Do I have really have to get certified?

Hi,

I have asked this question in the past as well but never really got a clear answer. It is summer break and this thing is bothering me again. I'll be entering my senior year in the nursing program this fall. I've been wanting to work alongside school at a health facility be it nursing home or a hospital in the position of a nurse aid. Even before starting nursing school, I'd enrolled in a CNA class only to be told by a classmate that as a nursing student, I was wasting my time and money going through this since I'd be learning it again in nursing school.Also, that as nursing students I would be eligible to work as one past one semester of nursing course. I dropped the class soon after.I never really liked the way it was being taught either.

Now,any hospital I look into in my area/agency hiring nurse aids- they all seem to be listing certification as a requirement. Any body in this forum? a nursing student in particular gotten away with this certification deal in the state of New York and got hired while in nursing school? This is one try before I plan to register for the exam. I'm hoping I don't have to retake the class.