A lot of people get their start in the medical field by becoming a CNA. But did you know that there are actually 10 things you’ll never learn in your CNA training? Here’s what we found:
1. What it’s like to be a part of other people’s lives
You will work in a lot of places during your career, but nursing homes can be especially emotionally raw.
There is nothing quite like touching the lives of so many people who are suffering from illness and old age at the same time.
You might experience a certain sense of fulfillment when you help them with their daily activities, medication, or just spending time together. Or this job might just tear you apart piece by piece if you’re not able to handle it!
2. Time management skills
Picture this: you are in charge of a dozen patients in one day, sharing the same number of nursing assistants to help you. You have little time for each patient and they need different amounts of attention due to their health conditions.
How do you make sure no one is waiting for his medicine when he starts feeling bad again?
How do you give quality care without rushing your job?
Get ready to learn these skills with little or no guidance at all during your CNA classes.
3. The value of teamwork
Nursing is a team job, not an individual one.
No matter how skilled and knowledgeable you are as a CNA, there is always an MD who tells you what to do and when. The more people work together toward the same goal, the easier it becomes to achieve your task.
Besides, things will go wrong unintentionally from time to time; working in teams can lessen the effects on your patients!
4. How to deal with difficult patients or family members
Surprisingly enough, most CNAs don’t have many chances of dealing directly with their patients or their families while helping them with daily activities.
Instead, they work with a team of doctors and nurses who discuss the best course of action. That’s why it is so hard to deal directly with difficult patients! But this is a key skill you won’t learn in a CNA training program…
5. How to manage your stress level
There are days when everything goes wrong for no reason, even though you see patients or family members smile at your presence every day. You feel overwhelmed by all the work you have to do, but people around you expect nothing less than perfection from you.
That’s why it is important to learn how to control your emotions and avoid letting them take over the best part of you every time something frustrates your plans.
6. What does a real work-life balance look like?
Every day after leaving work, some CNAs feel exhausted inside and out; they complain about having no time for themselves and wondering if they made a difference that day. Others feel proud of their work, enjoying being surrounded by people who have no choice but to rely on them!
How can you enjoy your life outside of work when you spend 8 hours a day taking care of other people’s lives?
7. How to make the most out of your degree
CNAs are usually underpaid, yet they are expected to keep their knowledge up-to-date.
For them, it’s a daily struggle between taking care of patients and staying qualified at work. You will probably see your hard work ignored by superiors without understanding why.
This is an issue that will never be addressed in CNA training!
8. How to deal with the loss of a patient
It’s stressful enough to have an important patient die while under your care; it becomes even more difficult when it happens unexpectedly or after years of fighting against his disease.
You must know how to manage such cases as smoothly as possible through proper procedures and legal requirements. things happen, especially in hospitals, where people are in the most delicate conditions.
But this subject won’t be taught in CNA training programs…
9. Giving a good report to the doctor
It is not always easy to understand what your doctor wants to hear when he asks you about a patient’s status during his rounds.
You will have good days and bad days which won’t necessarily be reflected in patients’ charts. Patients’ records are essential for their follow-up, especially if they need emergency care at night or on weekends.
So you must learn how to communicate clearly without writing pages of reports!
10. What it’s like to deal with difficult coworkers or demanding bosses?
There will always be someone around to make your day a little bit harder: a grumpy nurse, a coworker who has a problem with everything you do, a boss that makes everything you do sound wrong…
How will you handle these kinds of problems without any guidance from an experienced supervisor?
Even though you will have a very thorough knowledge of physical, psychological and emotional needs in your patients, there are things which won’t be taught in CNA training. You must know how to deal with unexpected problems when they arise, just as you learn the basics during CNA training.