Does volunteering count as experience?

nrz2bee · Dec 22, 2009

i am a new cna, graduated since september and applied lots of places but still no one call back yet:crying2:. because most places require experience but i don't have yet. so now i want to do volunteering. but i have a question hope someone can answer it for me. does volunteering at hospital, nh, ect. would count as experience?

it doesnt count as cna experience but it helps. it shows a lot about your character such as committment to service and passion for working in the hospital with patients. i have an interview coming up with a hospital that i volunteer for

Cyn2school · Dec 23, 2009

Consider registering for home health care or for private duty jobs through an agency. Some agencies provide 1:1 private duty CNA's or may call them "sitters"@ upper end Skilled Nursing Facilities. That helped me get my foot in the door.

tavia_yeung · Dec 23, 2009

it doesnt count as cna experience but it helps. it shows a lot about your character such as committment to service and passion for working in the hospital with patients. i have an interview coming up with a hospital that i volunteer for

thanks very much nrz2bee for the reply. it's sad that it doesn't count as experience:cry:. i dun mind do volunteering but hopefully it can help me get a job.

anyway, congrats:yeah: and good-luck on your interview! may i ask how long did you volunteer at that place before you get the job interview? i'm just curious about it! i hope i can get a job like you did after volunteering too!

tavia_yeung · Dec 23, 2009

consider registering for home health care or for private duty jobs through an agency. some agencies provide 1:1 private duty cna's or may call them "sitters"@ upper end skilled nursing facilities. that helped me get my foot in the door.

thanks a lots o2bsn2b for that good advice! i hope i can find a job at that setting too.

nrz2bee · Jan 1, 2010

thanks very much nrz2bee for the reply. it's sad that it doesn't count as experience:cry:. i dun mind do volunteering but hopefully it can help me get a job.
anyway, congrats:yeah: and good-luck on your interview! may i ask how long did you volunteer at that place before you get the job interview? i'm just curious about it! i hope i can get a job like you did after volunteering too!

i volunteered about 10 months but it depends. i only got certified about 3 weeks before applying for the job and it wasnt in the same department that i work in. good luck. thanks for the good luck i need it:)

NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN · Jan 2, 2010

Most hospitals wont let you volunteer doing patient care that's one of the reasons why they don't consider that as experience. I would keep applying anywhere and everywhere. Don't just apply at hospitals because those are the places that usually require experience. Try the LTC facilities, and sub-acute facilities, they usually will train you because all new CNAs whether experienced or not have to get oriented on the floor. Good Luck

allnurses Guide · Jan 2, 2010

It's not counted as experience but it can help you network and be in a better position to take advantage of any openings that come up. People really like to hire applicants they know. Best of luck to you!!

tavia_yeung · Jan 4, 2010

most hospitals wont let you volunteer doing patient care that's one of the reasons why they don't consider that as experience. i would keep applying anywhere and everywhere. don't just apply at hospitals because those are the places that usually require experience. try the ltc facilities, and sub-acute facilities, they usually will train you because all new cnas whether experienced or not have to get oriented on the floor. good luck

i am not a picky person so i willing to work for all settings. i know hospital is so hard to get in so as for now i just wanna apply for nursing home, ltc, home health care, or any kind of facilities like these only. i applied at 3 nursing home that's within 10-30 minutes aways from my house but 2 not hiring now the other one is hiring but they never call me back (i applied there 3 times already, recently i applied again and 1 week later call in and leave a voice message and still there's no reply back from them:cry:). i have to take the bus to go to work or anywhere that's a disadvantage for me b/c i don't have a car, if i drive then i could of apply almost everywhere already.

"try the ltc facilities, and sub-acute facilities, they usually will train you because all new cnas whether experienced or not have to get oriented on the".- i'll keep this in mind and will look for more places under this setting, thanks for great tips!

tavia_yeung · Jan 4, 2010

it's not counted as experience but it can help you network and be in a better position to take advantage of any openings that come up. people really like to hire applicants they know. best of luck to you!!

"...but it can help you network and be in a better position to take advantage of any openings that come up." - great idea thank you.

"people really like to hire applicants they know." - what you said really helped me gaining back my confident now, so hopefully i'll have a chance of hiring at this place that i wanna to work at after volunteering:). i haven't start volunteering yet but i'll start on tuesday...i'm very excited:lol2:!!!

allnurses Guide · Jan 4, 2010

"...but it can help you network and be in a better position to take advantage of any openings that come up." - great idea thank you.
"people really like to hire applicants they know." - what you said really helped me gaining back my confident now, so hopefully i'll have a chance of hiring at this place that i wanna to work at after volunteering:). i haven't start volunteering yet but i'll start on tuesday...i'm very excited:lol2:!!!

best of luck to you!! having a positive attitude is so important! it's hard to keep that smile on our faces sometimes. just be as friendly as you are and do your best. no matter what happens you will learn from the experience. let us know how everything turns out! :up:

NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2010

Tavia I'm having the same issue, I call and they don't return my calls. What advise was given to me was to go in person and ask to speak to the DON or whoever is doing the hiring. When I had dropped off my resume and filled out the job application the DON wasn't there yet. Had my schedule been free I would have returned but unfortunately I had to return to a town 40 minutes away because I had class to attend to and I was crunched for time. Anyway, I called and called and left messages but the DON never returned my calls. I think it's rude not to return calls whether you're hiring or not. But always remember to return calls even if you've accepted a job elsewhere because who knows you might be on that persons hiring committee :) when they decide to apply for a job elsewhere.

Keep volunteering until you can find a position elsewhere. Hope you find one soon, I know in this economy it's so hard to find a job. I remember when I was hired as a CNA I had dozens of places to choose from. Let us know how you're doing! Good Luck everyone!