perhaps a nursing supply store will sell them?

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You may be able to wear tennis shoes. I would call and clarify. I was allowed to, but they had to be leather... not the kind with mesh material. Trust me, you want leather anyway. When you have a standing code brown, you don't want to feel it in your socks hehe. I'm in Missouri and went to a CNA school, but I had 75 classroom hours and 100 clinical hours. My clinicals were all in LTC facilities. At first it was mostly shadowing. After a week or so, we started doing tasks. To get checked off, it was usually a group effort. The instructor watched about 5 of us give a bed bath for example. It's a little weird because that's too many people, so one person may only wash one leg lol. Just go into your clinicals wanting to learn and willing to work. Don't stand around waiting to be told what to do. Ask the CNAs how you can help them. That goes a long way and will give you experience you may not have gotten otherwise. Most CNAs love "free help" with lifting, feeding, etc.

I think this is an excellent place to start! I started as a CNA because I wanted to be sure about going into nursing before spending a lot of money and time in nursing school. This career was NOTHING like what I pictured in my head, but I still love it. I'm now taking my prereqs and I love it because I know this is a good fit for me. Good luck! I hope you love it!

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I was allowed to wear white "leather" tennis shoes in my STNA training program. Their acceptability varies from program to program and job to job. Our only rules were white shoes only and no crocs. Solid shoes are a must for practical reasons, and I do wish that I'd bought shoes with Velcro straps rather than lace-ups because the laces can get filthy. As other posters have said, check with your program about whether or not your tennies will be acceptable.

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Thank you both for your input! I'll be sure to find out about tennis shoes. The velcro is a great idea. Hope they allow it.

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I had to wear white slip resistant shoes. I found this very important when taking residents to the bathe in the shower room. I went with leather slip resistant with no holes on the top. It can get real slippery in there. Good luck to you!

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Hi there. I'm a 20 year old male living in Philly. I'm new to this site so, I apologize if this isn't the correct forum to post this in. I am considering attending a month and a half long CNA program with the Red Cross. My hope is to complete this course and eventually find employment with a local hospital or LTC facility. There are plenty of both nearby where I live. Which is good since I don't have a car. I can just bus or bike it. Anyway, I was just wondering if any CNA out there could give me a heads up as to what I can expect with a program like this? How is the work load? How do clincals work? I was told I would need my own scrubs. White top, red pants, and to quote the lady I spoke to, "white leatherish shoes." I suppose white leather sneakers are out. Is this a good place to start? I'd like to get my foot in the healthcare door with this to see if this is really what I'd like to do as a career. Hopefully I can find employment, gain some experience, perhaps become a Medical Assistant eventually and move up to a full RN. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.[/quote']

Hi, this may be a little late. But @aps1108 may have completed a course similar to the one you are beginning. She may be able to help.

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