CNA after 1st year of nursing school?

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Does anyone know if you are able to work as a CNA after you have completed your first year of nursing school? I know that in some states you are able to, but not sure if this is the fact in AZ.

Thanks!

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After your first block or two you can work as an LPN if you pass the HESI I believe.

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I just graduated my CNA school. I had to take a written test and do state boards. I am currently waiting on my license number. You may be able to work as an NA not sure. You should go to the state board website azbn.gov to see if they have any information there. Good Luck! :nuke:

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i emailed a recruiter at a local hospital & she said for their hospital, you can work as a CNA after your first semester of nursing school. i would try asking each specific hospital that you intend to apply to what their policy is.

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Thanks all for your helpful replies! Good info!

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Specializes in OR, Telemetry, PCCU, Med/Surg.

Most hospitals hire Student Nurses...

- During block I you can work as a Student Nurse Tech I - you can do some chores around the unit but cannot perform any patient care.

- After block I and during block II you can work as a Student Nurse Tech II - same deal but you are allowed to perform patient care with another CNA.

- After block II you can work as a Nurse Extern and actually shadow a nurse.

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Most hospitals hire Student Nurses...

- During block I you can work as a Student Nurse Tech I - you can do some chores around the unit but cannot perform any patient care.

- After block I and during block II you can work as a Student Nurse Tech II - same deal but you are allowed to perform patient care with another CNA.

- After block II you can work as a Nurse Extern and actually shadow a nurse.

Awesome info!:up: Thank you!

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Specializes in Cardiac.

You can work as a CNA after the first semester, and you can work as an LPN after the second semester.

I'd do both. CNA work is invaluable, and so is LPN. But with being an LPN, not only will you make more money, but you will be an actual nurse, involved with the nursing process. You can give meds, routine assessments, interact with doctors, etc.

I couldn't give meds, or take orders from Physcians when I was a student nurse extern.

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Specializes in L&D, ICU, Family Medicine.
After your first block or two you can work as an LPN if you pass the HESI I believe.

Actually, you have to pass the NCLEX-LPN. The Hesi is like a practice test to the Boards. You will have to pay to sit for this test, and for your license as well. If you don't already have a fingerprint clearance card, you will have to pay for this too and submit them to the AZBN along with an application. Your application is reviewed before you sit for your Boards, and you have to wait for an 'OK' from the AZBN. It's the same process for your RN.

As far as your CNA, I'm not sure. I think after Block 1 you can. Some hospitals will train you and you don't have to actually be certified, and others will make you test before the boards, and do the whole fingerprinting process, etc...as I mentioned above.

Someone was mentioning the Nurse Extern qualifications, and it sounded pretty accurate. I would check with different hospitals and find out what their criteria are. I have heard that it is competitive, since their are so few positions every semester/year, so it's good to be involved in your school's Student Nurse Assoc. and/or have a very good GPA. I would go with Externing, the pay is way better than a CNA (Compare $15/hr to $9-12/hr) and you learn a lot before you graduate nursing school.

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I'd say to definitely try for an Extern position. CHW will hire you as an extern after Block 1 and Banner will after Block 2. I hired on after Block 1 at Chandler and the experience was invaluable. It really helped me so much with school. I was more comfortable in clinicals and I was able to understand so much more in Process class because I was being exposed to so much at work....The other nice thing is that as an extern you are not considered part of the schedule so you can be really flexible with your hours. My requirement was to work 12 hours every two (or more, up to 72 hours if I wanted to) weeks during classes and full time during the summer. Extern positions can be hard to come by though. You really need to be persistent, call HR, introduce yourself to clinical managers etc.....Good luck!

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How do you know when they are hiring? CHW, is that St Joes? Any advice or help is much appreciated!

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How do you know when they are hiring? CHW, is that St Joes? Any advice or help is much appreciated!

Hi!

Yes, St. Joes is a CHW hospital. You can go onto the Banner or CHW websites to check out what job openings they have available. As far as extern positions, from what I can tell, at least on the job boards, they are far and few between. I would call the HR dept of the hospital directly to find out when they hire for extern positions.

Also, just from personal experience, if you are looking for a CNA position, Banner won't even call you unless you have previous experience. THey want to see that you have worked as a CNA. Scottsdale HC doesn't care, they will hire you right out of school. The HR guy I talked to over there was awesome! He was so nice and helpful. He actually recommended a school to go to. I don't know about CHW, as I have not tried to get a job in that system.

Good luck!

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