Benefits of becoming a CNA before Nursing School??

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Would you advise someone to become a CNA before starting Nursing School? Is it really worth the money and time?

Thanks

Specializes in LTC.
My plan is to get my CNA, then LPN, and finally RN.

This is exactly what I plan to do too. I'm just a CNA for now. But my next move is becoming a LVN...can't wait until that day come:lol2:. When I went out of HS I just want to go for my ADN so I took lots of pre-reqs for it already but still need to take 3 more classes (Ana, Physio, and Micro) and I'm ready to apply for the nursing program. But since the ADN nursing program is too competitive and hard to get in so now I just wanna pause there. I know that I only have 3 more classes to go and I'm ready to apply for the ADN program but I dont wanna be in the waitlist b/c it sure take forever and waste lot of my times. So now all I think is to be a LVN.

Back to the OP, the reason I became a CNA is b/c I wanna get the hand on experience so later when I'm going back to nursing school it will help me learn easier since by then I already have some knowledge and skills which is a big benefit to me in school. But for now I'm just a new CNA w/o job. I also believe that the best nurse is the one who climb from the bottom of the ladder to the top , I mean from CNA to LVN/LPN to RN. B/c you'll get to taste how hard thing like and so that's how u learn how to be a best nurse that u can.

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Lots of good and helpful replies here.

I'm going to step out though and say you don't have to be a CNA first to be a good nurse.

I'm a second career nurse - no medical background - went back to school at 38 with 3 kids in elementary school.

My mentor, an excellent nurse who was also the DON of the local hospital where I now work told me not to take the CNA class prior to starting school in the Fall. Her advice - stay home with your family, enjoy your kids, enjoy your summer because the next two years are going to be jam packed with things that take you away from them. You learn all the CNA duties in the first 6 weeks as part of the program anyway. And everyone feels awkward when they first start working with patients - the CNA's did too when they started their first class.

Also, there is no guarantee that being a CNA first will make you a team player and a great nurse.

Responsible and hard working folks are innately reliable - and team players.

I didn't take the class, I enjoyed my family, I started the program without any experience and I did fine.

I admire the CNA's I work with, I help them with patient care, I'm a team player.

Seriously - when people say the only RN's who turn out ok are the ones who were CNA's first - well, that just isn't true. One of the laziest RN's I ever worked with started out as a CNA. That doesn't mean that all RN's who were once CNA's are going to be lazy just as being a CNA first always makes you a top notch nurse.

Of course having this experience can be helpful and each person must seriously consider it. I just don't want students to think that going the CNA route first is the only way to become a great nurse.

Good luck - it is a lot of hard work but worth it to become a nurse.

(oh . . .and there are a lot of threads on allnurses about this exact subject so if you do some searching you can find them - and in doing so I found the following one which DOES NOT mean I think CNA's are lazy . .but just something to consider when thinking that being a CNA first is the gold standard).

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/lazy-cnas-461500.html

steph

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Depends. What avenue do you want to go in Nursing?

Don't work at an LTC if you don't plan on working geriatrics or LTC once you get your RN. Hold out for a job at a hospital.

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Depends. What avenue do you want to go in Nursing?

Don't work at an LTC if you don't plan on working geriatrics or LTC once you get your RN. Hold out for a job at a hospital.

Are you saying that it's not good to work at LTC even for experience?? Many hospitals require some sort of experience before they will hire you.....

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Are you saying that it's not good to work at LTC even for experience?? Many hospitals require some sort of experience before they will hire you.....

We just hired 3 new grads. I think it depends. I was hired as a new grad with no prior med experience. I was trained to work med/surg and then L&D and ER.

If you want to work as a Registered Nurse in an Acute setting then LTC is not the place to go. You need to be able to do many things that you will never get to do in LTC. And if the hospitals near you won't hire without experience, they won't hire without the RIGHT kind of experience either. Can you start IV's? Can you read cardiac monitors? Do you know ACLS? Can you place an NG Tube? Etc.

However, if you want to work in geriatrics then that is an honorable place to work as our elderly folks need TLC.

steph

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Are you saying that it's not good to work at LTC even for experience?? Many hospitals require some sort of experience before they will hire you.....

Not necessarily.

A CNA aspiring to be an RN won't be doing the same thing on a Med/Surg floor than he/she would be doing at a LTC.

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If your local hospital has a program where nursing students can work as techs (uncertified CNA), then I definitely would do it. The hospital I currently work for will allow second semester students to work as a tech, and it has helped me tremendously. I don't think that I would fork over the time and money to attend a program and become a CNA before nursing school, but that's just me.

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Hmmmmm. How do I know? I guess maybe during the interviewing process, is that something I should ask? Tuition reimbursement or scholerships of some type? Okay, thanks!

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Hi everyone, sorry to hijack this thread but, its related to the topic of discussion and just like Emile am starting my CNA class on 22nd of March. I've been having my concerns as well, of which most of the info am reading is quite helpful. My ultimate goal is to eventually get my BSN at some point - so God help me :-). So, it is really true that going through the CNA bit and actually working as one will help me know whether am cut out to be a Nurse or not? Is it really that bad? There's all these stories of nurses being mean and looking down on CNAs, giving them a hard time, that CNAs are overworked, etc. Plus, should I study something like Phlebotomy side by side with the CNA prog? Will it help much during my stint as a CNA and hopefully later on as a Nurse?? and, can one study Nursing with something else that would increase the chances of employement at all?? Any info on this would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

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Well, in my case there is a nursing home that is willing to train me as a CNA for free but I have to work for them for six months.Although I eventually want to work in a hospital as an RN, I thought this would be a great opportunity considering that cna classes can run anywhere from $500 to $800. Should I pass this opportunity?

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
Hi everyone, sorry to hijack this thread but, its related to the topic of discussion and just like Emile am starting my CNA class on 22nd of March. I've been having my concerns as well, of which most of the info am reading is quite helpful. My ultimate goal is to eventually get my BSN at some point - so God help me :-). So, it is really true that going through the CNA bit and actually working as one will help me know whether am cut out to be a Nurse or not? Is it really that bad? There's all these stories of nurses being mean and looking down on CNAs, giving them a hard time, that CNAs are overworked, etc. Plus, should I study something like Phlebotomy side by side with the CNA prog? Will it help much during my stint as a CNA and hopefully later on as a Nurse?? and, can one study Nursing with something else that would increase the chances of employement at all?? Any info on this would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

Shix, when I was a clinical instructor teaching students in their first semester of clinicials, those who had prior CNA experience had a much easier time than those who did not. They were far more comfortable with patient cares as well as communicating with people. The students who had no experience were very overwhelmed during their first clinical rotations.

I can't advise you regarding pheblotomy classes but you would be wise to get in just a bit of CNA experience before you start school.

Well, in my case there is a nursing home that is willing to train me as a CNA for free but I have to work for them for six months.Although I eventually want to work in a hospital as an RN, I thought this would be a great opportunity considering that cna classes can run anywhere from $500 to $800. Should I pass this opportunity?

Emile, when do you plan to start school? If you're not starting the nursing program right away, this could be a great opportunity for you. but if you are starting school in a month and can't commit to six months working there, it's no so good.

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Thanks Moogie. Its just amazing reading all these posts. Am thinking "should I prepare myself psychologically for the worst part of being a CNA??" Like go in with this "defence" mechanism soon as I start working as one? Is it true also that it probably won't be as easy while working as a cna and still continue with studying nursing at the same time? What are the rates of success in such instances? What should I expect in this case given I suspect I would be required to be in class full time, no? Do I first work for a couple of months as a full-time cna then cut back to weekends only when I start on the RN programme? Someone advised and they said the problem is that many people get stuck or rather "comfortable" being a cna and keep pushing the dream of pursuing nursing further and further away.

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