Kim is a CNA!!

It's been a while since my last update, mostly because I have been terribly busy. The first exciting piece of news is that, despite many setbacks and obstacles, I am a CNA, a certified nursing assistant. The obstacles that I speak of were all placed by Western Iowa Technical College (WIT) in Sioux City (I am hoping to get some Google hits on that lousy school-- if you are considering getting a CNA degree there do yourself a favour and email me first) who did everything in their power to prevent me from finishing the class. First they tried to cancel the class. Then they tried to push back clinicals for a week because someone was too lazy to call a nurse and get us medically cleared to volunteer in a nursing home. Then, come the day of the test, they didn't bother to sign us up. Although technically it was our fault because we were supposed to sign ourselves up, my entire class showed up at the test without having signed up, indicating that there was a breakdown in communication somewhere.
I had a cow. The reason behind my cow was that I was supposed to start orientation at a local hospital and my starting hinged on my passing the CNA test. I did manage to bully my way into the skills test, but I had to drive two hours to a different college to take my written because WIT was too lazy to sign me up themselves. It's a miracle that I passed my skills test. After fighting with administration they finally let me into the room although the rather unpleasant administrator commented that I was both lying about my employment and that "it wasn't right". She sat down and I realized with horror that she was the one administering the test. She was determined to fail me. I did a great job-- I did everything right, didn't forget a thing-- but I still got an 80%. Fine with me, I just needed a 70% to pass.
I remember working in Samoa and failing a student who didn't turn in a homework assignment on time. Although I was very clear about the due date and the consequences, she complained to administration and I was brought into the office and talked to be the dean. I showed her the syllabus and explained that I had been very clear about the due date. She listened to me, and then told me that the point of the class was for the students to learn, and that I needed to question that before all else. I admitted that the student had done the assignment correctly and reluctantly accepted it. At the time I thought that she was being unfair. Now I am glad that I got that lesson, and I was reminded f it during this CNA bullcrap. It's so easy to get wrapped up behind the red tape that you forget what you started to do. It's something that I need to try and remember as I do my job.
My job! I am working at a local hospital as a CNA. I really love it. It's hard to imagine that I would find something that is more satisfying then teaching, but working in a hospital is it. I pulled a 12-hour shift on Thanksgiving, and I have to say that although the patients and their families felt sorry that I had to work, it was actually one of the nicer Thanksgivings that I have had. I was working on rehab, where people who need to relearn basic skills after injury (how to walk, how to dress, how to make a bed, etc) have physical and occupational therapy. Maybe they had a broken bone, a stroke, or are learning to deal with a disability. All my patients have one thing in common-- they don't want to be here on Thanksgiving. I was thankful that I was able to help them, to talk to them, to hopefully make them feel a little less lonely. (It also gave me a chance to be thankful that I could walk. A nice way to put things in perspective.)
Anyway, I'll write more about my great job later. Until then, happy belated Thanksgiving and merry early Christmas!