CNA job in a hospital

FutureAspirations · May 13, 2013

You could try volunteering to get in the hospital and in front of the right people. Volunteer for a few months and meet some hiring managers. That should at least get your foot in the door!

mvm2 · May 13, 2013

I will have to say that CNA jobs in hospitals are not always easy to get. But futureaspirations has a good idea. There are other places you could go for as well instead of nursing homes. There is Home Health, Hospice, Rehab, Retirement homes(not as demanding as LTC) just to name a few more options for you that may be easier to get a job in then hospitals

Cindy14 · May 15, 2013

I currently work in a hospital as a CNA but I started working in the cafeteria, I think it is easier to get a transfer from one department to another than to try to go straight as a CNA without experience.

Paws2people · May 16, 2013

After class my group of 5 friends all went our separate ways (and totally different locations). 2 went to hospitals, 2 to home health, and one never did anything. I applied EVERYWHERE and I was shocked at how many hospitals were interested in me with no prior experience. After I was hired at the hospital, I started getting call backs from nursing homes. Lol. If you want to work in a hospital, apply. It cannot hurt. Best of luck!!

sweetie_pie · May 17, 2013

It is harder but not impossible without experience. I agree with the volunteering idea though. I volunteered in the ER for a year while I was in school and taking my CNA class. Like you I also didn't want to work at a nursing home because I had a horrific experience in clinicals. Well...8 months of nonstop hospital applications later and I decided to suck it up and apply to a nursing home where I was hired the next day. It was pretty awful, but I kept applying for hospital positions and a month later I got 3 interviews! The managers who interviewed me still had my old resume and didn't even know I had experience! The fact that I volunteered is what got me the interview in the first place. I now work at the hospital and I love my job. The worst day here is better than the best day at the nursing home, and I am thankful beyond words for my job. I don't know if I would appreciate it as much as I do had I not had the experience in the nursing home.

So...my advice would be to volunteer for sure! Any connections you have will help too. And if you do have to work in a nursing home for a little while you will appreciate your future job so much more. No experience is ever worthless! Also, I recommend you pick rehab over long term care...that was my first mistake! Good luck :)

funtimes · May 17, 2013

Its really just so hit or miss. When I look at new hires where I work, I cant for the life of me figure out what made them more qualified than other people I know who applied.

Could you get hired into a hospital as a CNA without experience? Who knows, maybe you would and maybe you wouldn't, that's about the best anyone can tell you. If I had to venture a guess, I would say most likely you wouldn't, so I would count on having to work in LTC or home health first.

I had a couple years experience when I got in, in fact I thought maybe I was overqualified because I had CNA and EMS experience, phlebotomy training, a good job record and employer references, had taken other math, science and medical college classes with a 4.0 GPA, and yet 90% of the hospitals I applied to never replied, I could never even get an interview, while some people got hired in without a lick of experience. Heck I even know ER techs who got hired without any training or certs at all, its crazy.

Eventually I got a job at a hospital, but its a complicated story how that happened. It usually boils down to who you know, and that's where work experience can eventually help.

MommaTy · May 18, 2013

Depends on where you live and how long your CNA course was. When I was in my CNA program in high school it was 2 years long. 1 year LTC and 1 year hospital. So when I applied for the hospital they accepted me, but they told me they generally don't accept new CNAs. I since moved and came back and now got back into the same hospital as a PCT on an infant and children's unit part time nights 7p-7:30a 2 nights a week. I also was accepted for the ADN program this fall. I was working at a LTC facility making $12 hr (which is more than the new CNAs they start at 9.50-10 an hour) because I have experience. But now starting the hospital job it will be 16.50 an hour and that doesn't include all the differentials I will be getting :) So you don't know if you don't apply, but do not be shocked if you don't get the position. You may have to suck it up and work LTC or home health to get experience. Good luck.