Does working as a cna before becoming an rn make you a better rn?

Nurses General Nursing

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When I told my sister (who is a bsrn) that I am going to rn school next year (due to a waiting list at the college), she seemed very adiment about me obtaining the cna certificate and to work as one while I wait my turn. According to her rn's who started as cna's are prefered and are often hired into entry level positions over graduates, whose only working experience is clinical studies.

Is there any truth to these claims, and if so what are your personal experiences?:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

My whole first year of nursing school, I was a nervous wreck. I would literally have to be pushed into the room. And I have to say I felt like I had accomplished nothing clinically because I could always get someone else to " do it for me". Becoming a CNA is the smartest thing I ever did. It's not the most glamourous job in the world, and I made more money as a bartender but let me tell you...I have been a CNA for almost 2 years now and I feel a lot more comfortable with patient care than some of classmates who do not work in hospitals. I have learned to deal with all kinds of people of all kinds of temperments , can do 5 bedbaths before my classmates finish one(plus some of my peers need are so timid that they cant even take a temp without consulting with the instructor) and I also get the opportunity to see things that maybe we don' t get to experience in clinical, such as codes and emergencies or certain illnesses, injuries or procedures. You witness the impact of a death on families and friends and see how the situation is handled, which may be helpful in the future when you are the RN taking care of that pt.You do post mortem care. Plus, I get to see the reality outside of the realm of what they teach us in school. My D.O.N said that she notices that students who work as CNAS first tend to score higher on the boards as well. Maybe because you actually get to apply some of the theory. For example,talking about cardiac tamponade and actually seeing it are two different things. I strongly recommend it. I will be graduating soon and I am so much more confident than I was when I first started and although I still have a lot to learn I feel that my transition from student to RN will be a lot smoother than it would have had I never worked in a hospital. At least I can enter the room now without having a panic attack, anyway.

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
Originally posted by Flo1216

My whole first year of nursing school, I was a nervous wreck. I would literally have to be pushed into the room. And I have to say I felt like I had accomplished nothing clinically because I could always get someone else to " do it for me". Becoming a CNA is the smartest thing I ever did. It's not the most glamourous job in the world, and I made more money as a bartender but let me tell you...I have been a CNA for almost 2 years now and I feel a lot more comfortable with patient care than some of classmates who do not work in hospitals. I have learned to deal with all kinds of people of all kinds of temperments , can do 5 bedbaths before my classmates finish one(plus some of my peers need are so timid that they cant even take a temp without consulting with the instructor) and I also get the opportunity to see things that maybe we don' t get to experience in clinical, such as codes and emergencies or certain illnesses, injuries or procedures. You witness the impact of a death on families and friends and see how the situation is handled, which may be helpful in the future when you are the RN taking care of that pt.You do post mortem care. Plus, I get to see the reality outside of the realm of what they teach us in school. My D.O.N said that she notices that students who work as CNAS first tend to score higher on the boards as well. Maybe because you actually get to apply some of the theory. For example,talking about cardiac tamponade and actually seeing it are two different things. I strongly recommend it. I will be graduating soon and I am so much more confident than I was when I first started and although I still have a lot to learn I feel that my transition from student to RN will be a lot smoother than it would have had I never worked in a hospital. At least I can enter the room now without having a panic attack, anyway.

Now.....this is what is known as THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX....SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE...if you will. Thanks for those great ideas, flo. I'm sure they will help other students to consider at least a volunteer stint in the hospital of their choice, etc. :kiss I wish you the best in your nursing career too. :nurse:

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Thanks, cheerfuldoer. Case in point, I saw my first case of Kaposi's sarcoma last night. I had always heard about it but never actually seen it. It seems to be more prevalent on the west coast. Anyway, I will never forget it. What is also neat is how you learn to identify microorganisms by the smell. Or seeing the troubleshooting techniques nurses use for things such as unclogging g-tubes, or inserting a foley into an elusive meatus. I take in as much as I can and store it away for when I will need it!

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
Originally posted by Flo1216

Thanks, cheerfuldoer. Case in point, I saw my first case of Kaposi's sarcoma last night. I had always heard about it but never actually seen it. It seems to be more prevalent on the west coast. Anyway, I will never forget it. What is also neat is how you learn to identify microorganisms by the smell. Or seeing the troubleshooting techniques nurses use for things such as unclogging g-tubes, or inserting a foley into an elusive meatus. I take in as much as I can and store it away for when I will need it!

Flo.....sounds like you have the makings to be a very good nurse soon....at least you already have a keen insight into a lot of things that you'll actually be licensed to do one day as a nurse. :kiss

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I work as a PCA (same as a CNA) and the older nurses said they can tell when a new RN has worked as a PCA.... They do think it makes you a better nurse.... I agree... Once you start at the bottom (not that its a bad thing) you understand just how hard every level of nursing is.... You can say you understand how hard a PCA's job is.. But you really don't know if you haven't done it yourself...

We have a newly graduated RN and she DID NOT work as a PCA/CNA and you can tell... She will be in a room and the patient have pooped in the bed, and instead of going ahead and cleaning it up, she comes up front just to get a PCA, when it would have been just as easy for her to go ahead and get the person out of their own poop... And the other nurses notice that...

I just started this summer as a PCA, so during my first semester I was a mess... Nervous giving baths... Now I am like Poop, sure bring it on :)lol

And I have seen things that I feel will make school much easier to handle...

I highly recommend to anyone starting nursing school to get as MUCH experiance as possible.. I can only help..

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I was kidding with Heather - she started it by mentioning me putting my foot in my mouth - in other threads - no one has ever said I put my foot in my mouth before - seriously :-)

Some folks here know me from January when I discovered allnurses.com with a fresh CNA cert. card and acceptance into nursing school. I couldn't be half the CNA today if I wasn't in those nursing pre-req classes hitting math and microbiology and anatomy...etc. I can't see how a person could be a cna ina hospital w/o knowing so much about the body. I just met, and cleaned the BM, of my first necrotic duodenum...and now i undrstand so much...like a puzzle coming together...and it smelt different too. Thats gross!

There was a time when I thought I would just be a dreamer and have to wait years before getting a important position, working with actual nurses and watching what they do...dresing changes...watching ultrasounds and echos...CBG's...and, MSRA, Monitors galore, and of course, everyones reactions to everything :-)

The mean and killer nurses I kid about are very rare. I have only had two bad run ins as a super green hospital worker/cna/2004RN. Thats really not bad. EVERYONE ELSE where i work now pretty much knows me and I get a smile and hello from staff I have met. 165601509 151674312

Im the happiest man in the solar system now as a cna in a great hospital with excellent nurses to work with. Nursing school starts september 16th. Nursing is not a negative thing, despite all of my grossly humorous comments about nurses who kill their young. I'm glad I was attacked earliy on, and built of my immunity to certain situations. I didn't suffer that much, and reaped experience. Those killer nurses blinded me with science.

(mario's cna nirvana)

19538132 Was Kobain a CNA?

[To all the extremely wonderful nurses I work with, I love the things you do, and I love you too]

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I guess my sister does know something other than getting on my nerves. ok i did have a feeling she was right but I wont tell her that! nurs2b summed up exactly what she has been telling me. Some rn's (not heather) who didnt start as cna's dont have an insight of the cna's role because they never did it, & or think they are overqualified to clean poop (aka care for pt's). Maybe she is being harsh but there is an rn she works with who refuses to do anything inside the scope of a cna's duty and she cannot stand this woman, and apparently the others she works with feel the same way. IMHO you can become an rn w/out being a cna first and still be just as effective as the person who was, such as heather and others on this board. But apparently there is much to be said for starting on the bottom. Hell its only a couple of years right?

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I think it helps in many ways, but one advantage is that you can say you've "been there" if the aide in your dept. says you don't know what her/his job is like.

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Starting at the bottom as a cna is working in a sniff186618280 and starting at the top for a cna is working in a modern hospital - medsurg.32137742 I'm sorry:o

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Originally posted by mario_ragucci

she started it

Oh yeah? Well, you're bugging me!

Heather

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Originally posted by mario_ragucci

no one has ever said I put my foot in my mouth before - seriously :-)

Well, seriously, I beg to differ.

It was not me that originally said that you put your foot in your mouth (in that other thread). I would sincerely appreciate it if anyone could remind me which thread that was, so I could find it. I may have agreed with them, but I didn't "start it."

Golly, what thread was that?

Heather

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okay Heather - just let it go - and I still get the last word. Sorry.

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