CNA to RN

Neo Soldier, BSN, RN · Mar 11, 2019

Being a CNA is beneficial because it helps you to be comfortable around patients as well as earn some income. Earning a CNA certificate will not reduce the credits you need for RN school though but it may help with your nursing school application if your school uses the point system and will give you points for being a CNA. Also when you graduate, you may be hired if there are RN openings where you work.

Delcon · Mar 11, 2019

20 hours ago, River&MountainRN said:
Ditto. While working as a CNA ahead of time kind of soured me to LTC facilities (just because of the attitudes of my fellow CNA coworkers and chronic understaffing), it certainly gave me a leg up when it came to the basic soft skills in nursing (feeling comfortable in a medical environment, interacting with medical personnel and patients, dealing with unfortunate/uncomfortable situations such as residents with dementia and residents passing away) and concrete skills such as transfers, bed baths (you'd be surprised how many in my cohort struggled with a "simple" bed bath), brief changes, etc.
The facility was so desperate for help that they were very willing to work with my school schedule in exchange for any time I could give them, especially weekend nights which was my preference.

I noticed a lot of new grads feel overwhelmed in med surg. This seems to also be where most new grads get hired on first and have high patient loads. Do you think being a CNA would help in this situation?

The school I’m applying to has a lot of clinical time but it’s mostly all in med surg it seems to me that everyone also hates working in that area. I’m planning on working as a CNA as I knock off my pre reqs and was wondering if this would give me a leg up once I get on a busy floor.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Mar 11, 2019

21 hours ago, Mary3010 said:
Is it wiser to start off by becoming a certified nursing assistant before becoming a registered nurse? Maybe it is quicker doing it this way and maybe there are similar duties.

I’m not sure if it’s “wiser”. But for me, I did benefit from going through the processes of going from CNA-LV:PN-RN. I am more aware of how the entire health care team plays a role. I am also good at doing “CNA tasks”. The work experience in a variety of settings also makes me a better more compassionate well rounded nurse.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2019

Becoming a CNA is not a pathway to professional nursing.

Sour Lemon · Mar 11, 2019

1 hour ago, Delcon said:
I noticed a lot of new grads feel overwhelmed in med surg. This seems to also be where most new grads get hired on first and have high patient loads. Do you think being a CNA would help in this situation?
The school I’m applying to has a lot of clinical time but it’s mostly all in med surg it seems to me that everyone also hates working in that area. I’m planning on working as a CNA as I knock off my pre reqs and was wondering if this would give me a leg up once I get on a busy floor.

I've known CNAs who went to school to become RNs. They seem to struggle as much as anyone with their first nursing jobs.
Again, CNAs do a very small fraction of everything a nurse does. You can't get nursing experience without being an actual nurse.
Not everyone hates med/surg, either. I still like it after 10ish years.

Silver_Rik, ASN, RN · Mar 12, 2019

I got certified as an SRNA because my first choice nursing program requires it as a prerequisite for admission, and to work and get experience in patient care. I didn’t get into that program and being a CNA isn’t a requirement for the nursing school I’m attending.

It helps with developing comfort and confidence interacting with patients and other staff. First semester clinicals you could tell a difference between those of us with patient care experience and those who lacked it; but by the end of the semester everyone was at the same level. Same with patient care skills, assisting with ADLs. By midterm or earlie everyone should be able to perform them competently.

There are other potential advantages, I think all mentioned here previously. In some facilities it does give you an inside track on getting hired after you graduate. The psych hospital where I work has tuition assistance and hires aides as new grad nurses, plus we are part of a group of large public hospitals so there are opportunities not just in mental health. I have found that many of the nurses show interest in my progress in school and several like to talk about nursing school with me, share pointers, and even let me observe procedures they wouldn’t with an aide who wasn’t in school. Of course, since we are psych and patients are supposed to be medically stable (not always the case in practice) we don’t see as much medical care as a general hospital. Still, it’s nice when the RNs and LPNs want to help or cheerlead. (There are also a couple who seem to go out of their way to sabotage my confidence. But just 1 or 2 out of dozens.)

0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2019

My nursing school required us to be active CNAs for admission. I think it’s great because I got a taste of what working closely with patients every day was like before committing to nursing school. I also worked as a caregiver/CNA while in school. I had a few students tell me that after doing to CNA program, they realized they didn’t want to be nurses, so I guess it helped them rule out nursing school, which is valuable. And yes the bathing and ADL experience you get as a CNA is great. As a nurse you may end up working in a place where there is total care or you don’t have CNAs or techs, so it’s best to be prepared. Some new grads think they’ll never have to give another bed bath, boy is that off base.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

On 3/11/2019 at 2:03 PM, Jedrnurse said:
I was a CNA then a PCT before nursing school. It helped increase my comfort level in clinicals very much. Many of my clinicals were in the hospital I worked so that was helpful as well, i.e. knowing the systems, computer applications etc.
I think everyone should have the experience of a care giving role before they make a commitment to nursing school...

I wish more nurses had the opportunity of becoming nurse techs, granted they meet the qualifications because they would have a better view of how it would be as an RN.

Davey Do · Mar 13, 2019

On the same sort of track, I took a First Aid course in 1977, certified in CPR in 1978 and the as an EMT-B in 1979. I don't think I had any grand plan, but went on to be certified as an NREMT-A in 1981.

Being unsure of my direction I played with the idea of becoming a EMT-P when the ex-administrator of the children's home where I worked, who was also a Nun, became a hospital administrator. She and I got together for lunch one day when she said, "You ought to try nursing. You seem to have an interest in the medical field and you don't mind paperwork".

I thought about her suggestion and got into an LPN program. I figured I'd invest a year, become a LPN and see if I liked nursing. Seven years later I got my RN.

Starting out with that first aid course which eventually led to becoming an RN allowed me to learn basics and build on them. I feel as though I allowed The Fates to guide me.

In the same genre, I worked in many caring-type of jobs: 1975 as an attendant for DD clients, 1979 as a houseparent for troubled teen-age boys, 1981 as a Had Start Teacher's aid, and 1984 as an LPN psych nurse.

In 1993. I was working as the nursing supervisor for a home health agency when I implemented an at-home mental health program, the first this far west of the USA.

I know I went into great detail about my history, but I did so to illustrate that allowing The Fates to guide me led me into a rich rewarding career full of experiences I wouldn't trade for anything.

I thank The Fates for being my guide.

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ShadowNurse · Mar 13, 2019

I went a different route to my RN. I was a registered medical assistant first, then an LPN. If your goal is to shorten your time to becoming an RN on a budget, I really do recommend the LPN route to people. I found an LPN job with just as much (if not arguably more) flexibility around RN school than a CNA could find. Plus I was paid more and actually functioned as a nurse. The differences in scope of practice for an LPN and RN are relatively minor; I barely noticed the difference when I transitioned. My job requires lots of direct care, so my more practical skills like bed bathing did not suffer. And since an LPN program is essentially your first year of RN school, it shortened my time. I was able to graduate with three years of actual nursing experience already under my belt, while being able to support myself fully (an essential requirement for me).

But that is just my experience. My LPN plus RN program cost me overall more than just an RN would due to attending two separate schools, so that is also a consideration.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

It's not really any faster to become a CNA before an RN but there are definite advantages to doing so. Other than the aspect of providing physical care the job duties really aren't that similar but having that background will definitely help with at least your comfort level for working with patients. You'll already have some experience in communicating with patients and providing intimate care.

Plus you'll be a lot less likely to become one of those nurses that thinks CNA work is somehow beneath them or that CNA's have it easy. It's a darn hard job and having been one yourself you'll understand and probably give the good one's the respect they deserve while also more easily recognizing the not so good one's. That will also make your future job where you will be directly supervising those CNA's easier. Knowing exactly what the job is like will make setting reasonable expectations for the CNA's working with you much less complicated for you.

0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

9 minutes ago, kbrn2002 said:
It's not really any faster to become a CNA before an RN but there are definite advantages to doing so. Other than the aspect of providing physical care the job duties really aren't that similar but having that background will definitely help with at least your comfort level for working with patients. You'll already have some experience in communicating with patients and providing intimate care.
Plus you'll be a lot less likely to become one of those nurses that thinks CNA work is somehow beneath them or that CNA's have it easy. It's a darn hard job and having been one yourself you'll understand and probably give the good one's the respect they deserve while also more easily recognizing the not so good one's. That will also make your future job where you will be directly supervising those CNA's easier. Knowing exactly what the job is like will make setting reasonable expectations for the CNA's working with you much less complicated for you.

Ooh so true! I’m only getting into learning how to delegate and all, but it’s nice that I can easily look back and remember, “hmm, now how long did it take me to weigh people, give a full bed bath, help brush teeth...?”. It’s such a good point because we can be better nurses by working together with our whole team from that experience.