re: CNA to PCA...

I can't generalize in all cases, but I did do most of my CNA tenure in hospital --- med-surg/oncology.

I did have an initial, paid, 4 weeks, full time, training in the classroom before I ever went onto the floor. I had additional classroom training in the first 6 months I was there. I also had a preceptor for 4 weeks with whom I worked on the floor and she checked off, on a 2 page list, things I needed to know how to do or find. Excellent training --- nerve wracking, but great. I've also written many times in the past that the nurses at hospital were great to work with --- something that LTC people just don't seem to experience much.

As long as you are willing to learn and not intimidated by computers or machinery, you'll enjoy this. I didn't work 'harder' at hospital than at LTC, but I did, literally, 25 times the number of tasks in a given shift.

You'll learn how to take bodily fluid samples along with proper vials for the testing, taking things to/from lab, setting up for new patients, breaking down on discharge, tracking I/O (food and bodily fluids), a bit about IV machines, SCD's, monitors, etc. I was also trained to do EKG's, as we all were, on the floor. Everything we did was entered into the computer system. Also did post mortem tasks.