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Fossy
Snowy Owl
Joined: Jun 01, 2008
Posts: 164
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 Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:39 am Post subject: social work, nursing, physical therapist or CNA....I'm stuck |
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| I am a housekeeper at a senior citizen's home and I really want to become a CNA and a nurse. However, I have such a problem with communication and showing my affection for people (I feel it but I have such a block when sharing it). I basically am trying to build up my self esteem because deep down I feel like I know I can be vocal enough to do nursing or physical therapy, etc. I know I have the passion for it. It's just scary to me because of my communication block. I sometimes get depressed at where I am right now and I can do better and that I am meant for great things and something other than a housekeeper. I mean housekeepers are caregivers too and have their own role. I'm not putting down housekeeping. I just know that I can be where I really want to be. Does anyone else face this dilemna? I just feel like I am stuck in a box and I will never get out and face the obstacles I have. lol I hate it that I feel like I can't get out of this box because I want to have the utmost confidence that I can. I need to get out of this rut. |
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Cerumenator
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:38 am Post subject: |
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RN here. I've seen, oh, about 4 housekeepers go to CNA school and have a decent career. Saw two people in the kitchen do it.
Saw another ditch her husband, get off crack, go to CNA school, get the job, do really well for about a year, got steady paychecks, got a new car, started going places, met a new guy, and HE took her to a party where there was crack, she got back on, and we had to fire her. Sad. But that's one out of 7!
So you can do it, I've seen people in pretty bad shape due to bad relationships with men, and got rid of them, went to school, got the decent job with benefits, and are doing pretty well now.
Many states require you to be a CNA first before you can apply to a licensed nursing program. So, that makes your decision easier if you live in one of those states. If you don't , my advice is to go to CNA school first anyway, just because its such a good idea for many reasons.
As for the CONFIDENCE to do it? Basic rule of nursing - before you can really take care of someone else, you first must be able to take care of yourself. If you already work in a 'senior home' -- that may be different than a actual, licensed skilled nursing facility, you may work at an assisted living center or something. A CNA that works in a skilled nursing facility is a much harder job, sorry. Very hard job, physically, and emotionally - you will NEVER play bingo. Some people just aren't cut out for it. Some are, and are angels on earth. I've seen their wings!
But if you're thinking you can probably do it, you probably can. Once you have an idea of what CNA's do, I mean an ACCURATE picture, and you think you can do it, yeah, you probably can. Just get into a decent program, study hard, MAKE STUDY PALS, (that's important) and go for it!
If you do well as a CNA, most nicer, non-for-profit facilities will pay for your licensed schooling in exchange for you working for them for a year or two after you graduate. The nursing shortage is very real, going to get worse, and depending on what state you're in, a nursing degree is pretty golden.
Good luck! |
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Fossy
Snowy Owl
Joined: Jun 01, 2008
Posts: 164
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| Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:01 am Post subject: |
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Oh I know it's a hard job. I like stuff that is extremely emotionally involved like that. Believe me I'm not expecting a cakewalk. I'm only really scared about it because I have really bad communication skills. I almost feel sometimes like something is physically blocking me from talking. I can probably overcome that enough to do my job well though. I've watched the CNA's at my job and I try to get a sense of how they relate to the residents, so that it will help me.
I don't know if it's exactly harder than housekeeping. It depends on what you are talking about. I think housekeeping is extremely hard and physically draining and basically housekeepers are treated like they are expendable and pieces of garbage. Come to think of it I guess if I can deal with being a housekeeper I can pretty much deal with anything. lol When I become a nurse I'm going to try to get a union there. Because then I will be more of an asset there and they would be less likely to fire me for starting a union. Plus if they did fire me, I'd be a nurse and there is usually a high demand for nurses.
BTW, are you in the states? I'm trying to find somewhere to train to be a CNA but all I see on the net are things like medical assistant and stuff like that. I guess I'm going to have to call the schools and find out if they offer CNA programs because I can't find info about it on the websites. Blech, I hate lengthy telephone calls. |
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MsTriste
OTS
Joined: Dec 08, 2005
Age: 44
Posts: 3373
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Another RN here, 11 years. Very demanding on the social skills.
My recommendation would be the one I got before I ventured on this career: volunteer at a hospital in a patient care area such as the emergency room where you'll have contact. You'll get an idea if you can handle the social aspects and it will give you confidence at the same time. |
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Fossy
Snowy Owl
Joined: Jun 01, 2008
Posts: 164
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Oh well I'm a housekeeper at a nursing home now. It's helping me get an idea about it. That is a good suggestion. Do you have to push yourself to seem like your engaged in people's problems? lol |
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Cerumenator
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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Other peoples' problems? Good question.
Remember that there are other disciplines to deal with different issues: activities, social services, dietary, physical & occupational therapy. As for nursing, it's very hard to force yourself to care about someone's health issues if you don't have a genuine interest in the first place to make someone's life better. The workload is just too great to force this all day, every day. You'll burn out quickly if you don't have this instilled within you already.
I'll tell you right now, this is a requirement - you might be able to make it thru school and find a job, but if you don't consider yourself a caring, emphatic person, you'll simply hate the job and it'll all just be a giant waste of time. |
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MsTriste
OTS
Joined: Dec 08, 2005
Age: 44
Posts: 3373
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Fossy wrote: | | Oh well I'm a housekeeper at a nursing home now. It's helping me get an idea about it. That is a good suggestion. Do you have to push yourself to seem like your engaged in people's problems? lol |
Yes and no.
There are those who are truly suffering and empathy comes naturally.
Then there are those attention-seeking patients for whom I came to despise. |
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Scheherazade
Snowy Owl
Joined: Jan 15, 2007
Posts: 154
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| Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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It sounds like you have the desire and the right personality, but you just need the social skills (and the confidence to use them!). Fortunately, this can be learned, even if it takes people like us a little more effort and strategizing to do so.
If being scared of talking is your barrier, maybe it's just a matter of getting more practice. I know I felt the same way after years of high school and college, where I basically would spend the whole day listening to other people talk and then maybe only talked to a few close friends and my parents. Then I did a few things that demanded I talk all the time, to new people, ask questions, etc, and it's helped me gain confidence in just going up to people and talking.
Some things you might want to try to enhance your social skills:
- Volunteer at a telephone crisis line - the skills will be very useful to nursing, they'll provide you training with what to say, what tone to use, etc, and you will get lots of practice talking one-on-one with people (well, a lot of listening, but you also have to say things to help them). The benefit of this is that you're doing it over the phone, so you get rid of the whole eye contact/body language element and you can just focus on the conversation.
- Volunteer somewhere where you work in a team. I volunteered at the local community TV station in the control room. It's not really related to healthcare (unless maybe they have a health-related show you can get involved with) but I really, really enhanced my social skills by working in the same room with about 6 other people where we needed to be passing information about callers from one person to another down the chain of duties, or asking questions of the producer (eg - my equipment isn't working properly! help!), or learning just to make small talk with the other volunteers. It also helped that the show I worked on was a live show - it was more pressure, but that forced me to get over my fear of talking, because I needed to say it NOW, I couldn't mull over in my head whether to say something or how to say it. That said, though, on a TV show, they also have people who work on the cameras, which is a job with almost no talking involved. I didnt have to do camera because I'm a fast typer and apparently that was a rare trait among volunteers. But I wouldnt have improved my social skills if I'd been stuck in he studio on camera.
- Get a part time job or volunteer somewhere where you are dealing with customers or answering the phone. It's easier if there is a bit of a script involved, so you have something to fall back on. (I don't recommend telemarketing, though, because dealing with all that hostility won't necessarily build your confidence). I worked as a waitress and that really helped me learn to talk to people - going up to customers with a bit of a script, learning how to make small talk with them, and also talking to my fellow waitresses and cooks.
- Take an acting class or improv class. Improv has also helped me enhance my social skills, because I learned to think on my feet and roll with whatever the other person is saying or doing.
I think your intentions are right for the job, but you want more confidence in your social skills before you commit. If your social fears are anything like mine, you might want to try some of those suggestions just to get practice dealing with all kinds of people, and confidence in your social skills just by using them a lot. You still might not be the most "maternal" personality around, but I've found you can always fake a persona like that.  And I think nurses or nurses aides or people working in that field really need to just be (1) good listeners and good at asking the right questions, (2) pleasant and tactful, (3) strong-willed and able to say no, able to walk away from someone who is lonely and wants your attention because there are so many other duties you need to do and very limited time. So you don't have to be the most outgoing, hug-giving person in the world to be great at that job. |
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Johnny08
Emu Egg
Joined: Jul 23, 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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| MsTriste wrote: | Another RN here, 11 years. Very demanding on the social skills.
My recommendation would be the one I got before I ventured on this career: volunteer at a hospital in a patient care area such as the emergency room where you'll have contact. You'll get an idea if you can handle the social aspects and it will give you confidence at the same time. |
Ms. Triste,
What type of setting do you work in - inpatient, outpatient, ER, etc? I'm an occupational therapist who is struggling right now with the social part of my job. I enjoy working with the patients but the teamwork/comradery stuff is driving me crazy. I'm thinking of looking for a smaller facility that has more social structure (i.e. organized team meetings about patients) and possibly less team work (that probably sounds dumb) and maybe my own cubicle
Do you have any suggestions for a facility that might have the social atmosphere that I'm looking for?
Thanks,
Johnny |
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