School Sucks!

I'm currently enrolled in GNA class and it sucks! Not for the reasons you'd think, however. GNA, for those who don't know, stands for Geriatric Nursing Assistant, which is Maryland's version of a state-tested CNA.

I took Nursing 101 last Fall and had to withdraw due to poor grades. I was great at the technical aspects, sucked at the tests. Which is surprising, because tests have always been my strong suit. I ended up with like a 102% in Human Anatomy & Physiology and a 29 on the ACT. I'm proud of my 29 because the extent of my education is a High School diploma that I achieved about 8 years ago. When asked how good that score is I just respond, "Not good enough to get into Yale but good enough to get into Princeton."

So how in the hell did I fail these Nursing tests? I have no clue. The ambiguity of the questions, the introductions of diseases, symptoms, and injuries that were not present in the study material? I'm not quite sure. It could be any number of things honestly, but I passed my care plans, and I passed my skills, and I passed my patient interaction.

I am taking a year's breather to decide what I want to do. In the meantime, this GNA certification will give me some real work experience, hopefully to help me better prepare for the test questions. The only thing is, I was beyond the scope of this GNA class within 2-3 weeks! So everything is basically a review. Imagine sitting through hours upon hours of an addition and subtraction refresher course... it's how I feel! It's so boring...

I'm still in a career choice toss-up between PA vs. RN as my educational choice. PA is probably a better fit for me personally, however the schooling is long and pretty intense. RN is easier to complete, but not quite as good a fit for me, however, I still love the job. It's a tough decision and they are both difficult classes, but I'm starting to lean more towards RN again after I sat down and figured out actually how much work I'd have to put into being a PA.

Hey I could always go RN and then work at a much more casual pace towards PA! That works... it's an idea, after all...