Accepting a position as an RN after being the CNA

Consider but also apply elsewhere.

Managers say all sorts of things to students and don't always mean them.

Every unit has its own culture, but those concerns would not be true at all in my department. Around here the kind of inquiries you have received from managers are posed to excellent employees who are about to become nurses, and not so much to those who don't perform well at their current position. I don't notice any RNs rejecting the idea that one of "our own" would join us as an RN. As for whether the CNA dynamic is off, I haven't noticed it but I know it wouldn't be tolerated. Working in a department in a different role while in nursing school is a fairly common means of gaining prospects for RN positions upon passing NCLEX.

Of course apply for other positions, though. Right off the bat and throughout your career you need to have a least a little bit of a mindset of looking out for your own best interests.

Good luck ~

We have a few nursing students working as aids on our unit. If they are good our manager offers them a RN job when they are in their last semester of school so they have a job lined up after graduation. We have several nurses throughout the hospital that did this route and have never had an issue as far as respect or being seen as an aid still and not the nurse.

I never had a problem. They were just happy to have another licensed nurse once I passed my NCLEX.

Over half the CNAs at my employer are in nursing school. The really good workers are offered jobs by their managers. I haven't witnessed any issues between new grads and RNs/PCAs. So I wouldn't worry too much about the dynamics.

With that being said, don't put all your eggs in your floor's basket until you have received an official offer. Like Fiona59 said, managers can say things for various reasons, and not always mean it.

I've never seen a new nurse who was a CNA rejected by other nurses in the unit. As for how the CNAs feel, I've seen that vary. If someone is hired as a nursing student, the transition seems to be smooth. If the CNA has been a CNA on the unit for 15 years and nursing school was a "late" idea, transitioning can be a lot more difficult.

A nursing student/CNA on our unit just graduated and is waiting to take NCLEX. She plans to work for our floor. We are all very excited for her and can't wait for her to be part of the RN team. The CNAs have expressed the same. It can be unit culture based but I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you like the unit and they take you on, go for it. I was a CNA at the same place as my first RN job. There was not a single problem or any push back from staff.

Heck, the majority of our CNAs are in some stage of their RN journey and it's not a big deal when they transition to RN, whether on our unit or not.

Apply and take the job if they offer it to you.

Questioning the dynamic of your floor should be the least of your worries.

Your priority, after NCLEX, is getting a job and racking up experience.