How difficult is it to land a hospital job?

[SmallpoxNebula]

Hello!

I'm about to start my CNA course, and was wondering what it's like when you start looking for jobs.

I was looking at older posts on this subsection and many of them implied that it's near-impossible to get a job in a hospital right away without experience in a LTC establishment. Is that still this case? While I wouldn't mind working in an LTC, I was hoping for a job where I could get hospital experience while working on nursing school prerequisites.

Thanks!

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

It depends on where you live but i never received a call back for any hospital job until I had a year of LTC experience. I got my first hospital job last October.

[Paws2people]

Apply everywhere. My first (and only) job as a CNA is at a hospital.

[hookyarnandblanket]

To be honest? You really need the LTC experience before working in a hospital. I have rarely seen a brand new CNA come into the hospital setting and handle it well. I can think of one situation where it worked out.

[SmallpoxNebula]

Thank you all for the replies! I'm going to see how the course goes and ask around there to get a feel for what they recommend as well.

[OliveOyl91, BSN, RN]

It all depends on where you live. I've been working in LTC for two years and haven't been able to get a job at the only hospital within 40 miles of home. There is such a high concentration of applicants that they are able to be much choosier and usually pick people with at least 1 year LTC experience plus employee referrals or volunteer experience at the hospital. I don't have the time to volunteer... Anywho, my 1400-2200 job in LTC works perfectly for school compared to their 12-hour 0600-1800/1800-0600 shifts.

[Paws2people]

To be honest? You really need the LTC experience before working in a hospital. I have rarely seen a brand new CNA come into the hospital setting and handle it well. I can think of one situation where it worked out.

I had zero CNA experience before this hospital job. Three other hospitals hired me as well. I chose mine because of the Union.

However, I worked in an animal hospital for a decade. While I realize it isn't the same thing, the hiring hospitals all said they chose me for my long background in the "medical field."

To the OP: Apply everywhere and roll the dice. My job hires brand new CNA's all the time.

[Nurseeverywhere, CNA, LVN]

I did several years of home health but could not get into an acute setting with that experience. Most want a year of LTC or SNF experience. I volunteered at the hospital I wanted at the same time as working per diem at a SNF. I was also in school and have a family. Busiest 6 months ever but when I received that email for an interview it was totally worth it.