Bad Economy and CNA jobs

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Good Afternoon,

I am considering leaving my office job by the end of the year and getting a CNA job. I was wondering if anyone has had trouble finding work or layoffs during this tough economy. Most people are saying I should stay in my job because I am somewhat secure. However, it's time to make a change. I would prefer working in a hospital since I am working on my pre-reqs for NS but I would work in a nursing home.

BTW... I live in Orlando, Fl.

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Around here, it is REALLY hard to get a job in a hospital right now, especially if you don't have experience. At the hospital I worked at, they required at least a year of CNA experience. Toward the end, the hospital census was low and we all got our hours cut regularly.

It's not that hard to get a job at a nursing home, though. It might be your best bet to work at one for a while and once you have experience, it should make hospitals more interested in you.

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I live outside of Orlando in Lake County. I am going to be taking the FL CNA licensure exam soon, hopefully sometime next month, so I'll be job hunting as well.

In addition to nursing homes, there's home health too. I believe there are a few CNA-specific temp agencies somewhere in Orlando.

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab, CCU, Alzheimers, Med-Surg.

I left my office job of over 4 years to become a CNA, and I have not regretted it. I even took a pay cut to do it!

I'm sure I could get another office job if I really wanted to, but it sounds so boring now!

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Frankly, I would not leave my job to be a CNA. Not sure what it's like where you live, but nursing homes have a habit of firing CNAs routinely over just about anything. There just isn't enough stability IMO.

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Maybe you can go part-time at your office job and find a part-time CNA job. If the CNA job doesn't work out, at least you'll still have your office job.

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Specializes in CNA: LTC.

I left an office job of seven years to become a CNA, and have no regrets.

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Is there a difference between a nurse assistant and a CNA?

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Nope.

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I passed the state exam in January and am still looking for a job in LTC or hospital so far anywhere I've looked requires previous experience...how the heck am I gonna get that without anyone hiring me? Hope you have better luck than me! I am still determined though applying everywhere and anywhere I can hoping to get a break

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If I were you I would do the part time with each job suggested by another poster :). I was alot like you awhile ago (see older posts about why I wanted to do cna so badly) but once I got into it, I missed my old work. So before you completely commit, I would keep your old job on the back burner.

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