Getting Experience

Best experience would be to get an Nursing Assistant job in a nursing home and get your CNA as you go.

If I were you, I'd take the waitress job that is flexible and pays well. Nursing school will be a challenge, and time consuming...you don't need to commit to the other job which is probably a set schedule. As for the CNA thing, you don't need to take an additional class for that...I forget at which point in your schooling when you're able to take the CNA test, but you should be able to if you decide.

I'd take the waitress job. Much more flexible, less stress, and possibly more pay.

Thanks for all your responses. You have been so helpful! I will stick with the waitressing job.

I waited tables the WHOLE time I was in nursing school, they were really flexible, had too change up my schedule every 5 weeks during my last year of school. I was also able to pay all my bills, with my waitress income-wasnt easy sometimes, but I made it work. maybe you can still do a patient tech position just casual while your inn school just to get your foot in the door to a hospital while your in school and also to get some healthcare experience.

My whole thing with that is if you work in the hospital setting you have an "in" for later. You get to meet alot of people that work there and in this economy you need all the connections you can get. The ones that I worked with that were Patient Service Specialists had very flexible schedules. (all the ones I know at the time were college students.) But I think if you are upfront with your manager or the person that is going hire you and they know you are going to school and they are ok with it they tend to be helpful with a crazy schedule. Within reason of course.

Remember when a position is open in a hospital setting, its posted for a week or two internally before its open to the public and the hospital would rather hire its own. Plus you hear what is what on the floors. So you get an idea of what you are going into to.

Just my 2 cents.

You're still pre-nursing at this point, correct? In that case, I would just waitress, unless you don't really need the cash. I put in 10 years as a waiter/bartender, and for most of that time I made more money than I do as an RN (I'm still new at the nursing thing). This may vary by what part of the country you're in, how badly it was hit by the current recession, and how good of a waitress you are, but working for tips was always the right choice for me. Make sure the school you're looking at doesn't require you to be a CNA first - some do - before you decide. If not, then your volunteer experience should suffice for NS admission. Once you're in NS, you may want to look at picking up a CNA/PCT/extern/etc. job after you've completed your first clinical - as others have said, it will usually give you a leg up on getting into that hospital as an RN. Good luck, whatever you decide!