Is it a good idea to be a CNA before being an RN???

semiller36545 · Jul 10, 2007

Certainly can't hurt. But be prepared - it's the hardest,most under-appreciated job you'll ever find. Good luck !

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Jul 10, 2007

I don't think it is necessary or even helpful enough to justify the cut in pay. I never worked as a CNA and I did just fine. Keep in mind, however, that as you enter clinicals in your RN program, it will be next to impossible to keep working a regular full-time job (clinicals are usually during business hours on weekdays). A job as a CNA is usually more flexible scheduling-wise than most other jobs. Just something else to think about. Good luck whatever you decide.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

:welcome:

HI!!!!!!!!!!!

We have a similar background (education and cultural)! Anyway, yes, you should become a CNA. I am working as a tech at a small rural hospital and I thought it would not have benefited me to become a CNA when I had the chance a year ago. I was wrong!

In my state I cannot test out of the CNA exam even though I completed one semester of nursing school! I also do not qualify to be an intern/extern until I complete an additional semester. So I am unable to do any kind of work that allows direct patient contact. I am not saying that my job is not a very good learning experience. It is, however, I could learn a lot more if I was a CNA.

Thus, I wish, I wish, I wish, I had become a CNA. CNAs who work at my hospital have opportunities to cross train as techs (similar to what I do but more extensively) as well as his/her job having daily patient contact!!! I pretty much have to beg a nurse to help them but if I was a CNA it would be in my job description.

By the way, as you know you have chosen the right field. RNs with an MBA are in demand! My HR reps are salivating over me and I have not graduated yet. GL! By the way, my tech job is my second job since it does not pay very well. I work with my MBA since it pays tuition and other expenses.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

I would keep your current job. Many people are horrified at the reality jolt they receive when they leave higher-paying positions to become CNAs. The pay is crappy, you are frequently treated badly by some nurses and demanding family members, and the prestige is low. I worked as an aide and, while it was one of the more fulfilling jobs I've ever had, I wouldn't turn back.

By the way, CNA experience is not necessary in order to secure work as an RN.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

Click on the link below, and read the thread in its entirety:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/cna-krappy-attitude-234529.html#post2285292

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

It's not necessary to become a CNA first. You will learn all of that during your first 10 weeks of nursing school anyway. My school required it so everyone has their CNA certification. It made things more familiar that first 10 weeks. But nurses also do assessments and other stuff so we jumped right into that also. I could see that it wasn't really necessary to get the CNA as a jump start on school. As for employment? Once you have that RN behind your name everyone wants you! Also you can get hired at any hospital as a nursing extern. Some hospitals around my area will hire if nursing extern has completed 2 semesters. The big university affiliated hospital here (which pays the highest) will hire after only one semester. So it just depends. I personally wouldn't quit the higher paying job to do CNA though. You're going to need that money for all sorts of purchases that are school related. :)

jjjoy, LPN · Jul 10, 2007

Definitely not necessary to help get a job after graduation.

Definitely useful in terms of getting a feel for the hospital/LTC environment and working with patients, but not necessary.

Is it worth it for you? That's the important question. If you are committed to making this change and want to get out of what you're doing ASAP and started with health care and money's not a major issue, then why not? If money is a major concern, then you'd probably want to stick with your job since you likely won't be working while in the accelerated program.

If you can still take the CNA course without quitting your job, that might be useful, just in terms of getting a feel for working hands on with patients.

dorselm · Jul 10, 2007

Hello,

I was an accountant for 8 1/2 years before I heard "the calling" to become a nurse. So I started taking pre-requisites at a community college to get into the 2nd degree nursing program at a reputable university but only made it to #4 on the waiting list. The program was $30k for 1 yr and the advisor told me it was so hard that the students walk around like zombies ,they are so worn out due to the program. So I came across a hospital diploma program that is 2 yrs and once finished they have a contract with a local university to where I will only have to take 8 online classes for 1 yr to earn a BSN. Top it all off, the diploma school has a tuition forgiveness program where they pay full tuition in exchange for a 2 yr committment as a bedside nurse at any of the affilitated hospitals or skilled facilities. The school that I attend also has one of the highest NCLEX pass rates in the state.

So, being that I was an accountant with no prior healthcare experience I decided to become a certified nursing assistant to get my feet wet and to see what the nursing field was about. I can tell you, if you do this I personally guarantee that you will not want to become a nurse because being a CNA is seriously physically and mentally draining. You will come to feel like a glorified hand maid with a daily sore back!!!!! You will smell and see stuff that may send you running for the hills!!!! When I first started I didn't think that I could do this. I cried alot because it was just too damn hard plus I was making half of what I was making when I was an accountant. If it wasn't for my husband, I wouldn't have been able to accept this job. You take the class and then when you get a job making the pennies that you do, you will have anywhere between 8-15 pts in the daytime or evening (maybe 25 on the graveyard shift) that you are responsible for bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, and cleaning their rooms, getting them snacks when they ring their lights, chasing them around the facility when they have Alzheimer's and can't remember what they're doing. It's crazy. But many of the patients just melt my heart and make me love what I do. Being a CNA can make you feel like its a very demeaning job because no one appreciates what you do. They think you are there to wait on them hand and foot. Now don't get me wrong, there are some pt's that don't complain or only push their call bells when they truly truly need something but those people at least where I work which is a skilled floor (medical-surgical mini hospital) in an Long-term care facility are few and far between. I can tell you though, that you have a little edge on others who have no healthcare experience when you become a CNA before NS. I am comfortable with seeing and touching naked people. I am comfortable with phlegm, blood, feces, urine and other body secretions. I don't like them but I can clean a person like no one's business no matter how messy they are. I take pride in what I do and my motto is to always treat people as I would want to be treated.

Some people say that CNA experience is not needed. I say if you are not used to seeing and touching other people or cleaning up mess or if you are not used to dealing intimately with people then you may very well want to consider being a CNA first, I'll tell you, it is HARD HARD HARD BUT, I do constantly thank God that He directed me this way before NS because NS would have been alot harder had I not had this initial patient experience. Also, the nurses at my facility teach me anything that I want to learn. I can insert a foley catheter in a male or female and I know how to do colostomy care, basic wound care and tacheotomy care.

Sorry this is so long. But hope it helps!

SweetLadyJ · Jul 10, 2007

I don't think it is necessary or even helpful enough to justify the cut in pay. I never worked as a CNA and I did just fine. Keep in mind, however, that as you enter clinicals in your RN program, it will be next to impossible to keep working a regular full-time job (clinicals are usually during business hours on weekdays). A job as a CNA is usually more flexible scheduling-wise than most other jobs. Just something else to think about. Good luck whatever you decide.

Yeah, I figured that. That's why I plan on quitting my job right before starting the accelerated 2nd degree BSN program. See, I have a goal of saving up at least $25,000 that I can live off so I don't have to work at all while I'm in nursing school for 12 months.

edisongirl25 · Jul 10, 2007

In the area where I live, finishing the first semester of nursing school indicates that you can take vital signs and do bed baths. While I feel that my experience as a tech (what the nursing students are called b/c they can do more than a standard CNA) was a great experience for me and will make me a better nurse....it is also everything everyone else says. Underpaid and crappy. No one respects you and you are at the bottom of the totem pole. However, due to such things, I will be a better nurse b/c I know what I won't do. Aides works their a**** off and get no respect or appreciation. I will know not to take my aides for granted. I personally think every nurse should be one first. It gives you a whole new perception. Without being one, how can you truly appreciate all they do?

Angel

SweetLadyJ · Jul 10, 2007

Click on the link below, and read the thread in its entirety:
https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/cna-krappy-attitude-234529.html#post2285292

Thanks for posting this link, but I already know what it's like to be treated like crap. I'm being treated like crap right now in my current job as a specialist. In this industrial engineering department, they kinda "put you in your place". See, a specialist is like the lowest position you can have in this department and a district manager is the highest position. The people in positions higher than me have this "I'm over you; you're underneath me" or "You're on the bottom of the totem pole" type attitude. For example, my district manager emailed me a powerpoint presentation to print off and give to him, and guess what? He sits about 5 feet from the printer!!! While I do get "thank you's" and such for creating reports and doing a lot of copying and pasting and other mindless work, I'm just fed up with the corporate atmosphere. I'm tired of looking at a darn computer screen for 8 hours a day and I'm tired of pretending to do work when a manager walks by. I hate being NOT busy. It gives me a headache. LOL! I'm the type of person who likes to work, not stare at the clock.

And being treated like crap is everyday life. I don't think anyone in any job can say they never came across someone who had a stank attitude. I just want a career that is more meaningful where I'm making a difference in someone's life. I want a challenge and I want to interact with more people. If I'm going to be treated like crap (by doctors, patients, co-workers, whoever), then I wouldn't care because at least I will be enjoying my job and being active and busy rather than sitting on my butt like a bump on a log.