CNA or just Volunteer?

[Mrs.Christie]

I've recently decided I'd like to become an RN, but nursing school will be a few years out since I have a year of prerequisites and young child. In the meantime I thought I should try to get some experience in the medical field, either as a CNA or volunteer. The CNA program will take just one quarter and cost about $1,000, is it worth it?

Most of the nursing schools I will eventually apply to don't require the CNA certification (I think). Would volunteer experience, assuming I can find a position that has patient contact, be looked on as favorably as CNA experience? I really, really only want to go into labor & delivery or mother & baby type areas, do they typically hire CNAs or allow volunteers? (I know, I should really check with my local hospitals, but I thought I'd ask here first)

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[foreverLaur]

I volunteered at a hospital for 2 years and it did not come close to the experience I got as a CNA. My CNA job didn't require the class, just BLS. I know you HAVE to be certified/state-tested for LTC, but not hospitals. However, I think that having had the class is why I got the interview over the other applicants.

I do a lot of my job. The experience has been very valuable. All the volunteers on the floors do mostly paperwork type stuff. In the ED they check to see if people need anything (games for kids, drink, snack, etc). You can't have patient contact since you aren't an employee and aren't covered under liability.

My official job title is "multi-skilled tech" which is a super CNA. I work on a surgical/oncology floor that is medical secondary and trauma overflow. I do the normal nurse aide type duties as well as vitals, accu checks, ekgs, foleys, and blood draws. I see what the nurses do on a daily basis, I float to other floors and see a lot, I see nursing students do their clinicals on my floor, I've participated in codes, done post-mortem care... I wouldn't trade it for anything! It would help out so much in nursing school.

A lot of nursing schools basically have the first semester/quarter be nurse aide type stuff if it isn't a prerequisite. Imagine how easy that first semester would be compared to someone who had never stepped foot in a hospital.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I feel like being a CNA gave me a HUGE leg up...I got to do more direct patient care and more interaction. Plus I felt like I could start running symptoms/interventions with what was going on for the patient.

volunteers can't do the hands on stuff....Probably better for NS.

[mizally]

Not necessarily.

I'll start my CNA course in a few weeks, after the new year. However, I've been a volunteer on an oncology floor in a hospital since June. Every hospital worker I see now knows I'm preparing for nursing school. For that reason, they often allow me a little more patient contact.

I've helped PCTs take vitals, helped with a colostomy bag (boy was that fun :barf01:), I've helped wash patients, helped pts get dressed, held a dying pt's hand, called the nurse when I found a deceased pt and even helped with post-mortem care. Essentially, as soon as most of the nurses knew I wouldn't keel over at something gross, they let me hang around to learn as much as I can.

(Now, I did have to leave a room abruptly during trach suctioning but was able to do it discreetly. Something about it made me a little lightheaded and nauseated. I visited the same patient the next day with the same nurse doing more suction and was fine that time, though.)

The key, I guess, is that I get to HELP -- not do anything on my own. I will casually visit with patients who may be lonely or just need something like a warm blanket or other tasks that are unnecessary to bother a nurse for; things like help to the bathroom or holding a straw for water. By now, I can gather when I'll need help or whether I'll create a liability. That's when I call a PCT or nurse. Meanwhile, I'm the one who keeps the pt from freaking out during the wait for someone else. The nurses and PCTs really seem to appreciate that, and I feel less like the wanna-be who's in everybody's face trying to figure out what to do.

The experience is great for getting a sense of the hospital atmosphere, but I know being a CNA will increase that exponentially. All baby steps toward the RN goal. So, get in however you can, knowing that volunteering might not be enough by itself.

[Hope2017]

Re: CNA or just Volunteer

Am a STNA before I enter nursing school to be a practical nurse. Before we started our class those without STNA experience should take a week of skill training. They will learn the basic stna skills as this will be used during the first quarter teminal. The best advantage I learn is I got confidence in meeting clients. Also your income is a a little above compare with those working in dept school. Good luck to your new found career.