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SprintingOnIce posted:
In my years of being a CNA (going on 9 years off and on of being a professional butt-wiper), the best nurses (both lpn and rn) are those who've been a cna first. Could just be the places I've worked at. But the nurses who've only been nurses seem to only want to pass meds, finish the paperwork and go home. Those who were aids first seem to show more empathy to the patients and get more involved in the care. They also seem to treat the aids *and* patients with more respect. Most places in this area (whether hospital or long-term care facility) are trying to do away with lpn hiring. They want aids or rn's. Suprisingly this hasn't lowered the wait time to get into the lpn program. Yeah I know the benefits of going straight to RN, but I'm paying my own way for at least the first year..and with CNA wages, I'm really stretching it to even get back into school at all.
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Jan 23, 2009 15:28
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Lost Downtown posted:Are there any hospital programs in your area? For example, Bridgeport Hospital in CT has a RN diploma program that they offer free of charge... in return for a 3-5 (I forget exactly) year contract with them post-grad. Free degree + guaranteed job placement in a major hospital (they're also part of the Yale network) ain't a bad deal. At the nursing home I work at, after I've been there for a year, the nursing home will cover half of the costs for me to go to nursing school. *IF* I sign an agreement to work for them as a nurse for 2 years when I pass the course/state test. The problem with that is you don't work as a nurse in the same facility you did as an aid,usually. They can send you to any nursing home they own (something like 14 within the IL/IA/MO area), you have no say in the matter. If you refuse your placement (say because you get placed in the nursing home that's 3 hours away and are unable to move), the money they paid you to go to school immediately becomes due...you have 30 days to pay it in full or they take you to court. An aid I used to work with had this happen to her..she had to come up with close to 5 grand within 30 days because she couldn't move to Chicago to work and the 3 hour each way commute would have ate up her whole paycheck and then some. The hospitals around here will (partially)pay for an aids tuition/books/etc if they sign a contract to work a certain amount of time after they become nurses. This is only after an aid has already worked for them for 2 years, fulltime. However, the aids in hospitals make a little more than a dollar less an hour than I do. The nurses make less at the hospital and those at the nursing home as well. I'd rather just pay my way and slowly get through the classes, on my own terms. I'd hate to feel overwhelmed/trapped because I signed a piece of paper. *shrugs*
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Jan 24, 2009 16:56
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Mangue posted:I actually really enjoyed A&P. It's pretty tough but to be honest, not nearly as tough as many people made it out to be. It helps to start studying for your tests a couple weeks in advance and go to every single class. One thing that helped me was to make flash cards. Thousands upon thousands of them. It breaks down the material into smaller, more managable pieces and really helped me focus my studying. A coworker of mine took A&P last semester and I'd help her study..quiz her, hold up flashcards etc. I'll be taking A&P next semester and just from helping her all those hours, I feel like I won't have any problems with the class. She says if I pass the class on the first try, she'll try again..she's taken it 3 times so far and hasn't passed it yet. Tis a shame.
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Jun 13, 2009 16:10
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MaakHatt posted:
Perhaps I'm jaded. But the only thing becoming a CNA would tell you is whether or not you're good a buttwiping. The CNA program here is around a grand for the class itself and the books. That's a nice bit of cash for a 3 month course. Around here though if you're in the nursing program or are planning on trying to get into it, you must take and pass the 12 week CNA course..it's part of the curriculum. Good idea, perhaps more nurses would stop treating aids like brainless peons. You can always tell which nurses were aids first, they're more polite to the aids and more patient with the patients.
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Jun 30, 2009 16:03
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Silentgoldfish posted:... Or panicking whenever someone's BP isn't exactly 120/80. As a CNA I find this hillarious. A new aid was taking vitals and got a bp of 116/54 which was typical for the resident in question. The aid came out of the room and went up to the nurse. The aid told the nurse, "I think maybe you should call 911 because so-and-so in room XXX had an extremely low blood pressure". After vitals were retaken, I heard the new aid say "That'll be the last time I save someone's life." Of course this was an aid who took vitals and documented a temp of 80.2F and became irate when it was suggested she was perhaps...wrong? Sadly it took 3 more months to fire her and she never got any better.
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Feb 16, 2010 19:04
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Jeephand posted:I have worked as a midnight shift rear end-wiper of retarded people (not a nurse) for the last 4 years. You may think I'm insane, but it's the best job I ever had. There is one main reason I love it: DOWN TIME. For the record I've worked at group homes for the mentally retarded. I've worked 3rd shift at the group homes. I know it can be quiet and hard to stay awake. There's always charting, cleaning, checking on the residents to be done tho. Video games and sleeping are/were not options. Jeephand posted:PS I dont mean to say I want to do a half-assed job. I plan on doing my work very competently. Sorry but that's exactly what you made it sound like. quote:I'm just saying I don't want to be in a position where 20 people on my floor are trying to shift blame for their mistakes on me and put my license in jeopardy. That's nursing...no nursing job is perfect and you're expected to hold yourself to high standards and have people beneath you that you're responsible for. If that worries you, nursing is probably the wrong career choice.
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May 21, 2010 13:47
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HollowYears posted:
I'm not in Canada, so is a HCA basically the same as a CNA (certified nursing assistant)?
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May 21, 2010 17:46
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HollowYears posted:Yar. I'm also a guy so lifting won't be as strenuous, as apparently it's a big part of the job description. When I got hired on, the requirement was being able to lift 50 pounds. Pfft. I wish that was the maximum. There have been multiple times I've had to lift a 200 pound person up like a baby. A typical 2nd shift at the place I work: Get report from the nurse and previous shift aids. Pass linens/pads/gowns and ice Go through and do a check..make sure nobody is wet/dirty/uncomfortable One person begins giving the showers (we have between 3-5 a day on 2nd) while the other aid gets up the people who only need 1 assist. Get the rest of the people up. During all of this, answering all the call-lights, taking people to the bathroom etc Take the people to supper, feed them Wheel people back to their hallway. While one finishes the showers, the other starts putting the one assists to bed. Finish the 2-assist people, answer call-lights, pass out snacks, do paperwork. Do bedcheck..change those who have been incontinent, those who are continent you take to the bathroom. Answer call-lights, give report to the oncoming shift. Take soiled laundry to laundry room, take garbage out to the dumpster. Rinse and repeat. Absolute Evil fucked around with this message at 17:49 on May 22, 2010 |
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May 22, 2010 17:24
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Chillmatic posted:Most people don't understand that you can't just "go" to nursing school. It requires at least a few years of very difficult pre-requisites and a lot of determination. At least I know it's that way for RN programs. Do people seriously think this? I'm in the process of getting through the pre-reqs right now. Because my now-retired counselor screwed up, I have pre-reqs left but they are all science and each one is a pre-req for the next. I've passed A&P Fundamentals, so it annoys me I have to take basic Bio before I can take A&P 1&2, but that's life I guess. So yeah, 3 more classes but I can only take one a semester. Those are my last 3 classes I need, so I've been filling my schedule with psych classes I've been wanting to take, like Social Psychology of Aging, and The Dying Process ( I intend to go into hospice care).
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Dec 26, 2010 03:14
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| # ¿ May 1, 2024 23:49 |
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Chillmatic posted:Yes. I work 32 hours a week at a nursing home and take 2 or 3 classes a semester and it's a struggle. My darling boyfriend actually said "So it's a 15 page Comp. paper..you're good at English, you should have no problem". True I do well in that class (most classes except algebra for some reason) but it's still 15 pages to write, after I've read the required reading, figured out my topic and went through the whole note/rough draft process. One doesn't necessarilly need straight A's where I go...but if you and someone else get the same entrance exam scores, the open spot will go to the person with the better grades. As for A&P, we need the Fundamentals for the LPN program, A&P 1&2 for the RN. I know of 3 people who finished their pre-reqs while in the actual program and I've yet to figure out how they did it. I want everything out of the way so I have time to study and actually absorb the information, without worrying about outside assignements.
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Dec 26, 2010 16:46
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where do i sign up?!"