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One week down, two more to go...

Whew, one week of CNA class down, only 2 more to go.  Thankfully yesterday was the last day of book work and our first "skill" practice...handwashing.  Honestly, you wouldn't think handwashing would be a big deal, you'd be wrong.  About half the class would have failed had they taken the skill yesterday and guess why?  Because of the shake.  You know the shake.  You've just gotten done washing your hands and the water is still dripping off of them and so what do you do?  Well, you shake the excess water off of course!  Uh-uh, not on THIS test you don't.  Our teacher told us that shaking was an automatic failure, can you believe it?  Well it's true.  So now we have to practice washing our hands with our fingers pointing down the whole time and NOT shaking off the excess water, lol.  Who would have thought handwashing would actually be a learned skill.  Next week we start learning all 26 other skills that we have to master in order to take the state test to be a certified nursing assistant.  I still haven't decided if I'm going to go ahead & take the test now or wait until later in the semester when I'll have more experience.  Speaking of having more experience, school is getting closer!! Only 44 more days, woohoo (and only 37 days until my cruise!!)  I talked to my nursing bestie yesterday & he said he was ready for school to get started, aren't we all!!  Also, I have to admit, taking this CNA class really gives me an appreciation for what these people do.  This is NOT a glamorous job people, at least not in a nursing home.  I'm not sure what a CNA would do in a hospital, but in a nursing home I'd have to say in order to be a CNA for ANY length of time you would have to REALLY love taking care of people at the most basic level.  Honestly, I think it takes even more of a special person to be a CNA than even a nurse.  So, if you work with any CNA's be sure to thank them for all their hard work.


Blessings,

Comments

  1. Mary @ This is How My Garden GrowsJuly 13, 2012 at 12:51 PM

    The CNA I worked with during the first couple of weeks of clinical said she thinks all nurses should be CNA first. I tend to agree! During our first couple of weeks we worked with CNAs and they were awesome :) And yes hand washing is IMPORTANT and many do it wrong. Good luck!

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    Replies
    1. CandiJuly 13, 2012 at 1:55 PM

      I agree with her. I don't think you can really appreciate what someone does unless you've done it. I will probably end up working as a CNA at some point during my schooling, which I think will give me an even greater appreciation for them.
      Thanks for your response :)

      Delete
    2. Mary @ This is How My Garden GrowsJuly 13, 2012 at 2:41 PM

      I wanted to work as a CNA this summer but my school scheduled just didn't work out. No school next summer so hopefully I'll be able to find a job.

      Delete
    3. CandiJuly 13, 2012 at 2:50 PM

      It's so hard to work while in school & then when you do it's only for a few hours so the money is barely even worth the time away from family & studying. Thank God for a supportive spouse! :D

      Delete
  2. mistyJuly 13, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    ohmygracious!
    i definitely remember hand washing check-off's during our 1st semester of nursing. i, as well, had NO IDEA just how involved washing your hands could be!!
    then came putting on sterile gloves... but i think vital signs was my greatest fear because of my uncertainty with the manual BP cuff!

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    1. CandiJuly 13, 2012 at 2:06 PM

      I'm sure we'll probably have to do this next semester and lucky me I'll already know how, lol. Vital signs was ok for me, it came pretty easy, what was hard for me & I don't know that I'll ever get it is differentiating between breath sounds. I mean they all sounded the same to me!! Luckily I don't want to go into cardiology!! :)

      Delete
    2. Mary @ This is How My Garden GrowsJuly 13, 2012 at 2:40 PM

      Sterile gloves can be so annoying! It's def a skill!! We have to practice bp w/ the manual so much I am pretty sure I do it in my sleep! Breath sounds are hard!

      Delete
  3. NPOJuly 14, 2012 at 12:31 AM

    HAND WASHING.
    You will hear about it as a CNA, Nurse, Dietitian, Practitioner, therapist, doctor, etc. This is drilled into you throughout healthcare, because it is the best preventive measure of disease. Sad thing is, the people you see breaking this simple rule the most are the doctors.

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    1. CandiJuly 14, 2012 at 2:16 PM

      Oh yeah, it's actually gotten to the point where if they DO wash their hands you're surprised!!

      Delete
  4. Mary @ This is How My Garden GrowsJuly 15, 2012 at 5:21 PM

    I nominated you for an award :) Check out my post http://verysmartorverydumb.blogspot.com/2012/07/liebster-award.html for more details.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CandiJuly 15, 2012 at 7:41 PM

      Oh my gosh I'm so excited!! Thank you so much, I will go check it out RIGHT now!! :D

      Delete

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