Any advice for a high schooler?

Fiona59 · Jan 30, 2011

NA's don't work in Doctor's office in my world.

NA's do personal care for patients. Bathe, toilet, feed, change linens and clothing. There is no need for this in a clinic setting. Patients requiring that much care if they are seen outside a facility have family or care aides attend the appointment with them. It's not unknown for nursing staff in some office settings to have to clean up emesis or whatever (especially if the clinic deals with addiction patients)

RxOnly · Jan 30, 2011

Dr's offices don't generally hire CNAs, but you could definitely try for a hospital! Keep in mind that if your goal is to go to college and become an RN, it's probably best to look for a hospital CNA job where you can really get a feel for what an RN does on a regular basis. Best of luck to you!

etaoinshrdluRN · Jan 31, 2011

Being a CNA in a nursing home is just about the best basic nursing experience you could have; don't dismiss it too quickly.

Lexi86 · Jan 31, 2011

You should aim to be a CNA/Patient Care Tech in a hospital. This will put your foot in the door for student nurse tech/extern positions. This will give you an advantage to gain employment as an RN once you pass the boards. Good luck!

ItsTheDude · Jan 31, 2011

just look at the job postings for doc offices in your area, they're probably gonna want u to be a cma, not a cna.

doc office work is boring and it's a day job, yuke.

hospitals, ltc, home health, etc all hire cna's around here.

Guest27531 · Jan 31, 2011

I was a Nurse's Aide (they didn't have CNA category then) in a nursing home in California before I went to college. It was absolutely fabulous training. I had alot of freedom to plan basic care and get a sense of time management. I highly recommend it as a way to see how much you want to be a nurse.

punkydoodlesRN, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2011

I think getting your CNA would be fabulous. Where I'm at, they hire MA's (medical assistants) for Dr. Offices. They just call your name, take your wt, bp and temp. Then tell you the dr will be there in a few minutes. They make about $9.00/hr and get pretty much NO experience (that would do much good for nursing school - other than knowing the parameters for BP, pulse, RR and temp.)

Don't knock nursing homes - it's all hands on and a total gold-mine for knowledge. Not to mention, the compassion and care you will fine tune. I would however, get past the idea of a physician's office if you're wanting ahead start for nursing!! My first CNA job was a nursing home & I had a love-hate relationship there. But what I learned was priceless. My 2nd CNA job was on an OB/GYN unit. That job, from 8 yrs ago, just landed me my dream job as an LVN. I start tomorrow. The DON loved that I had OB experience even though I was a brand new nurse!!

Good luck. Study hard and focus on doing the best in your classes the FIRST time!

iwillnotwasteit, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2011

Thanks so much! The only hesitation that I had was that I heard alot of Nursing home horror stories...but now I will definitely look into it.

What is your work as a CNA in a hospital like?

punkydoodlesRN, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2011

For Me:

Answering call lights - if it was within my scope, I took care of it.

Delivering and removing food trays

Recording I&O

Vitals q 4/8 - depending on pt. need

Changing linens.

Helping ease the job of my nurses any way possible.

mama_d, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2011

Go for your CNA and get a job with it in a hospital. Not only will you get valuable experience, you'll be making connections for future job searches, you'll never forget how it was and make it less likely that you'll be snotty to the CNAs that you work with. (Remember that a great CNA is worth their weight in gold...don't take any guff as one, and don't look down on them once you're a nurse :) )

Personally, I'd recommend getting your associate's first. Then you can get a job as a RN and have them pay for your BSN. Then, if worst comes to worst and you can't land a job right away, you can just keep going to school and looking for a job while you finish your BSN completion.

If you do go the ASN route first, make sure that the credits will transfer to a number of BSN programs so that you're not faced with limitations when that time comes.

Good luck!