Does home health aid count as experience?

[sam1984]

Hi all,

I am in the process of taking my prereqs for either a BSN or MSN. I already have a bachelor in accounting. Now I know that to get into any nursing program, advisors prefer experience. I will be starting a home health aid course next month and will be train for free by a company that would like to hire me. I know the general preference out there is for CNAs or higher, but is HHA looked down upon by admission commitees? Do they consider it real nursing work?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

If you land an actual job as a HHA after obtaining your training, it will count as valid healthcare experience.

[rosey2007cna]

I think that it depends on the company. I was a HHA and went to work as a CNA in skilled nursing and they told me that my HHA experience did not count as experience.

[XingtheBBB, BSN, RN]

for the purpose of getting a nursing school seat, it should count. The PP is correct that is does not count as experience for a SNF where state requirements mandate CNA/LNA possession.

I was a CNA before I became a HHA but the experience of working in homecare was very valuable as I went through nursing school. Is there an interview process? You'll be able to tell them how you have a unique in-depth understanding of your assigned patients coping and psycho-social issues. Tell them how you've taken the opportunity to research a select disease/disability or two. You may have the opportunity to work with the elderly, young adults, or children. You'll probably be privy to medical details that you wouldn't have time or need for in a SNF. A great opportunity to learn discretion- you'll see family members, patient neighbors, and friends in a way that could be easy to let your guard down.

A nice thing about homecare is that the hours can be very flexible when you're in school- some cases might be 2 hours, some might be all day or night. Overnight shifts give you lots of time to study.

[Katie803]

I would assume it depends on what kind of home health care you provided. For example, I started out as a PCA working with autistic children and and now a developmental therapist for autistic children (the only certifications I had to get the job was my prior CPA experience, a CPR cert, and the fact that I was already in school for nursing helped a little too). This experience would count very much if i decided to go into something dealing with people or children with mental disabilities and I know that I might even be offered a little more money in that field than someone without that experience. Did your home health agency require a CPR certification? That would count a little too seeing as how you would be authorized to provide emergency resescutation if needed, something that is a neccessity in this field. The only way to be sure, however, is to ask. The worst they can do is say no, but you would probably have a better chance than someone with no experience at all. By the way, the prior degree should count too. When i enrolled for pre-nursing the only experience I had was the PCA, and they never even asked for details when I told them. After the pre-nursing cert (which I HIGHLY reccommend if your school offers it, because not only will it provide you with opportunities to get prereqs out of the way, but you can go ahead and be in school instead of standing idly while you are on the waiting list for the program, assuming your school has one which it probably does) I was accepted straight in and started the program a few months later. Good luck!

[caliotter3]

Paid experience as a HHA will count as experience just as CNA experience would for the very same job. Many CNAs work as HHAs without bothering to get the HHA certificate, however, the CNA certificate is required to get the HHA certificate in my state. If you are working as a caregiver, without a valid HHA certificate, it would be harder to establish credible work experience, but not impossible. I would suggest obtaining a CNA certificate, followed by the HHA certificate, then the agency job. Good luck.