PCA in cincinnati

Hi,

Most hospitals in Cincinnati require you to already be a State Tested Nurse Assistant, and then they hire you and train you to be a PCA. PCA's have a little more responsibility from what I understand.

Now, I have heard that some nursing homes will pay for you to become an STNA, and the only ones I know of are the Carrington Homes The Home at Taylors Point, The Home at Heartstone, etc. The website is http://www.carington.com/

I also know that Cincinnati State offers the training and it is close to 500.00
http://www.cincinnatistate.edu/Futur...gAssistant.htm

To be honest, I can't remember the name of the place I took my class, I remember it was a privately owned business, taught by a retired nurse and it only cost me 350.00. It was in NKY. I'll look for it and let you know if I find it.

Good Luck

At christ hospital where i work, they train you to be a PCA, you don't have to be a STNA. Good luck!

I was a PCA and HUC (Health Unit Coordinator) in the ER while in nursing school, now i am an RN on the kidney transplant floor. I love it there, you will learn so much!!! Good luck, and if you haven't heard anything soon, call the HR department, let them know you are interested!

YOu may be able to get right in as a PCA without the STNA or other training - just check around (not that those courses/certifications wouldn't be good to have). Also express your plans to go to nsg school - many PCAs are nsg students and seem to be able to get right into those jobs. PCA-ing will give you good insight into the responsibilities of a nurse and allow you to kind of start deciding which types of pts you would like to care for. Good luck~

Just a heads up - Christ says they will hire you without certifications, but they prefer STNAs.

I tried for a few positions there (no health care exp, am a nursing student, great work record) and never got beyond the "thank you for your interest, but..." emails. I'm an STNA and was applying for PCA jobs. Not only that, but it took forever to get a response from them. Nothing like waiting a month+ to get rejected

I had much more success within the Health Alliance. I'm working at Drake Center now. Apparently PCA and STNA have different meanings for different hospitals. At Drake, they're the same. At Christ, there's a 40 hour course to become one, and that's on top of the required hours (70? can't remember) to become an STNA.

There's also been some talk of hiring freezes in a few hospitals so keep that in mind. Also, although an STNA course costs $500-700 (including books and materials), if you go to a school you should qualify for financial aid of some sort.

Good luck!

yeah, i agree, most hospitals say they will train you but if you are an STNA that puts you wayyyy above other apllicants. I know that they also look at healthcare experience. I applied to cincinnati for literally like 8 months and they didnt hire me until after I was a STNA and had been working in a nursing home for 3 months. Hospitals literally can get hundreds of applicants...u really need to stand out...resumes help a lot