Ever wanted to know if you are a CNA student? Here are some tell-tale signs.
You have to study for your certification exam, remember the acronyms HCA, CCU, and PACU, and be able to list all of the steps in caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.
When people find out that you’re studying to become a certified nurse assistant they always ask “are you still in school?”
And worst of all, when your mom asks what kind of job is it that you’re going into she just looks at you like she doesn’t understand why anyone would want to do this.
If any or many of these questions sound familiar then congratulations! You are most likely a CNA student! Here are eleven more of them.
1. You hold your breath every time you have a meeting with the nursing department
You start holding your breath each time you meet someone from the nursing department so you can hold a straight face and not show any signs of fear or nervousness.
This is because when word gets around that you are in CNA school, they’d look at you as if you were wasting their money away. They can easily revoke your enrollment and send you packing back to where ever it was that you came from, without even thinking twice about it. Yeah, scary isn’t it?
2. You have a CNA license at the back of your car window
You don’t exactly have one, but you do have a few extra stickers on your car window to show that you are now a CNA.
Ever since you began taking classes, people started seeing you as something important because of this license beside the word ‘Student’ at its reflection. You even step out your front door now with much more respect.
3. You are constantly searching for job postings online
At first, it was hard finding nursing homes online that are looking for new workers but once you discovered them, now every day is spent holed up in front of the computer screen posting application after application after application trying to secure yourself that part-time or full-time position somewhere else besides school.
Yeah, you are that desperate to get out of school.
4. You are befriending everyone in the nursing department
You finally know what it is like having friends from the same department as yourself by now and not just because you are looking for a job at their facility but also because they could be helping you with your studies or even simply lending you a hand whenever needed.
This is definitely something worth befriending people for if not only to secure yourself a steady source of income after graduation day comes around.
5. Passing out during class is normal for you
One time, I had this prof who was teaching us all about health care ethics by using real-life examples that are actually happening within the facility where he is the administrator.
Apparently, this one case he was telling us about involved a nurse who was caught stealing drugs from the facility and selling them to local addicts. That situation alone got me so deep into my head that I actually passed out cold, sort of like fainting but not really if you know what I mean…
Yeah, apparently passing out during class is something common for us nowadays, but hey at least we only do it once in a while, unlike those nurses who stand up all day long under fluorescent lighting with little or no rest time until their shift ends.
No wonder why they seem to be always sleep-walking throughout their rounds!
6. The school mascot has become your best friend
It used to be that one time that whenever we walk into a classroom and the instructor welcomed us with a name tag that says ‘Nurse’, we used to get all shy and start giggling.
Now, it is common for everyone in CNA school to have a nametag saying ‘Nurse’ or Nurse assistant I or II or some other variation along those lines.
That was the moment when the school mascot finally found its niche within our lives as being one of our best-kept secrets from everyone else, including your mom who wouldn’t understand what you were going through if she ever finds out about this whole secret life living inside of you called CNA.
7. You find yourself memorizing countless amounts of acronyms
Another common thing with CNA school is the fact that every single day there were so many acronyms for us to remember and learn, some of which I doubt if we will ever use in real-life working environments.
But you know what? You do get used to it after a while and eventually memorizing them all became second nature just like putting on our scrubs before heading out into the big bad world of nursing assistants!
8. You find yourself memorizing countless amounts of drugs
I remember there was this one time when we were having our medication administration class and the instructor kept stressing over and over again about how it is very important for us to always know what every single drug we will be administering will do to a patient before we actually give them any more medications especially in cases where said patient has allergy reactions or perhaps even takes another different type of medication that could potentially interfere with the effects or side effects of another.
Well, I guess after spending several months now studying drug after drug along with their many uses, dosages, and side effects make you get used to all these drugs like they are your own blood relatives…or something like that!
9. You enjoy wearing scrubs
Scrubs have become sort of a fashion statement for students in CNA school, especially whenever we are studying or taking any type of class exam. We tend to wear our favorite color scrubs the most often compared to our street clothes either because it makes us feel comfortable while making us look good without having to think twice about what we are wearing that day!
10. You start getting excited whenever someone mentions clinical rotation
This is one exciting moment when all your classes will finally come together and give you insights on what real-life nursing care really looks like while preparing you for your future job prospects once graduation day arrives on your very own doorstep.
Unfortunately, this is also where you get the chance to meet some very rude nurses who had the tendency to yell at you even over the littlest of things like forgetting your name or losing your ID badge.
That is when clinical rotation will prove to be either a good time for both you and the nurses while some may simply choose to not get along with each other because of lots and lots of stress!
11. You can’t wait to graduate from CNA school
And, of course, the moment when you finally get to put on that cap and gown while waving goodbye to all your classmates who will be going their very own way after graduation day is over.
No doubt about it: CNA school was a great place for you not just because of learning lots and lots of new things but most especially because it helped make you become stronger with each passing day that goes by…starting with nothing more than just an empty pocket and ending up with a bright future ahead of you!
