After completing one week of a five week course with the Red Cross to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), it feels good to have confirmation that I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life--why anyone would sign-up to change diapers in a nursing home, I don't know. Even if you view it as a stepping stone to a more interesting, higher status career as an RN, it's a tough sell.
I worked in website development and design on and off for almost twenty years and knew it wasn't for me after five. But I stuck it out because the money was good and it was easy to find work. I was also distracted with marriage, home buying, raising a child, etc. Although I didn't enjoy my work, it was not my focus and I was too busy and tired to change anything.
But after 15 years of not paying attention to my career, it was pretty much dead. And moving from South Orange, NJ to Santa Monica, CA sealed that--after a two-year unsuccessful job hunt I decided to do something dramatic and become a nurse. I wanted to get a job ASAP and decided to become a CNA first, RN second.
In our first week of training we were in the classroom exclusively, and started to learn the skills necessary to pass the exam. In California, you must master 27 different skills, divided among vital signs, personal care, moving/transferring patients, restorative care, and bed making.
Next week we begin the clinical part of our training, and begin to apply what we've learned in a real-life setting: Fireside Convalescent Hospital in Santa Monica, CA.
I worked in website development and design on and off for almost twenty years and knew it wasn't for me after five. But I stuck it out because the money was good and it was easy to find work. I was also distracted with marriage, home buying, raising a child, etc. Although I didn't enjoy my work, it was not my focus and I was too busy and tired to change anything.
But after 15 years of not paying attention to my career, it was pretty much dead. And moving from South Orange, NJ to Santa Monica, CA sealed that--after a two-year unsuccessful job hunt I decided to do something dramatic and become a nurse. I wanted to get a job ASAP and decided to become a CNA first, RN second.
In our first week of training we were in the classroom exclusively, and started to learn the skills necessary to pass the exam. In California, you must master 27 different skills, divided among vital signs, personal care, moving/transferring patients, restorative care, and bed making.
Next week we begin the clinical part of our training, and begin to apply what we've learned in a real-life setting: Fireside Convalescent Hospital in Santa Monica, CA.
