advice for a pre nursing student?

[xoandi816x]

I am currently in a community college doing my prereqs to get into nursing school, and it is very competitive around here, I was thinking of taking a CNA program in the summer to give me both experience and maybe increase my chances on getting into a nursing school, any thoughts?, would this be worth it?. I'm in southern California and the CNA programs all vary from 500-2000$. Also If anyone around the Los Angeles area recommends any specific programs?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Do any of the schools require previous experience for admission? If not, this would be an unnecessary expense. Suggest you focus all of your efforts on maxxing out your GPA instead.

[PediatricRNTX]

I am currently in a community college doing my prereqs to get into nursing school and it is very competitive around here, I was thinking of taking a CNA program in the summer to give me both experience and maybe increase my chances on getting into a nursing school, any thoughts?, would this be worth it?. I'm in southern California and the CNA programs all vary from 500-2000$. Also If anyone around the Los Angeles area recommends any specific programs?[/quote']

Lots of people get accepted with no experience in a hospital. But it would be a good experience to see what nurses REALLY do and what a hospital is REALLY like before deciding on a nursing career. Youd have one leg up!

[benegesserit]

Some programs do give extra points to people with healthcare experience. If your program is one of those, it wouldn't hurt, but you can also see if you can fullfill that requirement through an unlicensed or volunteer position that would require less investment of time, money, and energy (assuming earning money isn't the goal).

Don't expect to go straight into a hospital, though. Just like with nurses, most hospitals want experienced CNAs, and many CNAs end up starting in LTC (nursing homes).

I agree that the experience and confidence you'll gain in interacting with patients, taking vitals, and so on will be invaluable. If I'm having trouble with someone's vitals, I turn to an experienced, responsible CNA. They're taking vitals on many people every day, while I'm doing it only if there is a specific issue or they can't get to it when I need it, so they have a lot more practice. The flip side of this is that people who have previously worked as a CNA sometimes have a hard time in nursing school unlearning bad habits, or just doing things the exact way the school wants.

Working as a CNA while you go through school may also give you a foot in the door if you want to work as an RN at the facility where you're working.

[CupcakeMonster]

Hi!

I recently got a job as a CNA at a hospital here in the Twin Cities. The position is for an NST/HUC (pretty much the same thing as a CNA, lots of responsibilities everywhere) and I can agree with most of what everyone is saying. For me, I wasn't even getting interviews without having NA experience elsewhere, just to get a job as an NA in a hospital. I have a few nurses I work with that started out as an NA/HUC at the desk, and then were offered RN jobs when they were almost finished with RN school.

It's really all about what you want! If your program requires CNA, definitely do it, but if you just want experience, maybe you should try it :) I can honestly say it's not my favorite... it's a lot of work and many patients per NA (of course, you work under an RN!) but still, it's difficult. I tried working in Senior Care and I just couldn't do it. I lasted about 3 weeks.

I hope everything works out for you!