CNA without Exp, Seeking 2 Become a MA - Advice Needed

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi All,

I don't know how I get myself into these dilemmas but somehow i always do.

My ultimate goal is to become a RN (preferably working in the NICU, or the ER). Then, after years of experience in either specialty, becoming a NP. I did not complete college, and dropped out of a 4 year school after 2 years - yes, I highly regret this.

I recently became a CNA because: The 2 year RN schools had waitlist for years, and the 4 year RN schools would not accept me due to my lack of pre-req's. I missed a deadline to take the TEAS to apply for a local LPN school, and therefore went for the CNA THINKING I would get a job in a nursing home or hospital and qualify for tuition reimbursement to continue my education.

Fast forward 5 months later, and I am a CNA who has not yet even worked as a CNA. Apparently I need 6 months to 1 year of experience. And when I question, how am I supposed to get that experience without being hired, they have no response that makes sense to me.

I feel as though I wasted my money for a CNA course which did not even offer a CPR course within its program, and now I am working at a dental office as an admin assist. I would like to apply to a LPN school and then do an online or on-campus LPN to RN program eventually. My dilemma is.... this CNA thing isnt worth what I paid for it. I feel as though I would have been hired if I became a Medical Assistant; at least the programs around here offer EKG, CPR and Phlebotomy training within the program (none of which was offered for the CNA course I took). With those skills I would be more marketable, more experienced.

Should I enter into an MA program, or just add CPR, EKG and Phlebotomy under my CNA belt in individual courses? I was hoping to become employed as an MA and then work on my RN.

Things are really crazy, and I dont see why it's so hard to become a Nurse, especially when its a career that's in demand.

Thank you, and I do apologize for ranting, but I have been at this for 1 year so far, and nothing is working in my favor.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I can only tell you about my personal experience within the MA vortex. I earned my certificate in medical assisting 10 years ago and was never able to land a job as an MA. For me, it was tuition money that went down the drain. It was tuition money that could have been much better spent pursuing something else.

If your goal is to become an RN, then the typical working hours of a medical assistant may interfere with your schooling hours. Most RN programs are offered during daytime hours, and the overwhelming majority of MAs also work during daytime office hours (Monday through Friday from 8 to 5pm, or some variation of banker's hours).

Continue with the CNA path or complete an LPN program if you want to be an RN someday, because these two programs are actually a part of the nursing model of care provision. The MA designation, on the other hand, is a part of the medical model of care delivery. The nursing model differs from the medical model in multiple ways.

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um, being a cna is one of the easiest ways to get a job in health care. cna work is hard, has high turnover and pays crap.

the key to getting a cna job is applying in person, having decent hygiene, decent appearance and looking the part (look like you can do the job).

the economy has even been affecting health care for some time now, so getting a job in health care isn't as easy as it use to be (just like with most other jobs).

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I don't know where you live, but here in Texas there are plenty of CNA jobs. You can check craigslist for in-home care jobs, I got my first CNA job that way. If you want a job at a hospital, call and bug the hiring manager until you get an interview, which was how I got my second CNA job.

In my CNA course there were a number of women who were MAs that couldn't find jobs at all so they became CNAs.

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Fast forward 5 months later, and I am a CNA who has not yet even worked as a CNA. Apparently I need 6 months to 1 year of experience. And when I question, how am I supposed to get that experience without being hired, they have no response that makes sense to me.

Volunteer, even if you can only do it one day a week. Or seek out an internship. Look for anything that may give you clinical experience to fill that hole in your resume.

Expand your search for CNA type jobs. That's the one medical job that never stopped hiring, because of the pay and turn-over. Are you looking at places other than internet job sites? Newspapers? Contacting local healthcare facilities?

I feel as though I wasted my money for a CNA course which did not even offer a CPR course within its program,

I'm in an RN program which does not offer a CPR within its program. It's something we're expected to take on our own time. Go look for certified "First Aid for Medical Professional" CPR courses in your area and get it done.

Should I enter into an MA program, or just add CPR, EKG and Phlebotomy under my CNA belt in individual courses? I was hoping to become employed as an MA and then work on my RN.

What do you REALLY want? Is your goal any steady paycheck somehow relating to the medical profession? Or is your goal to really want to be a specialized worker? or ??? That's something you need to decide.

Things are really crazy, and I dont see why it's so hard to become a Nurse, especially when its a career that's in demand.

It's not hard. It's just a career that requires a lot of knowledge. If you're serious about becoming a nurse, go do those pre-req's. Go take the TEAS test. Don't blame the schools or bad luck or whatever... just go do it. :)

Many of the pre-reqs are the same across schools: Bio, Anatomy/Physiology, a college level Math, 1-2 college level English. Once you finish them with good grades, there's no reason why you can't get into a nursing school. In my area, the nursing schools are all accredited colleges so some students take the pre-reqs at the nearest & least expensive school; then they apply to the Nursing school they really like. In other words, your community college may offer these pre-req classes and they usually do transfer.

I could be wrong but I feel like perhaps you have a lack of focus on what you aim to do. And perhaps employers or school interviewers might be picking up on this? Do some soul searching and figure out what it is you really want to do .... and make it happen.

And I want to emphasize again the value of volunteer hours. Not only does it look good on your resume, it's a chance for you to work in different departments and settings. Imagine volunteering at the local hospital and get rotated to something that you really fall in love with?

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Specializes in Hospice.

Ive worked as a CNA for over 2 years. I've been a Medical Assistant grad for almost 5 years, out of 5 years with a medical assistant diploma, (out side of my externship), I've only had 1 month experience working a MA. I had numerous interviews who all told me they were looking for MA with 2+ years experience:confused:. Doctors don't like to have to spend alot of time training you. Now its possible to find a job with no experience as I did but as you can see, it lasted 1 month:twocents:. Most Doctors are very picky as to how they want things done:uhoh3:. I'm currently in school for LPN:yeah:, I'm located in GA and I do not see too many graduated nursing students spending too many months waiting for a job, some land jobs right out of school.

It depends on your location. Now, location, location, location(sorry I'm also an inactive real estate agent) that plays a major role in the demand. The Demand is kind of high for nurses around here. If I could have done it over, I dont know if I would have spent 13 months and $12,000 to get a diploma in Medical Assistant, and then to pass the national exam to become a registed Medical Assistant only to get rejected time after time.

My GPA for Medical Assistant was a 3.88, so I was no dummy at it either:smokin:.

I will not say you'll have a hard time finding a job as a Medical Assistant because some of my fellow classmates did manage to find one fresh out of school, but I just wasnt fortunate enough, but the Medical Assistant knowledge I did accquire, does offer some relief in LPN school, but MA education does not compare to LPN, and aiming for the utimate goal of becoming a RN as a Nurse Practitioner of some sort. 2 years as a CNA is enough, I needed something more challenging:yawn:, so like I mentioned, I'm in LPN:nurse: school with expected graduation date of December 2010.

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