A Clueless New Guy

[cjcsoon2bnp]

Hey everyone, I am new here. I am a pre-nursing student who is going to start a nursing program at my local community college in Sept. Right now I just work in a grocery store to make money. But my college has told me they would perfer to have their nursing students get experience in the healthcare industry before and while in nursing school. This is good for me because I really don't like my job and want to get one to do while in school that is somewhat close to my career. But in all my searching and calling I have come up empty handed. I have been told and found out that I could go for CNA training at a local nursing home but to be honest I don't want to be washing and helping seniors go to the bathroom as my job (the teacher of the program said thats basically what it is.) I am not saying I am above that kind of work or anything its just that, that area is not where I want to go into. I tried finding out information about being a lab assistant or phlebotomist but they all require previous experience of atleast a year or a certificated from the community college (Which takes 1 1/2 years to get). So here is where y'all come in. Does anyone have any ideas that can help me?

[gilligan]

There is a lot of benefit to be had from holding a job as a CNA while you're in school. I currently work as an aide at a local hospital and I've loved it ever since I started. The work I do is a lot different from nursing home duties. I do blood cultures and lab draws, patient transport, EKGs, even leading groups on the psych unit occasionally. However, the hospital isn't where I got my start. I, too, had to work in a nursing home setting for a while. But, because turnover is so high for aides at nursing homes, many of them offer incentives such as flexible hours, higher wages, and CNA TRAINING! I actually managed to find one that paid for me to get my STNA certification.You may have to start at a nursing home, but that doesn't mean you can't be picky about it. The experience I got at the nursing home prepared me for what I do at the hospital now, just like the experience I'm getting now as an aide is preparing me to be a nurse. All this knowledge builds on itself and keeps moving you forward.

In a nutshell, the nursing home experience will be good for you and you'll come to appreciate the time you put in there. After that, my advice would be to try for a position in a hospital's central staffing department as an aide where you can float to different floors. That's what I do now and I've been able to see every department of the hospital as a result, and I now know what areas of nursing I like and what specialties I'd like to stay away from. So congrats on your decision to become an RN. Keep your head up and you'll do great!!

[SarasotaRN2b]

Well, how about trying to get a position as a unit coordinator. One of the reasons I got my job as a coordinator (unit secretary) was because I was accepted into the nursing program. I felt the same way as you did about CNA initially, but as I am working and I see the PCAs (same as CNAs) work, yeah they have to do some of the icky work, but they also get to be with the patients and since many of them are also going for nurses, they have a better opportunity to watch some of the procedures.

Once I finish my first semester, I will also probably try to be a PCA.