CNA: Skilled Nursing Facility, Night-Shift - Tert Soriano

Self Introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Tert Soriano and I am a senior majoring in General Bio and minoring in Global Health. I have been wanting to be a Physician Assistant (PA) ever since my sophomore year but joined PPASO my third year. I became an intern for Public Relations my junior year and now currently one of the Public Relations officers for 2022-2023. I have also worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) since last year.

What is a CNA / How to Become one

A CNA is one of the entrance level positions into healthcare involving the tasks of taking vital signs (blood pressure, respiration, etc) and assisting in activities in daily living (meals, showers, etc). In order to become one, you can either take classes in certain colleges, one of which is San Diego Medical College, or take classes in one of the nursing facilities. Taking them in private/public colleges cost around $1000-$2000 for tuition. For nursing facilities, the majority of them are tuition free, but require a contract of working with them usually for a year. There are varieties in the amount of days and night classes that allow for students, full time or part time, to consequently take them. After taking classes, you are then required to pass the CNA exam. Though it seems like a lot of work, I definitely think it’s worth it and is one of the easiest and fastest ways to get patient care experience.

Job duties / Likes and Dislikes

Typical work day for me starts with preparing my barrel with plastic bags to dispose of linen and trash into. From then on I start my first rounds and check in with my patients to ensure they are satisfied and do not need anything. Considering I work a graveyard shift, there are no meals to be served which allows for a lot of extra time to provide high quality work. After doing my rounds, I then proceed to answer any call lights to assist my residents. In between my tasks, I take vital signs as requested by nurses. What I like most about my job is the extreme direct patient care experience that I get. I am able to work with my residents one to one and know all about them. Another favorite thing about being a CNA is that I am able to work in different departments, and one of them being the dementia unit. Being in the dementia unit displays a completely unique experience as each day is always full of new things. One drawback that I would like to say is that this job does include having to clean up after their bowel and urinary wastes.

Conclusion

Overall, I would definitely recommend CNA as a great patient care experience for those who are interested in wanting to know health care settings first hand. Not only does CNA give a passage towards being able to work in multiple different departments, it also allows for flexible schedules, as a lot of nursing facilities and hospitals are in heavy demand of them. We also have partnered up with IHG if you ever want to consider taking classes, either for CNA or Medical Assistant! Let me know if you have any questions, my email is tgsorian@ucsd.edu, personal email is tgsorian@gmail.com :)