Getting hired as an Acute Care Nurse Assistant

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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I am going to take a CNA course and apparently it is LTC/Nursing home focus and the school themselves admit that they don't have any graduates that find jobs at the hospital/acute setting (fresh out of school). Perhaps the graduates didn't try hard enough. Any one have tips to get hired as a recent CNA grad at a hospital/acute setting?

I got hired in acute care at the local hospital after 10 months of experience in long-term care. I applied on-line, but then followed up a month or so later by stopping in at the personnel office, dressed professionally, hand-carrying in my resume. They couldn't accept resumes in person, but they took my name and I got an interview a week later.

A friend I work with got hired fresh off of passing her exam, though! Sometimes it's all about timing. I had to wait and finally go in to follow up. She applied on-line and got an interview a week later.

All that said: I am so grateful for my experiences in long-term care. I learned a whole lot. It felt like a good foundation for hospital work. I find the Acute care (renal) unit I work on now to be very challenging, but also a wonderful experience. When I am (eventually) an RN, I will be grateful for already having experienced working with patients that have all these different types of drains, different medical conditions, etc.

Best wishes to you! Whichever way you go with this, it will be interesting and you will learn alot. :-)

Specializes in Med/Surg.

VEry few hospitals hire new graduate CNAs. Just work for a SNF for a year and then apply for your local hospital. It would also benefit you to go to your local career center or community college and take courses to be a Patient Care technician, which at least in the state of virginia consists of the abilities to take blood sugar, draw blood and run EKGs, as this would make you more marketable. I hope this helps :)

I am finally checking this thread for replies. Thanks everyone for the advices.

Funny the last post mentioned PCT. I am currently taking a Basic EKG class and will start phlebotomy course next month...I am also gonna volunteer at a hospital..Hopefully then I'll be a strong candidate. Does anyone know if taking seperate EKG course and Phleb course you could still be hired as a PCT when the course weren't specific for PCT position???

phlebotomy and ekg in texas makes you a pct 3 ... highest paid pct lvl in my state... TEXAS

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