Advice for pre-nursing student

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Hi all!

My name is Nigeria Hunter. I am currently a pre-nursing major and will be applying for the program next semester. Does anyone have any advice on how I could distinguish myself for the workforce once in the program (besides good grades). I am hoping to work in the mom/baby (is it called OB) side of things. Sorry, I'm not good with terminology yet.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.

Get experience in healthcare - preferably in the area you would like to work. You want to work in OB? That's great, but it is usually really tough to get a job in a hospital with no experience - let alone in OB.

So get a job as a CNA anywhere you can (nursing home) and start applying for any hospital job you can as soon as you get a couple months experience.

Good luck!

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Can I get a CNA job while still in school? I'm looking for things to do WHILE in school. Internships, certifications, organizations... anything like that.

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You should get into another line of work. There are very few jobs for nurses these days. I wish you all the best.

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

Yes, you basically need to get a CNA/nurse tech/extern job while you're in nursing school in order to get a decent nursing job once you graduate. A lot of schools will tell you not to work while you're in school. Don't believe them. You can and you should.

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Specializes in ICU.

Yes, you can work as a CNA while still in school- in fact I would encourage any nursing student to work as an aide before becoming a nurse, the experience is invaluable. Another thing you could do is volunteer at a hospital; see if they have any OB positions if that's what you're interested in. Good luck:)

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Yes you can and should work as a CNA while you are in school. That's what I am doing right now. I work as a nurse's aide in a large metro hospital level one trauma center plus I am just finishing the second semester of nursing school for RN. It really does help, especially with clinicals - familiarity with hospital and hospital work in particular. Myself I don't really have a choice anyway - I have bills and rent to pay so I have to work. I figure it might as well be in what I am studying for.

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Specializes in MR/DD.

Definitley work as a CNA while you are in nursing school... 1. you will learn much much more. 2. when you graduate you can work for the same facility you are already working in. I have 3 children, work full time and go to school full time... YES you can work and go to school.

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I absolutely agree. Many of my classmates were counseled to not work during school and to just focus 100% on school. Many of those same students are now finding it near impossible to land an interview, let alone a job. A very high percentage of students who have been working as techs/CNAs already have jobs secured before graduation. With an overabundance of new grads, hospitals now have the luxury of demanding prior healthcare experience as a minimum requirement to even get an interview. If a student is within 1 year of graduating and still doesn't have a tech job, I would go so far as to counsel them to take a semester or two off of school just to focus on landing a tech job so they graduate with experience.

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Okay, I've looked into the CNA field and found that most work in nursing homes. Are there any other workplaces for this. This may sound crazy, but I don't like old people.

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I just found out that a hospital near my school offers volunteer opportunities. One of the opportunities is nursing support. Will this help? The CNA programs are a bit expensive so this would definitely save me money while allowing me to work with nurses.

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With the job market as bad as it is these days, the enormous competition for jobs, and the aging of the population, you really need to think about your statement that you don't like old people. I know that you have a specialty in mind and there is nothing wrong with that but I can guarantee you that you will be working with a lot of old people.

I think it would be a good idea to search the site for threads about jobs/employment in nursing, as well as visiting the sub forum about first year after licensure to get an idea of the reality of what you will be doing as a nurse. People do not just walk out of nursing school straight into their dream job. These days they are lucky if they find any job at all after nursing school.

So a litle research would serve you well. Best of luck.

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