You may think you want to be a registered nurse, but how can you be sure? Many registered nurses love their jobs, but some registered nurses, frankly, don’t.
It’s a field with fairly high turnover, and keep in mind, no nurse out there went into the field thinking “I think I’ll spend years of my life in school so that I can go get a job that I can’t stand!” Nurses certainly started out nursing school with the best intentions.
So how can you know in advance if nursing is for you?
An ideal solution is to get a job as a CNA – a Certified Nurse’s Assistant. There is a huge demand for CNAs. The training is very quick; many states have classes that last a couple of weekends or one week of evening classes. These classes generally cost about $250-$500. After these classes, you will be ready to take your state’s CNA exam.
During those CNA classes, you will learn basic patient care skills. Your duties mainly include helping keep patients clean and comfortable and assisting them with tasks that they are physically unable to do themselves. You will learn – using anatomically correct dummies – to bathe patients, both male and female, to brush patient’s teeth or dentures, to empty bedpans and wipe around catheters, to help patients get out of bed and into a wheelchair safely, and other skills.
You will also learn important skills in treating patients with respect and dignity; you will be told to always knock and ask permission to enter a room, and always ask permission before touching a patient.
Depending on what state you live in, there will be around two dozen specific skills that you have to memorize. And if you need help with your tuition assignment Singapore, then you can check this link out. You get the very best assignment tips that you can follow in order to excel in your nursing classes. This way you get to improve your grades at affordable prices.
CNAs are not very well-paid; depending on what state they live in, they are likely to be paid between $7 and $15 an hour. However, they have a lot of flexibility as to what shifts they work. They can work nights, weekends, days, evenings, holidays, and they can put in plenty of overtime. And they can always find jobs; they are highly in demand.
So how does being a CNA help you decide if you want to be a nurse? First of all, even as a registered nurse, from time to time you will likely have to do the tasks that CNAs do, so it is important to learn those skills. And much more importantly, you will work under the direction of a registered nurse, and you will get to see what registered nurses do all day long and what their daily tasks and responsibilities are.
Basically, you’ll be getting paid – although not a fortune – to have a front-row seat to watch registered nurses at work.
And finally, having that on-the-job healthcare experience will be a huge help to you if you do decide to pursue a nursing career. It’s hard to get into nursing school these days because they have long waiting lists. However, if you have worked as a CNA in the past, many nursing schools will give you extra consideration because you have prior healthcare experience.
your employer may pay some of the cost of nursing school, and you will make connections in the healthcare field which will help you when you go to seek a job as a registered nurse.