CNA TO RN

For me I would go straight to RN but if you want to get your foot in the door you can get your CNA license and start working while taking prerequisite courses towards your RN.

There are hospitals in my area that offer paid training for CNAs with a guaranteed job once you pass your certification test. I’d look around and see if you can find something like that. Then if you’re working as a CNA most hospitals will offer a certain amount of reimbursement per year as long as you agree to stay with them for a couple of years.

Get your CNA and then work while you are taking your RN pre-req's. You will be one step ahead in nursing school. Additionally, RN schools generally are based off a point system for admission. Prior healthcare experience earns you additional points.

Generally (it may be different where you are located) west coast hospitals will not pay for you to attend nursing school.

It would be a good idea to get your CNA and work in a hospital for a little bit before jumping into school and here's why:

1. Gives you time to save money that can be used for tuition/living expenses if you decide not to work while taking certain classes.

2. Gives you insight into what nursing truly looks like, since you'll be working with nurses all day.

3. Provides invaluable experience & patient exposure (most of the students in my program who started off as CNAs felt much more comfortable getting involved and hands-on with patients earlier on compared to those who hadn't. PLUS, this experience usually helps immensely when applying to nursing school).

4. Most hospitals offer some sort of education reimbursement for furthering your education. The nurse managers will typically mention this and how much is available if they plan on extending you an offer/position. Sometimes there are strings attached where you have to commit to staying with the company for X amount of time if they help you pay for school, so get all of the details!

Hopefully this helped some.

Like most have said, do get your CNA. I recommend a private one because some are only four weeks long as opposed to the semester long programs at a community college. Please get into school as soon as you can and start your prereqs. Community colleges are usually much cheaper and will give you financial aid (grants, which don't have to be paid back). The reason why you should start school as soon as possible is because nursing school is highly impacted and you may not get in when you want to. Some people wait for a year to get in. If you take a year off before starting school, you're really taking at least two years off from graduating.

When I was taking my prereqs, I was getting grants and I had no job at the time, so I used part of my financial aid to pay for my CNA program. It was the best decision I ever made.

If money is an issue, and you live at home. Just start your pre-reqs at a community college, whatever is left from financial aid can easily be used to cover your CNA program.

I agree with those who support you becoming a CNA. Experience in the healthcare field is invaluable when applying to an RN program. It will definitely give you a leg up. Many community college and university programs require you to at least have your CNA license anyway. So if becoming an RN is your goal, getting your CNA license and experience will only be beneficial to you.

IMany magnet hospitals will train CNAs to do blood draws, glucose testing, and foley catheters. You might make a couple dollars more at a hospital that provides this extra training. Working as a CNA is great to get experience in the nursing field but I would not stop there since your dream is to become an RN.

Best wishes on your journey to nursing!

I'm currently in an ADN program and have just completed my 4th clinical rotation. I regret not getting CNA training or experience before setting foot into the RN program. I am so clueless in clinical and feel so dumb all the time. I have no previous healthcare experience so everything I do is new. I try not to be so hard on myself but compared to my peers that had prior CNA or even healthcare experience, I feel so useless. That being said, you dont have to become a CNA before nursing school, but it really gives you a leg up. The CNA experienced students already know most of basic nursing, so they can focus on new stuff, where as students with no prior knowledge, are learning everything at once. It's rough, but I have heard that it evens out quickly, so I'm hoping that's true!