CNA jobs: Hard to find?

[emo1807]

I'm going to become a CNA, and I was wondering if anyone here has any sense of how hard it is to find a CNA job in a big hospital, like MGH or Children's or what not; and if CNA jobs are in high demand or if you usually have to fight to get them.

Also, do you need a high school diploma to get a job as a CNA?

[jem1013]

usually places are always hiring cna's, depending on what shift/unit your interested in working,it shouldn't be hard to find a job. you can always look on-line at the hospitals your interested in working at they usually have job openings listed. and no, you don't need a high school diploma to take a cna course.

[edogs334]

Hi emo,

I am an Emergency Department Tech at a major teaching hospital in Boston. Unfortunately, I would say that, yes, it is hard to find a job as a hospital CNA- especially if you don't have previous acute care hospital experience. I sympathize with your position because it took me about 9 months to find a CNA-type job in a hospital around here in Boston.

There are several reasons as to why it's so tough to get these kinds of jobs. 1)A lot of these jobs are considered "plum/peach jobs" for CNA's because of the pay, benefits, and experience one gets; there's no shortage of applicants. 2)A lot of these jobs go to ASN or BSN nursing students who's instructors have connections with a hospital's HR department or unit managers. Moreover, major nursing schools, such as Northeastern and Boston College, have contracts with places such as BI or BWH to provide their students with co-op experience. 3)Even though they won't admit it, hospital HR departments tend to be political and tend to hire people who have connections with people on the inside. 4)A lot of HR managers look for CNA's with "acute care hospital experience." This is bull crap because if every hospital wants people with experience, that leaves inexperienced people in a catch-22. I mean, where are you supposed to get experience if no one's willing to offer it? Also, HR departments tend to hire people who are already hospital employees with experience in another department. This sucks for outside applicants (I lost an offer because of that), but it's only fair to inside applicants who've worked there and "paid their dues."

All that being said, here's what I would suggest. If you don't have a high school diploma yet, go and get your GED as soon as you can. Most employers (especially hospitals) require their CNA's (or PCA's, or Tech's) to have their GED. Secondly, take the CNA course at a training center that has "acute care" skills classes in their curriculum. These classes will teach you to perform skills such as EKG's, phlebotomy, blood glucose checks, and other stuff that hospitals require you to know. Personally, I took my CNA class at the Red Cross. Although they have a very good program, the Boston chapter didn't have any acute care skills classes and it was thus hard for me to find a hospital job right after getting my certification. I would look into the "Patient Care Assistant" program at Bunker Hill Community College. They have the basic CNA class, along with the acute care skills classes/practicums. The Red Cross in Worcester also has these classes. Below are the links to both of these programs. PM me if they turn out to be dead links:

http://www.bhcc.edu/inside.php?navID=466&programID=45&year=2005

http://www.redcrossworcester.org/classes/nat.html

[Ginny Weasley]

Yes, it is hard to find jobs if your a CNA with no experiance. At least that's how its been with me. I got my licesne in April of 2006, and I still can't find a full time job. It really sucks because people are so stubborn and won't even give you the time of day to give you a chance at working in their facility simply because you don't have any experiance. I live in California, so it might be different where you are.

[littlemissrn]

hey. i was looking around for CNA jobs and this is a good site to check out

http://www.nursingjobs.org/

merry christmas everyone