Becoming A CNA: A Short Story

In a lot of people’s minds the Certified Nursing Assistant is the backbone of the facility. Employers that have good and hard-working certified nursing assistants tend to have happier residents. On top of that, it is common knowledge that if a Registered Nurse is qualified to pronounce someone dead, then he or she is more than qualified to take someone to the bathroom. At every facility there are nurses who will make the residents wait until the CNA comes to get them instead of just taking the residents themselves. Now more and more schools are requiring that student nurses have the proper training because in a lot of people’s minds the best nurses start off as CNAs. In the world of nursing, the nursing

I am a CNA, I am the person who helps your loved ones, children and maybe even yourself with everyday aspects. I am the person who helps your grandmother get ready in the morning or helps your uncle eat his lunch. I am slapped, bit and yelled at more times than not. I change diapers and clean up vomit daily. I wake up early and stay up late to help you when you whenever you need me. With all of this hard and tiring work comes the rewarding parts. I get to play card games like Go Fish and learn new ones from the residents like Bridge. I sit and talk with residents and hear their stories from when they are young. I get to soothe your premature baby and sit with her as she heals and grows until she goes home. I play board games and color with children who are suffering from chronic illness and cancer. I hold your mothers hand as I tell her it’s okay to go and that she is so loved. I am a CNA, and though I may not be for long I put my entire heart and soul into it and love every second. I have long desired for the chance to work in a medical setting and working in an assisted living home has made me realize that the job comes with so much more than the job description entails.

Being a Certified Nursing Assistant each skill is valuable as the next some of the qualites that an CNA should have is excellent verbal and communications skills, Astute observation skills, ability to follow rules and protocols , Time management and organiatiol skills,Empany and compassion.

The Certified Nursing Assistant program started this year with a new instructor, Karla Garrison RN BSN. Karla was previously one of the state board of nursing examiners and tested our students last year. After being impressed with our students and our program as well as the opportunity to make a difference Karla joined our team. Under her leadership we have transferred to a new curriculum and new text books that are more focused on meeting the Arizona state board exam requirements.

"BOOM!" "BANG!", went my mom of her feet onto the floor! I ran over to help pick her up off the floor. I got her into the bed and checked for any scrapes or bruises. After I got her all patched up and comfortable I came to realize that the last time this happened she hadn't had her medicine in days. So I proceeded to give her the correct medication and stayed over the next few days to nurse her back to health. Over those few days even at a young age, I realized that the medical field was just for me. I enjoyed doing what I did to help my mom and wanted to continue to help others the same way I helped her.

Shacondra Burnette is the spark that ignited my fire to pursue the nursing field. A close family relative and hard-working passionate woman, she had gotten me my first job as a personal care assistant. Even without certification I was making great money and gaining a new experience in the nursing field. After being at it for a year straight, I decided to take it further and get my certification as a nursing assistant.

Let’s start off by saying I knew it. I have learned, I am meant to be in the health field. I scored very high in the health area of the career questionnaire. I made a choice in my high school years, to pursue a career in the medical field. In 2013 I became a Certified Nursing Assistant, then in 2015 I started to work at Pocola Health and Rehab, and I love every moment that I am there. Nonetheless, I want to become a Registered Nurse. During my questionnaire, I learned that it is a very well paying career. That’s important, but in my heart, it is very awarding to help people. I strive to do better, for me and my family and that is my goal.

I am a spouse of an ARMY active duty soldier who has three beautiful kids. I have a passion for nursing and cannot wait to finish my degree in this field. I have been a certified nursing assistant for the last ten years while raising my family and moving around the U.S. with my husband due to him being in the military. As a CNA, my love for nursing and taking care of people grew to a passion. I knew this was my calling. Due to moving a lot these last few years and having to go through multiple deployments with my spouse it has become challenging to finish my degree, but has not stopped me. Just set me back some. I really want to show my kids that it is possible to accomplish your dreams despite what life throws at you. However, with the economy downfall and the rise of cost for living it is becoming a struggle financially to pay for college. It is a consent battle whether to pay for things your family needs or to pay for another set of classes to take. I have recently been accepted into the CTC Nursing program. This means I am only two years from graduating with my degree in nursing. I am undeniable motivated to finish what I started not only for my family, but to prove to myself that anything is possible.

I have an Associate Degree in nursing from Queensborough Community College. I had a Bachelor in Environmental Engineering already and I was looking for the fastest and most inexpensive way to become a nurse when I started the nursing program at Queensborough Community College. When I graduated from the nursing school, I thought that ADN would be enough to be a nurse and I could start working as soon as I got the license. Soon after passing the board, I started realized that it was very hard to find any job as a newly graduated nurse with ADN. I got pieces of advice from professors and decided to go to Molloy College to study Family Nurse Practitioner. After three courses there, even though it would be the fastest way to be an FNP with other Bachelor degree, I realized that I had no experience to share in as a nurse. I sat down and seriously thought about what I like to do.

Did you know that CNA’s make $11.68 an hour starting off? It's a good salary once you start off. One career I would like to do is be a CNA. I would like to be a CNA for many reasons.

With technology always changing and improving, these professionals constantly have to take classes, learning how to work with these databases. For example, a CNA, Melissa Rodrigues, was required to take three weekend classes to learn how to use a new EHR database effectively. Also, to keep their certification, physician assistants must complete 100 hours of continuing education every 2 years. Another requirement that just began in 2014 is that a recertification exam is required every ten years to keep a PA license. Many jobs require relocation, but as a PA, it isn’t common. Usually a person can find a job in this field almost anywhere there are hospitals, doctor’s offices, or people in need of medical attention.

A medical assistant can be considered to be a “jack of all trades” in the medical field (Xu, 2013). This profession is expected to grow 31% by 2020 (Xu, 2013). After learning about all the job duties of a medical assistant it is clear to see the importance in becoming certified. Some important reasons in becoming a nationally credentialed medical assistant is, having more job responsibilities and being able to provide more services to the patients, becoming certified also lets the future employer know the seriousness a person has in field of medical assistant, better pay rate, most importantly an employer will look at the credentials and consider that person to be less of a legal liability (Balasa, 2009).

When a patient is admitted into a hospital, it is vital for him to trust his caretaker and to feel comfortable. The one person that can help the patient in this way is a physician assistant. For a physician assistant to become successful, he or she must display the intellectual qualities of a physician and the nurturing qualities of a nurse. A physician assistant requires a wide skills range, proper education, potential employment options, and the personal qualities to become successful.

What co-ops are you looking to apply for? I did a summer program at Hahnemann and absolutely loved it. I have similar ambitions and hope to eventually be a chief nursing officer. You should look into the MACY`s Undergraduate Leadership Program. It might be able to help you with your career path. Being able to help in a bigger way after working at the bedside is my ultimate goal. I am very excited to see how we can relate this our end career goals. Looking forward to a great term.

First, what brought me to the nursing profession. All through my childhood years I wanted to be just like my mom, a daycare provider. I wanted to be able to take care of young kids and not have to sit in a desk all day. I never thought of another profession until my grandma, a nurse, had me shadow her for an entire day. I learned all about the different specialties and jobs in a hospital. After that day I had an interest in the health field but I wasn't sure what health profession was fit for me. About a year ago I started working at the nursing home in my hometown for some experience in the health field and to be around health professionals. After working there for four months I tested out and became a CNA. I absolutely loved every part of working there. I helped all the residents with their daily needs such as dressing and toileting. In the nursing home I worked at, there were three different parts; assisted living, long term, and rehab and hospice. I was able to work in the long term care unit but most of the time I worked in the rehab