Giving My Props To CNA's

In a weeks period I have done:

50 hours of classroom work
14 hours of commuting
16 hours of clinicals
= 80 hours

Why? I needed to renew my CNA license (certified nursing assistant) .....you have to have a current CNA license to apply for nursing school. I have done this class once but because I have not worked the required hours to keep it I had to renew it. Seriously if I don't get into nursing school and for some dumb reason I would have take this course again....well....lets just say I will find another career because I can't do this class again.

First of all the next time you visit a hospital, long term care center, emergency care, be nice to the CNA because they are the hardest working people there and do not get paid near enough for the job that they do.I worked as a CNA for awhile a couple years ago and my body ached at the end of every shift...it is a tough job!

The classes ...ugh CNA classes...it is slow and stupidly brutal...it is common sense taught over and over but some people are idiots... so though it seems like common sense... some people still struggle with it .

My first clinical was in Bountiful Saturday morning....I was up at 4am and had to drive in a snowstorm to get there, but me and my fellow CNA student and hopefully fellow nursing school student Leeann made it  there alive. It was a nice center but the amount of patients assigned to the few CNA's is overwhelming, it is amazing they get as much done as they do. I actually got to do a lot that day and learned some new things so I call that day a success. The second clinical was a center in Salt Lake....though the CNA's genuinely cared for their residents...there lack of handwashing and general cleanliness was not stellar....and honestly all I learned is what I would not do.

So let me add up the hours I still need to do
8 hours of a virtual course
8 hours of skills training course
2 hours CPR
150 question test that I need to pass
= me getting the voucher so I can take the state CNA test

State testing is knowing how take vitals....Which means I need to take things like a pulse and B.P. and my number needs to be within 2-4 points of their number and you have no idea who you are partnered with...they could have a difficult blood pressure or pulse to read. So basically I the novice needs to go in and have the same experience and skill that people who do this everyday and have them watching me nervously try to nail these vitals perfectly. Then they randomly pick five skills that you as a CNA should know and make you act out these skills precisely how they say they should be done. Then I also have to take a state written exam to go with it ......and what do CNA's make on average????  10 bucks an hour........INSANE!!!!!

So there is my life as a nursing student in a nutshell right now. I feel as though I should now pass on my observations and lessons I have learned this week:

1). Do not eat poop...apparently poop has lots of germs on it.
2). It is safer to lick a doorknob or lick someones arm pit than to french kiss someone.
3). When making a how to procedural medical videos they always seem to find the cute blonde as a patient to demonstrate perineal care on yet when it comes time to demonstrate it on a male, he inevitably will be 70 with age spots on his ass and the effects of gravity have taken a hold of everything...and you know what I mean when I say "everything!"
4). Gravity is cruel to both men and women as we age.
5). Old people are flatulent.
6). Old people make me smile.
7). Nurses have the best stories...especially if they have worked in the E.R.
8). Bed sores are possibly the nastiest thing to view repeatedly on video slides.
9). STD's are possibly the nastiest thing to view repeatedly on video slides.
10). When I become an R.N. I will spot out those good CNA's and treat them like a precious jewel!