Question of the week: What CNA’s want to learn
Posted by Kim on December 26th, 2006 / Print This Post
In the comments a reader left this question:
Could you give me some suggestions on what CNAs really want for education in a long term care?
Briefly, I can say without a doubt, those who have intentions of being educated CNA’s want to know these things:
1) The Basics- nursing skills we currently learn- with more emphasis on the hows, whys, whens, what happens…details are always better than scratching the surface which is what is taught now.
2) Expanded information about the Nursing Process and the role of the CNA and other members of the health care team.
3) Employment skills: Work ethics, resume preparation, interview skills, mentoring; HOW not to destroy our young, being professional, dealing with co workers and management; dealing with families and others.
4) Career opportunities for CNA’s; other roles and resources besides nursing homes and long term care.
5) History of nursing and particularly of CNA’s.
6) Expanded information about abuse, neglect and other legal issues CNA’s face everyday on the job.
Other thoughts?? Ideas?
December 27th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
For one thing, I think the quality of candidates should be raised. In the past 5 or 6 years I have seen some pretty BAD people pass through the CNA classes. They’re usually foreign born or immigrants. They are lazy; they have little to no work ethics; they use their “barriers” to get out of doing some of the work. Many of them don’t understand English- they cannot read it, speak it and understand it. It amazes me how they pass the tests…I have wondered if CNA educators have dumbed down the expectations.
Raise the standards for those who want to do this work- then we’ll talk about how to improve education.
December 27th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
Good points Cheryl. I too have experienced these things.
At the very least, students MUST know, read and understand English. Its hard enough to know the language…it gets worse when we add in medical terms and all that.
Also, a lot more should be taught about being professional. A lot of aides just don’t act it.
December 27th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
I would like to see more detail or time spent on skills. Measuring vital signs- I had a hard time with blood pressures.
Abuse and neglect? Yes- and what we need to do when we report it and nothing happens.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:47 am
I think its overrated a little- this critisism of immigrants. They dont understand our culture-I dont think its the language. Whatever, I agree with Cheryl in that students need to be screened better.
How about more learning about OBRA regs? Every job Ive had has a different policy about this or that, and they all claim its an OBRA reg. Yet they all do different things.
December 29th, 2006 at 10:18 am
You have already stated what I would like to see more of:
“…. more emphasis on the hows, whys, whens, what happens…”.
I thought our text had pretty good “….expanded information about the Nursing Process and the role of the CNA and other members of the health care team”. We used one of the versions of the Mosby book, and I thought that was a very well-written text and complete.
What I saw in “CNA class” was what I saw in school (high school through college), and has always happened to some percentage of students. The reading material was there for the taking, but students choose not to read the assignments, or only concentrate on what they think will get them ‘the grade’ to get through class. This is a perennial problem in education. As stated, the Mosby text was excellent — it’s the fault of the student who doesn’t take an interest in learning. The areas of where a CNA fits into healthcare, abuse/neglect, etc. was all covered in the text very nicely.
I have posted a number of long responses, online, about resumes, interviewing and such as I had two other careers. As a computer consultant, I had to interview on a regular basis (as well as being an interviewer myself). HOWEVER, I do NOT want to see that as part of the coursework. It takes away from the already, not-enough-time to cover healthcare. I WOULD like to interviewing/resume prep offered as a separate seminar (possibly a day-long seminar or at least a half day). I just don’t feel that it’s appropriate to teach such ‘life skills’ when there is not enough time to teach CNA-related issues within the class.
December 29th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
All great advice. I would like to see more background checks done of potential students; we don’t need bad apples in this work- where there seems to be many.
I agree about the language stuff…and, I do see some questionable work ethics from people of foreign lands coming to the US. We need to raise the bar a little for those who are going to be caregivers.
Rance makes excellent points. I firmly believe the education of CNA’s has been dumbed down. Maybe because of the lower standard student? Maybe because of the shortage? It doesn’t matter. I would rather work short than work with those who are lazy, who call out all the time or go home early a lot. I’m sick and tired of picking up the slack for those who ARE at work and who just don’t do it right. I blame them and the training they got. Something has changed with quality of candidates for CNA”hood”.
January 1st, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I would like to comment on the opinion of immigrants…lets look in the mirror..in the CNA field whether you are black or white, mexican or latino there are lazy people everywhere. Being a CNA is a special job that requires you to put yourself in the place of the patient. One of your job requirements is not to go to work to see who is doing their job and who is not. Are you going home at the end of the day feeling satisfied with the job you have done for the day? Now..I would also like to address the fact that nurses coming out of school need to take a serious reality pill and realize that sometimes you will have to get a little dirty and assist a patient with a bedpan or pour a cup of water!!!!
January 4th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Cheryl, you have made a very good point, and I agree with you. I attended a university here in D.C., and I had a lot of foriegn friends and at the facility where I work on the weekends.
Two friends from UDC and one from the weekend told me that they had friends in the past had studied for them and past written exams. Some teachers in UDC has now gotten tips on this. One mentioned that she only showed up at the beginning of class just in case the instructor asked to see ID, which they hardly ever.
At first, I didn’t believe it. Then I started to notice that when it came to midterm, some of the foreign born students didn’t show up for class, and it seemed like we had new students evertime it came for testing. When I asked one, I don’t remembered seeing you in class, he said, he was here.
That was then I realized that my foreign friends were right. People can have other test out for them and past. I am not sure if this happening with foreign CNAs, but it does make you wonder.
I would like to see at the beginning of CNA classes, middle of classes, testings, and end of classes that each student show ID. Because I too wondered how some CNAs past the exam and become CNAs.
January 7th, 2007 at 11:14 am
i think cna’s are poorly paid overworked and discriminated. better work environment and compensation lower patient ratio surly equals a better job
January 13th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
yes amen !!!~
January 31st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
i agree with keziah. cna’s are a vital part of patient care and they are the root of the tree called a nursing home. we need more respect, better pay, and less discrimination.
February 16th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I am an RN and have been teaching nursing assistant training classes for the past eleven years. I totally disagree with the comment regarding nursing assitant students, “They’re usually foreign born or immigrants. They are lazy; they have little to no work ethics; they use their “barriers” to get out of doing some of the work.” My experience has been the total opposite. I think they try harder even though there is a language barrier.
I think kind of thinking it what is wrong with this world today.
I believe there are lazy people that have no work ethic but not because of where they are from.
And I do agree that the nurses need to step up to the plate and show some kindness and respect to the nursing assistants who are taken for granted, under paid(I couldn’t do what they do day in and day out)and disrespected.
February 16th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Thank you for your comment Linda but I cannot agree with you about the foreign aides. I work with some, and have for a long time. Maybe when they are being trained they show some ethic and determination, but once on the job it’s a different story.
They DO use their language as a means to get out of a lot of work. They play dumb. They act as though they don’t understand. They get the easy groups to work with…and it isn’t fair, right. We need to hold them to a higher par but we don’t..we make excuses for them ALL the time. MEANWHILE the rest of us bust our asses and get little recognition.
NOT ALL, but a majority. Then tend to hang out with other foreigners, which is fine…except when they start babbling in their own language in front of residents, who seem agitated by this. Call them on their behavior and they cry racism or worse. They make a stink and they always seem to get what they want.
I don’t like working with them. They don’t pull their weight and have no intention of doing so.
They may seem like a magical solution to the “crisis” but I think they add to it.