Becoming a CNA before starting school.

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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So if you're like me, you did not have the foggiest notion of what nursing would be like other than what you observed in hospitals and heard from friends before school. If you're like me you were terrified that you might not even like nursing and that you just wasted years of school. Too many times my friends who are CNA's gave me a nasty glare when I said that I didn't have my CNA and I didn't plan on getting it before school. They all badmouthed RN's who were never CNA's and acted like they did not deserve the same respect as RN's who were once CNA's. I know more than a handful of RN's who were never CNA's that are wonderful. Many pre-nursing students only get to hear the negative reasons as to why you should become a CNA before being an RN. I am here to tell you the good reason that no one mentioned to me as to why you should become a CNA before nursing school.

You need to give yourself the peace of knowing that you're going to like what you'll be doing for the rest of your life before you jump into something so important and specialized. If I had not obtained my CNA license before school, the nervousness of not knowing if I would even like nursing would have followed me until graduation. Having the chance to work side by side with RN's and ask them all of the questions I had been dying to have answered was crucial to my confidence in school. I also got to find out that I LOVE the basics of nursing. Caring for a patient is as special and rewarding as everyone says it is. If you relate at all to this post, I highly recommend that you find a CNA course in your area and take the opportunity. If you don't find yourself relating to this post, that is fine too! You are more confident than I am.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

Being a CNA is a great way to see if a career in medicine is for you; and get a better idea about what nursing actually is. I signed up for a CNA course after becoming interested in nursing because if I hated the work, I wanted to know after a few months and $700 investment not after a couple years a few thousand dollars. So far it's been great! I love my job and it has only increased my passion to continue learning more and wanting to become a nurse. I find working as a CNA keeps me motivated about this path even when school gets to be rough it's also been a HUGE learning experience. I learn as much, if not more, at work every day as I do in school.

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@verene Fortunately my program was completely free! All we had to pay for was our scrubs and parking. I thanked myself for taking the class every day after starting the program because it gave me so much confidence in myself. I would have had a much harder time in school if I hadn't taken it.

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CNA certification is one of the requirements to get into nursing school at several places here. I do think it is a great way to "Get your feet wet", and it is a good way to learn the basic skills.

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I think being a CNA is a fantastic way to figure out how you would do in the health field. My school actually sets CNA and Advanced CNA as pre-reqs to nursing school.

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Great advice. The LPN program I am starting actually allows you to take your CNA certification exam three months into the program. That's what I'm hoping to be able to do, and it gives me enough time to figure out if I'll be able to handle working and going to school at the same time, as well as having time for my family. My two sisters are both CNAs and they love what they do. Plus, it might be able to help get your foot in the door at a facility you could potentially work at as a nurse later on. And I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have some extra money! :)

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER, Pediatrics, Corrections.

I will admit, I only worked as a CNA for 3 months before being an nurse because I hated the place I worked. I will point out that a bad facility can make a negative impression of being a CNA. I knew the difference. I knew that being a CNA somewhere else would be totally different. The CNA course was great because it helped me with a lot of fundamental skills I used as a nurse. Does it help to be a CNA? Yes. Necessary? Not for all. For 90 percent of my BSN program, I worked as a cashier in a grocery store. and I LOVED it! :up:

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Thank you guys for all of the positive feedback! :)

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Specializes in ICU.

Everyone is different. I don't want to be a CNA. Has nothing to do with me thinking I am better than anyone, I just don't and I don't need to. I don't have to work during nursing school. In all honesty, what a person thinks of me once I become a RN is irrelevant to me. I don't have to validate anything to anyone. If I had to work, that would be a different story or if I had no idea what the job entailed. But I went into this with my eyes wide open. I did my homework and I know what nursing school and being a nurse is about.

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@Heathermaizey like I said earlier, if you have the confidence in yourself to dive into nursing school with out some experience, more power to you! Of course I did some homework too, but that wasn't enough for me to be comfortable. Best of wishes through your nursing journey.

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I think being a CNA is a fantastic way to figure out how you would do in the health field. My school actually sets CNA and Advanced CNA as pre-reqs to nursing school.

I'm honestly really surprised that my school hasn't made their acute-care CNA course a pre-req for nursing too. I'm sure it's coming, might end up taking that as an extra elective if I can swing it with financial aid.

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I think CNA is a terrible way to ascertain whether nursing "is for you."

Were my nursing ambitions underlain by my CNA class or first-hand observation of a day in the life of the CNAs at my first job, I would have run away screaming.

CNA training and experience provide little benefit to preparing one for a great many RN roles.

Alrighty, flame away.

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