Help! Should I take CNA position at a lower pay than current job in order to get into RN

[RVTtoRNmaybe]

So, here is the situation....I am currently a licensed vet tech and have been so for over 15 years. I am wanting to go back to school to get my ADN. I currently make a decent salary and work overnights at a vet hospital. The opportunity has arisen for me to be able to go to CNA school for a local hospital (paid during school at minimum wage) but then once hired as a CNA a much lower salary than I am making now. I have 4 kids at home under the ages of 12. Is it really necessary to do the CNA thing in order to get into nursing school? If I do the CNA I stand a better chance at getting a scholarship to nursing school through the hospital. Either way I will have to work during nursing school. I just don't know whether the cut in salary is really worth it. Any thoughts? Thank you in advance!

[Seaofclouds, BSN, RN]

I suppose this really depends on the school you want to attend. Many of the people I went to nursing school with were not CNAs. Speak with an admissions counselor at the school you are interested in. If you want to be a CNA just to get in with a hospital and use their tuition assistance, find out exactly what the hospital's tuition assistance is to see if it is worth the pay cut.

[mirandaaa]

It just depends on the school!

Some make it a requirement to have your CNA license, but most don't.

I personally feel as though I gained a lot of knowledge about healthcare while working as a CNA, and that job really made me decide I wanted to become a nurse...but there are tons of great nurses that didn't have that experience prior to becoming a nurse.

Although being a CNA is rewarding, if you don't have to take the pay cut, don't.

One of the reasons I don't work as a CNA now is because of being extremely overworked and extremely underpaid (under $10 an hour, even after 2 years of full-time experience).

Good luck!

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

Your four kids >> CNA experience.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Sorry, but I wouldn't take the pay cut to become a CNA if I had four young children who depended on my income as their source of support.

I was never a CNA. Millions of nurses were never CNAs. Although the experience is helpful, many nursing programs do not require it.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Don't do it. If you want to work as a CNA, you can do so on a per diem basis after you have completed your first clinical rotation to get a feel for the hospital environment.