Good grades or CNA experience more important when applying for jobs?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I was recently offered a direct care assistant job (basically a CNA w/extra duties). The pay is paltry, and it is a long drive, but it would be good experience... I am thinking about turning down the offer, though :confused:. The instructors I have at school all STRONGLY recommend working as an aid while going to school, even if it is casual, and as much as I would like experience, I don't know if it is really realistic for me to have two jobs. Quitting my main job is not an option, and I also have school, and a husband. I am busy with these things, and we are trying to start a family. So, basically my question is... which is more important to an employer, good grades while in school or experience as an aid?

Thanks for reading, and for any insight. :up:

Smartnurse1982:

I agree CNA's don't insert Foley's and do dressing changes. There's seems to be a lot of confusion regarding, "Nursing Assistants" and their scope of practice. They are not in any way, shape or form, the same thing as CNA's.

They are similar to LPN's but without a license. Some states call them "Advanced Unlicensed Assistants" (AUA) and they register and must be accountable to the state's board of nursing just like RN/LPN's are.

Typically, these are usually nurses who have been assessed by the board of nursing to either have a foreign nursing credential or they have the necessary education, training, skill and capacity to function with respect to accepted nursing standards and required qualifications to function in a similar desired and equivalent capacity. ( military medic, nursing orderly, hospital corpsman etc.)

Hope that helps.

Sorry,I've never heard of that. But,the rn is still responsible for the advanced unlicensed personnel,and they are not similiar to lpns,because lpns are nurses. I've always used nursing assistant and cna interchanegebly. I didn't know the bons assessed uap's besides cna's.

No wonder we have new grads who can't find jobs.

Wow, thank you all for the wonderful responses!

I think I will turn down the job offer, and look closer to home. I live within blocks of about a dozen LTCs, and it would make more sense than driving long distances to-and-from work. I would just like something casual, though, and I'm not quite sure how to tell an employer that I want the least amount of hours as possible (only half-joking).

I will definitely try my best to keep my GPA up because I do plan on going on to get my Masters. The schedule Patient_Care_Assist had laid out was a bit scary, too.

I really do appreciate all of the responses, and would love to hear more opinions. Thanks again!

as long as you pass..... grades does NOT matter... haha no one ever knows....

Unless of course there is a very tight job market with employers flooded with resumes.

But, hey, everyone knows THAT never happens in nursing!

Both grades and experience matter. Do the best you can.

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Grades are not an issue when it comes to jobs. Grades are an issue, however, to passing nursing school! If you think you can juggle both the CNA job + school and everything else, then I say go for it! If not...are there any hospitals/LTC's closer to you that are offering CNA jobs that you can look into? What about looking into hospitals for a nurse tech/patient care tech position (which often requires at least a year of nursing school under your belt)

grades don't matter much, if at all. experience is the biggie.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I think that in the current employment situation we have for nurses there should be an emphasis on both experience and academic achievement. I know this highly depends on the area where you live and work but here is what I think the overall hiring situation is for new grads. In terms of grades, I think that grades are important because your hospital may have minimum GPA requirements for new grads (I have never personally seen this but it might be the case in some hospitals) and you may be asked to furnish your transcripts upon request during an interview. I terms of healthcare experience, I think that the reason why it is so valued (especially CNA experience) is not necessarily because you have become proficient in bed baths or obtaining vital signs but because you have become more comfortable with patients due to your experience and it demonstrates your work ethic for a future employer (especially if you have worked at the same facility you are applying to as a nurse.) In terms of the benefits of having healthcare experience before your graduate I think that it also helps in making you a better nurse overall. I have found that working with nurses who were a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), PCT (Patient Care Technician), MHW (Mental Health Worker) or anything else like that before they graduated, they are usually easier to work with and because they understand how difficult the work is they are much more likely to lend you a helping hand. These nurses are also more likely not to develop what I call "new-grad-itis" which is when your a new grad who assumes that because you have graduated nursing school that you are now an expert in all things nursing and that you are above doing certain tasks like changing the brief of an incontinent patient or helping support staff to give a patient a bed bath. Unfortunately, many of the nurses who develop new-grad-itis never seem to grow out of it and become the know-it-all nurses who hate helping supportive staff take care of their own patients. But I digress, the main point I was trying to make was that both experience and good grades are important and if you can maintain decent grades while getting experience then you should definitely consider it but if you can't then just focus on school.

!Chris :specs:

Specializes in CVICU & ER.

To be honest I think it will depend on the individual manager conducting the interview. They are all going to have their own opinion in what's important. I would suggest keeping the grades up so you will always have options for further education open to you; furthermore I would venture to say what you do as a CNA you can pick up very quickly once you start on a floor.

Specializes in ER OR LTC Code Blue Trauma Dog.
Sorry,I've never heard of that. But,the rn is still responsible for the advanced unlicensed personnel,and they are not similar to lpns,because lpns are nurses. I've always used nursing assistant and cna interchangeably. I didn't know the bons assessed uap's besides cna's.

No wonder we have new grads who can't find jobs.

It's not our fault we served as "nurses" in the military either. :) Sorry for serving on the front lines in the battlefield and what job related inconvenience this might have caused.

What was I thinking when stitching up that poor SOB anyways?... Please accept my apologies for practicing in the capacity of a "nurse" as the job required me to do lol. Do you have any idea what it's like, or are you just a college grad without any such experience?

And yet you want to equate us at the same level as some CNA who took some simple 120 hour course? hahaha.. I don't think so. It's obviously apparent you have no idea if you somehow feel a highly skilled Nursing Assistant is somehow interchangeable with a CNA.

When was the last time you seen a CNA stitch patients, start an I.V., administer injections, do EKG's or draw blood samples?

That's just silly in my opinion.

Specializes in ICU, PICU, School Nursing, Case Mgt.
It's not our fault we served as "nurses" in the military either. :) Sorry for serving on the front lines in the battlefield and what job related inconvenience this might have caused.

What was I thinking when stitching up that poor SOB anyways?... Please accept my apologies for practicing in the capacity of a "nurse" as the job required me to do lol. Do you have any idea what it's like, or are you just a college grad without any such experience?

And yet you want to equate us at the same level as some CNA who took some simple 120 hour course? hahaha.. I don't think so. It's obviously apparent you have no idea if you somehow feel a highly skilled Nursing Assistant is somehow interchangeable with a CNA.

Dear Smartnurse

First I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for unselfishly serving to help keep our service men and us safe.

My son in law has been a Green Beret for 16 years now. He functions as I guess you would say medic but it has a different name.

He was trained by the Army in the classroom and then took over 1 year of clinicals 7 days a week at various hospitals here in the states.. When he was in Iraq, he WAS the hospital. He would go to the wounded, in combat and under fire, render whatever was necessary. He does it all, anything from sutures and trachs to amputations.

He will soon be deployed to Afghanistan. Of the last 2 medics there, 1 was wounded and 1 was killed....we are a little nervous.

Is he licensed in the US as a MD, PA, RN or CNA? NO...is he damn good at what he does?

Ask the many soldiers whose lives he has saved!

Does he want to return to the states to take a job away from a civilian, especially as a CNA?

I think not....bigger fish to fry.

Again, God Bless you for your service.

s

Smartnurse1982:

I agree CNA's don't insert Foley's and do dressing changes. There's seems to be a lot of confusion regarding, "Nursing Assistants" and their scope of practice. They are not in any way, shape or form, the same thing as CNA's.

They are similar to LPN's but without a license. Some states call them "Advanced Unlicensed Assistants" (AUA) and they register and must be accountable to the state's board of nursing just like RN/LPN's are.

Typically, these are usually nurses who have been assessed by the board of nursing to either have a foreign nursing credential or they have the necessary education, training, skill and capacity to function with respect to accepted nursing standards and required qualifications to function in a similar desired and equivalent capacity. ( military medic, nursing orderly, hospital corpsman etc.)

Hope that helps.

This post obviously at the end says medic,orderly,medic etc I did not know this was specifically talking about the military. Of course I know medics are eligible to take the lpn nclex. However, don't assume I don't know what I'm talking about. I had no idea you were exclusively talking about the military. Advanced uap's in my state are called "patient care technicians". They are cna's who just have extra certifications to do phlebotomy,ekg,etc

I also stand by what I said when the terms nursing assistant ,cna,orderly,nurses aide,all used the same way.

Maybe you mean "nurse technicians"? Point is,to the general public,and me,they refer to unlicensed personnel who aren't nurses.

It's not our fault we served as "nurses" in the military either. :) Sorry for serving on the front lines in the battlefield and what job related inconvenience this might have caused.

What was I thinking when stitching up that poor SOB anyways?... Please accept my apologies for practicing in the capacity of a "nurse" as the job required me to do lol. Do you have any idea what it's like, or are you just a college grad without any such experience?

And yet you want to equate us at the same level as some CNA who took some simple 120 hour course? hahaha.. I don't think so. It's obviously apparent you have no idea if you somehow feel a highly skilled Nursing Assistant is somehow interchangeable with a CNA.

When was the last time you seen a CNA stitch patients, start an I.V., administer injections, do EKG's or draw blood samples?

That's just silly in my opinion.

In Nc,they have what's called a "cna level 2" who can do all those things,the only requirement being they have to. Be trained by the hospital.

No prior military expereince is required ,nor are certification exams are required.

Even nurses assitants look down on other cna's?Wow,never knew it existed.

It's not our fault we served as "nurses" in the military either. :) Sorry for serving on the front lines in the battlefield and what job related inconvenience this might have caused.

What was I thinking when stitching up that poor SOB anyways?... Please accept my apologies for practicing in the capacity of a "nurse" as the job required me to do lol. Do you have any idea what it's like, or are you just a college grad without any such experience?

And yet you want to equate us at the same level as some CNA who took some simple 120 hour course? hahaha.. I don't think so. It's obviously apparent you have no idea if you somehow feel a highly skilled Nursing Assistant is somehow interchangeable with a CNA.

When was the last time you seen a CNA stitch patients, start an I.V., administer injections, do EKG's or draw blood samples?

That's just silly in my opinion.

Geeze, touchy much??

She was just trying to understand the job described. We don't have nurse assistants in my state (I'm assuming they aren't in SmartNurse's state either as she hadn't heard of them), we have CNA's, LPN's and RN's. That's not me undervaluing your experience, that's what my state BON decided.

Take a deep breath, no one was devaluing your experience.

+ Add a Comment