Pre-nursing student

[jh7350]

I am just beginning a career in nursing. I am a pre-nursing student that really would like to get experience in a hospital. My current experience is my employment as a part-time home health care aide for a private individual for the past 7 months, the courses I've completed, completion of Adult CPR/AED, Infant/Child CPR, and First Aid, and completion of the state's nursing assistant test this January. How do I break into working in a hospital as a nurses aide to get started? A lot of hospitals require at least one year of experience. Thanks for any comments and personal experiences.

[Jules A, MSN]

Most hospitals in my area only want you to be a CNA, certified nursing assistant. Check around because many community colleges offer this program and some nursing homes will send you to get certified if you agree to work for them for a set amount of time. It really should be a pretty available field so if you are interested just ask around. Good luck.

[jackson145]

There's a hospital in my area that doesn't require a CNA at all. They have their own program to train you to be a tech. You train for a certain number of weeks depending on the area you are going to be working in. They have ED techs, Med/Surg, Psych, etc. However, they set your pay based on your number of years of experience.

[Reno1978, BSN, RN]

If you're interested in CNA, your state's board of nursing website ought to list approved programs for CNA, LPN/LVN, RN.