Initial Employment

I'm not a CNA, although I have been involved in CNA training in the ICU. Our hospital hires CNAs who are in nursing school. They work full time during the summer and other school breaks and the requirement is one weekend shift a week (8 hours) during the school year. When we hire our new grads, we first look at our CNA pool.

Look on the HR pages of the websites of any hospitals you're interested in in your area. I'm not sure of the pay or how it relates to retail, so I can't help you there. Others have posted links to sites where you can look up the prevailing pay rates in your area, so hopefully one of them will chime in on your thread.

Welcome to All Nurses!

Use the search option and weed through the CNA section on here. When I was a new CNA, I learned a lot from this. I also always read my state's section.

Apply everywhere! Send flat copies of your résumé with a proper cover letter in a yellow envelope AND apply online. Sometimes it helps to apply in person if you can. You need to stand out, and just applying online doesn't always cut it.

My my first (and current/only) job as a CNA is in a hospital on a medicine unit. Yes, I was hired with no prior experience. It's not as rare as many say to get that "coveted" hospital position. I was actually hired by more than one hospital.

The biggest thing I tell all the people I train is to take their time with each task, that way you perform it safely and efficiently. With time you will get faster. When you have the time, help your coworkers, be a team player. This goes a long way...

It's important to ask questions if you don't understand something, OR want to learn more about it. Don't be afraid to ask the nurse. Many new aides are intimidated by the nurses; don't be. We are all there for the patient and on the same team :-)

I am a brand spanking new CNA and also a full time pre-nursing student. I was just licensed in October and started work last night. I wasn't very actively looking for work. I put in one or two applications through indeed the first week and let it dwindle and then about 3 weeks ago started putting in multiple applications and was called two days later for an interview. I have no work experience. I am in the North Florida area and I work weekend evenings and can pick up shifts and work doubles as needed at a long term care and rehab facility. I am receiving $11 hourly (min. wage is $8.05). This will allow me to have one day a week to do any studying since I will not have classes on Fridays.

So last night for my first shift I walked in and went straight to the nurses station where a few other CNA's were gathered for shift change. I probably looked like a deer in headlights. I was taken under the wings of a very well respected CNA but she had a very strong accent so I had to pick up a lot on context clues and just go with the flow and stay out of the way when needed. Be ready to jump in full swing! Make sure you bring water if you have a fridge or a locker. Pens and some scratch paper for vitals and to keep notes and pass codes and any kind of identification log ins. If the facility doesn't carry your glove size in every room find some and ask if you can keep some in your pocket because I had a heck of a time finding gloves and the too small ones kept getting holes and was taking up a lot of time trying to squeeze them on. Keep an eye on your times, even if you have no idea whats happening try to keep a general idea of the schedule of the facility and how you are being taught to do things in what order so that when you get off orientation you will have a general idea of how quickly you need to go and when your residents should expect to be at meals, bed, or other activities. I am going back tonight so it couldn't have been that bad lol. I think that's all I have for now. Best of luck to you!

Thank you all for your responses! I just landed my first job as a CNA in a assisted living facility. I started applying more and got a couple call backs within that same week. My prefernce is a hospital job but any experience is better than none. The starting salary is also more than I am currently making in retail so it's not all bad. I also figure that this job can be a stepping stool to get one in the hospital now that I will have some type of experience under my belt. I'm excited !