If you've read some of my earlier posts, you may have learned that I am very interested in pursuing a career in medicine. More specifically, I'm aiming to become a physician. Therefore, I've been trying to get a lot of experience with medicine in high school for educational purposes that I eventually will list on my college applications. This year I discovered an amazing opportunity to become a certified nursing assistant. It requires the completion of a CNA course from a healthcare training center and to pass the state license exam. The minimum age differs per state but in Illinois, it's 16 which was perfect for me!
I learned that CNAs can work in nursing homes, hospice centers, hospitals, or as home health aides. They are primarily involved in patient care; CNAs help elderly residents in particular with activities of daily living like eating and bathing. At nursing homes, the most popular place of employment, CNAs work long 7 hours shifts but can be paid between $12-18! They play an important role in maintaining the health of senior citizens because they spend the most time with them. Therefore, CNAs have an immense responsibility to cater to their needs and report any changes in health or signs of abuse/neglect to the charge nurse.
For me, the first step was getting enrolled in a CNA course which I did. It was a one month long with virtual classes from 10:30-4:30 almost every day! We had homework assignments due by the end of each day, and quizzes were almost every other day. In short, it was very rigorous and fast-paced. I had to allow myself enough time to read the textbook, complete the workbook assignments, and reread my notes from the lecture. In addition, we had two days of clinicals; they were from 9-2:30, and in small groups of students, we would demonstrate the "skills" we learned to our professor.
"Skills" were actions we might have to perform for residents (elderly living in nursing homes) or ourselves. For example, we had to show the professor had to properly put on and remove PPE, demonstrate with a family member how to move them from a bed to a chair properly, or perform range-of-motion movements on a family member. Essentially, these were activities we would be expected to perform with a patient in real life. With a professor as strict as mine, I would get super nervous even though I was performing these skills virtually.
Now the title indicates this is only part 1 because I have yet to take my state exam and interview for a job at a nursing home, but my biggest takeaway is that being a CNA is not a position to be taken lightly. It requires a lot of careful studying, precision, and compassion in order to do the job right. For students interested in healthcare, this is a perfect opportunity to pursue because not only will you get a well-paid job, but you will get hands-on experience dealing with patients and an excellent introduction to the basics of medicine.
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