Better while student: CNA or volunteer?

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Hello everyone,

I am planning to start nursing school (ADN/RN) in the fall. It's a career change for me and I'm not able to keep my current position while in school. I have no real health care experience, so I'm considering applying to the local hospital system's skilled-nursing center's CNA trainee program.

Those of you who know these kind of things -- do you think it would be better for me to work as a skilled-nursing CNA while I'm a student, or general hospital volunteer? I figure working as a volunteer would give me more flexibility in terms of hours and exposure to different kinds of units, but working as a CNA would give me income and more relevant, if limited, experience.

If it makes any difference, the specialties I'm leaning toward once I become an RN are pediatric, mental health, or hospice/palliative. Totally keeping an open mind until I actually start rotations, though!

Thanks.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

Being a CNA will help get you used to patient care and you'll likely learn some skills (vitals, blood glucose checks, blood draws, etc) so I would say get into that if possible. Volunteering isn't going to give you much experience but it'll still help with networking.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Just my opinion - CNA work is HARD, HARD physical work. From a previous post of yours, I figure your age to be 37 or so. If your heath is OK, then CNA might be the way to go. But looking at peds, hospice & MH, I see a desire for something less physical ????? (Please, I'm just guessing here, so don't be offended.)

Working as a CNA will allow you some earning wages, altho CNAs are woefully SUPER-UNDERPAID. You will also be exposed to a variety of health care situations in which you'll participate, but which as a volunteer, you would not be involved.

Volunteer = no pay, limited clinical exposure

CNA = minimal income, better clinical experience

Seriously, I'm asking - WHY, with a non-nsg Master degree, are you pursuing an ADN RN and not one on those accelerated BSN degrees??????? Your previous education & experience will NOT earn you any advantage for initial employment as an RN as ADN RNs are facing limited opportunities, even for experienced RNs (this has been discussed EXTENSIVELY here on AN).

You may have your reasons but I hope they have been well researched and well thought out.

Back to your question of CNA or volunteer - lots of variables that only you can answer.

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Wow, I *am* 37!

The specialties I'm leaning toward are basically because those are what interest me. I didn't even think of physicality, to be honest. Been teaching special ed for about 10 years, so peds and MH seem like less of a learning curve than, say, cardiac or trauma. And end-of-life / palliative care is more personal reasons. (But, who knows? I might find out that med-surg and I were meant for each other!)

As to the ADN, I don't plan to stop there -- it's just the most cost-effective option. Depending on where my experiences and employment take me, I'll either work for a couple years before doing Drexel's MSN bridge, or I'll spend those years doing an RN-BSN bridge and then go MSN. The ADN gets me back in the workforce a year or two quicker and with about $20,000 less debt, is all. Although I have noticed a trend, just in the past year or two, of jobs that were once open to RN's now "preferring" a BSN.

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Specializes in Critical Care Transport, Cardiac ICU, Rapid.

To OP: SNF experience > volunteering by a long shot. How I got into my hospital

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Specializes in retired LTC.
Wow, I *am* 37!
:roflmao:

And now for my 2nd mindreading prophecy --- Drexel says "Philadelphia". Philly & environs are pretty much into the BSN-only for its hospital job market. It's not just a trend, it's pretty much FACT. You will most likely be facing a very difficult job search. Volunteering is pretty much good for altruism - that's it.

With a CNA cert, you might have more to pick & choose from re facilities/specialties. And nursing schools seem to like their students being CNAs (I think schools have a hidden agenda in that they don't have to emphasize the basic nsg technical skills that are omitted in the more academically geared programs). I have the feeling that CNA-nsg students might feel more at ease/confident with pts when it comes to school clinical experiences. As a CNA, you'll also experience the realities of working in the healthcare field. Healthcare does NOT pay very well for hard work. The time constraints on your personal & family time/lives are intrusive.

If you taught spec ed, you were probably in a school system and that's civil service (3rd prophecy?). Civil service has its own world of positive benefits that nursing can only fantasize about and you will soon see the difference as a CNA (regardless of the specialty, hosp, LTC, HH, etc). There's multiple posts here on AN about second career students, esp those who've switched from teaching and those who were civil service.

Altho you may think that you'll save $20K with the quicker ADN, if you can't get employment for a year or more post graduation (or a position that is NOWHERE/NO HOW/NO WAY what you wanted), that $20K evaporates quickly and you'll still be faced with the need for a BSN (and costs will only continue to escalate). And as time marches on, ageism may rear its ugly head. Ihate to say that, but it is a reality.

You have some serious decisions to make. Wishing you well.

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