CNA first or Prerequisites for RN?

[stacyo]

I have a Bachelors (in anthropology) but interested in going back to school. I have the opportunity to do a Healthcare Assistant Certificate/CNA program that I could finish by the end of the year and it should cost me under $3000. I was enthusiastic to do this because I was having trouble finding a job. Now that I've found a (low-paying) job, I am a bit more interested in taking prerequisites that would allow me to potentially even get into a MSN program, or at least would make it easier later than just taking the lower level science classes (that won't get me into a program but will get me this certificate) sooner.

The main issue is that I plan on leaving the state next summer, so anywhere I end up, I'll be paying o/s tuition for a year. I'd rather have pre-nursing courses out of the way and paid for more cheaply where I am now. I would be taking the risk of my credits not transferring wherever I end up, whereas it seems the CNA license could be relatively easy to get recognized or re-licensed in other states. I currently don't have debt, but my chances of getting grants or scholarships might not be as great because I already have a BA.

I understand that the experience of being a CNA can be valuable in various ways. Thoughts?

[AnOldsterRN]

CNA is not a license, it is a certification. RN and LVN hold licenses.

I would recommend doing whatecer you can do for higher education in nursing since that seems to be your goal.

Best of luck!

[Simplistic]

I would start taking your prerequisites and getting them out of the way.

[gere7404, BSN, RN]

Does the school you are looking to give preference points to CNAs? Do they require you to be a licensed CNA? If yes to one of those then I say yes -- it's good to get on the ground floor so you're not shocked when you need to clean up emesis or a brief blow out.

However I have noticed a lot of the previous CNAs, especially ones who did it for a long, long time, have a harder time adjusting to developing the nursing mindset from the habits they developed as CNAs.

[stacyo]

I don't have a preferred school yet and not sure about preference points to CNAs. I'm going to be working in a retirement home, including their healthcare unit, as a food and nutrition assistant, so I hope to get a better sense of what it's like working in that environment.

Seems like doing prereqs is the best bet.

[OliveOyl91, BSN, RN]

I agree with gere7404. If a school you are looking into gives extra points or requires applicants to have their CNA, I would get that out of the way. If a school doesn't require it, then I'd start on your prereqs. The trouble we see at my school is that a lot of people wait until they are about to apply to the nursing program to get their CNA and either they can't get into a class in time, the state slows things down, or they don't pass the first time around. It's a required prerequisite here. And in order to have your nursing application processed, your name needs to be on the state nursing registry as "active."

$3000 for a CNA course? Holy moley! Where is this at? My CNA-1 cost me around $1100 in Oregon and my coworkers in Washington told me it only cost them around $700.

[stacyo]

The

[VampyrSlayer, CNA]

Not to nit pick, Oldster, but in some states it's called "LNA" and we do hold licenses

[VampyrSlayer, CNA]

OP, have you thought about, after moving states, doing online classes through a school in your original state so that you don't have to pay out-of-state tuition? I have taken online classes out-of-state because the tuition in some states is cheaper for out-of-state students than my state is for in-state students.

[Cici89]

CNA programs in Washington can be well under $700 (including textbooks and fees).

Most programs I'm looking into require an active CNA so if that's the case for your programs, think of the CNA class as one of the pre-reqs. I did my CNA in a 14-hr week class structure so I could also take classes at the comunity college.