I am from the El Dorado Area, but attended and graduated from Nursing School in VA this December. Being the foolish dreamer that I am, I moved back to CA to live with my boyfriend. However, despite my work experience as an unlicensed assisstive personnel and two degrees (ahem both with 4.0's...) I cannot get a job. I know I'm not alone in this boat, as there seem to be a frillion nursing graduates for every new grad job. However, my student loans are going to kick in soon, and my job as a coffee shop supervisor is wearing thin on my nerves. I need a better paying job that is at least somewhat nurse-related, and I don't see any hope for an RN job on the horizon.
I'm sure you are all tired of the sob story, so I'll just cut to the chase. Can a Registered Nurse in California work as a CNA? I don't see why not, as they kind of overlap, but common sense does not always agree with the law. If any of you lovely nurses/students have any clue, please let me know.
Specializes in Near Future: ED, Future Future: ACNP!.
Thanks everybody. When I lived in Virginia, I worked as a 'Care Partner' which was kind of an unlicensed assistive personnel type position, but with a lot of lee-way. There aren't as many jobs in San Francisco or El Dorado County that don't state they 'prefer' a CNA license. In fact, the hospital my dad works at is laying off a lot of their unlicensed staff. However, there are jobs as 'Hospital Assistants' and other unlicensed jobs that don't necessarily require a CNA. Would this still be an issue? I just want a job in a hospital so that I have some sort of foot in the door beyond volunteering and because I want more hospital-related experience. I guess I feel like working in the service industry again is working against me. Are other new grads working only as volunteers? I wish I could just devote all my time to volunteering/job searching, but I have to pay my rent.
Just keep in mind you may have a hard time getting hired since they know you will take the first RN job that comes along.
Hi there! I haven't personally applied for a CNA position based on what my classmates who've tried have said. They are having difficulty finding jobs and applied to CNA positions in hopes of advancing internally. However, they were rejected because they were overqualified. What I should have done was start as a CNA while in school because that would have given me a better chance of advancing but I focused on school instead and now, I'm still unemployed... Best of luck to you, though, I hope you have a better chance.
ahh the old 'overqualified' rejection. I've heard that so many times when I was applying to retail jobs with my biology degree. I think from now on I'm only going to apply to jobs I'm underqualified for and see how that works out. Chief CRNA in a level I trauma center? Quarterback for the 49ers? President of the United States? I think I'm a shoe in for all these jobs.
I am a recent grad desperate for work! I am in Socal also...I know your posts were AGES ago but any chance you are able to direct me into any networks you are a part of?
Staceyfreddy16, if you go Google "UCSD jobs" it will take you to the job site (duh) and you can look for RN jobs at UCSD. They often post "New Grad" RN jobs for different units (often ICU), so look for those. I got the job I have because I came here as a travel nurse and then signed on, however, the very first nursing job I got was from "stalking" a recruiter on LinkedIn for the hospital (different than UCSD) I wanted to work at. I didn't really stalk him, I just messaged him a few times and asked him for an informational interview, then boom, he remembered me when there was an opening. It's a time-consuming process to find jobs, and will continue to be even after you have years of experience under your belt. Also, try the county of wherever you're living in...the public health department hires new grads too.
ExPharmaGirl, BSN, RN
467 Posts
Just keep in mind you may have a hard time getting hired since they know you will take the first RN job that comes along.