Michelle S.

“ I took a class during my freshman year at SPU at the Nursing Assistant Training Institute in Shoreline, WA, which totaled 92 hours of combined class and clinical hours. I then passed my state board tests and have been working for the last year or so as a CNA at a local skilled nursing facility and rehab center. Through this I gained invaluable experience in the nursing field and affirmed my desire and passion...

I took a class during my freshman year at SPU at the Nursing Assistant Training Institute in Shoreline, WA, which totaled 92 hours of combined class and clinical hours. I then passed my state board tests and have been working for the last year or so as a CNA at a local skilled nursing facility and rehab center. Through this I gained invaluable experience in the nursing field and affirmed my desire and passion to become a nurse. This was my first real experience working with and being responsible for patients. It was difficult as I juggled incorporating everything I learned in class while absorbing details from the on-the-job training and about the patients themselves. One issue that soon made itself clear was that it seemed as though the longer the CNAs and nurses had been working at the facility, the more they tended to treat the patients as objects, rather than human beings. Noticing this right away, I made it my effort and goal to never allow that to happen to me in my career as a CNA or later as a nurse. I am so far successful in my endeavor to do so, and have realized what a great impact I have been able to have in the lives of patients by simply taking those few extra minutes to care for them as a person: to hear their story and listen to their fears; and to be there to offer a hand or a smile. Working as a CNA also taught me a great deal about work ethic. There were many nights on the job where I would be overwhelmed with my own 11 patients to take care of, but another CNA would need my assistance, therefore increasing my workload. I learned a great deal about teamwork this past summer. Being a CNA also taught me about humility. The jobs we perform are considered "the lowest of the low" as far as the medical world is concerned. Some things were at first uncomfortably obtrusive, but I learned to handle and adapt to them and to care for these people as I would any other person I came into contact with. In all my years of serving and volunteering, working as a CNA has taught me the most about humility.

More ”