Is working as a CNA necessary?

adamRn79, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2016

Don't bother, none of the skills carry over and it will skew your view

Zyprexa_Ho · Mar 14, 2016

I have to disagree with the above poster. You may not do "CNA" tasks as often when you're a nurse, but they are still an important part of nursing. Other jobs can give you contact with people, but being a CNA gives you valuable experience dealing with clients in a healthcare setting. Necessary? No. Helpful? Yes.

Purple_roses · Mar 14, 2016

In my area, my friends who have graduated all landed jobs right away. Some had experience as a CNA, many did not. The ones who truly benefited from being a CNA first were hired in as an RN at the same hospital that had employed them as a CNA.

I was a CNA before beginning nursing school. I didn't acquire any medical or nursing knowledge that has really helped me in nursing school. It did help me become very comfortable in patient care, which gave me a leg up in my first semester. But now that I'm in my second semester, my classmates and I are in the same boat. If you're already in nursing school and you don't necessarily need the income, I would not work as a CNA. Just my thoughts.

mrsboots87 · Mar 14, 2016

This will be dependent on how saturated the area you plan to work in is. All of my classmates who were CNAs had jobs lined up before graduation and were working as an RN within weeks of passing NCLEX, myself included. Another decent sized group of non CNAs had jobs lined up or found jobs pretty quickly after NCLEX due to contacts they had or from inpressing the hiring managers during their preceptorships. Then the remaining non CNAs are still looking for job, buts its only been a month or two since passing NCLEX for them.

Basically, even those who did not have a CNA job were still getting jobs quickly. Not all of them, but if the ones who did get one answered here, they would tell you CNA is worthless in the job hunt. For the ones who did not work as a CNA, they would probably tell you it couldn't hurt. And the ones who were CNAs before will probably all tell you to work as one because of the almost gauranteed job at the end of the line.

But, if you plan to work in an area that is not incredibly saturated with new grads, then there really isnt any point now that youre already in school.

ps3114 · Mar 15, 2016

though I have no problem with being a CNA, I wouldn't was to waste time and money to obtain my CNA

If the time and money to get certified is your biggest concern, it might not really be an issue. I am looking into working as a CNA and once you are hired, the hospitals provide all the training, with no prior CNA certification needed!

I was happy to hear that because it will save me 6 weeks and $2500, and I will already have a job when I'm doing the training. It might be worth looking into whether hospitals in your area will train applicants, if the time and cost are your main concerns. Best of luck!

futurenaijaRN, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2016

I would work as a cna because most place of work do reimburse you after school, and the nurses when doing something cool, they grab you to watch and observe. It doesn't hurt to get your license, all you have to do is to pay for the exam. Since you are already in nursing school and have some clinical hours, you can take the exam without doing a cna class.

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2016

It's still pretty early in your education so I would wait it out a little bit more until you start to kind of decide what type of nurse you would like to be. Also, some states allow for the 1st year of nursing school to count as a CNA equivalent and you can work as a student nurse in that capacity. You don't necessarily have to run and get your CNA cert. However, nursing is competitive and the more experience you get (especially if you find something you really enjoy doing) and the more networking you can do the better. So, I would focus more on coming up with a plan in terms of how you are going to get hired before you graduate and figure out what you need to do to set yourself up for that.

In my experience, it is always beneficial to work at the hospital you intend on trying to get hired at. I am doing that myself (I got extremely lucky and it's on the unit where I wish to specialize) and it is helping so much. I know graduation and job seeking seems like a million years away but the more extracurriculars you have, the easier your path is going to be.

LVN fresno · Mar 19, 2016

I worked with new RN's that did and did not work as CNA prior to becoming RN. The difference I observed between the two seemed more on the person. The desire to care was what made the diffrence more than than the experience. All RN's have to be able to do what the CNA's do at some point.

allnurses Guide · Mar 19, 2016

There are a lot of threads about this issue and we all go back and forth.

For me, I was advised by my nursing mentor not to go get my CNA certificate and work as a CNA. She said the first part of nursing school will teach you all those patient care skills. If you are naturally a good team player and hard worker, you will be a good nurse regardless of whether you were a CNA first or not.

The added expense and working while in school to become a nurse was not something I wanted to do. Some of my classmates spent the summer before school started going to class to be a CNA. My mentor said, spend the summer with your husband and kids because the next two years would be a challenge.

I'm glad I followed her advise.

Some of the CNA's I worked with have gone on to become nurses and a few of them are now flight nurses. They rock! But the underlying issue is not that they were CNA's first. It is that they had the inner will to advance and be great at what they do.

I've also worked with RN's who were CNA's first who simply will not help with bedside care at all; they aren't team players; won't help the CNA's out if they have time. Once they left behind their CNA status, they don't want to go back.

What do YOU want to do OP?

nursemike, ASN, RN · Mar 19, 2016

I started in healthcare as an orderly, of sorts. My main interaction with patients was transporting them to tests, but I did learn some skills transferring from bed to wheelchair, etc., and when I had free time, assisting aides with ADLs. It was also where I learned I loved patient care. I took the job initially with an eye toward transferring to Facilities when a chance came, wound up in nursing school instead. I stayed on the same unit as a nurse, so that time helping when I didn't actually have to may have bought me some slack from those same aides, and really, there was no one on the floor who wanted me to fail. Not every new nurse can say that, although part of what kept me where I am is the lack of toxicity.

I've worked with a number of nurses who started as aides. (Our facility does not require CNA certification in most cases and will train on the job). My manager actively seeks nursing students, in the hope of recruiting new RNs. In general, it does seem like good aides become good nurses, and I think proving your work ethic as an aide may help with the transition. Downside, you find yourself supervising your recent peers, which can feel uncomfortable (most try to do *everything* at first, but you just can't).

On the whole, I'd say CNA experience is helpful, but not necessary. If the job is going to interfere with school, I'd skip it. But if you need to work, anyway, it beats flipping burgers (although any experience with customer service has some relevance).

mindofmidwifery, ADN · Mar 19, 2016

I would think it would help to get you familiarized and comfortable in the healthcare field and bedside care as well as get your foot in the door if you plan on working in a hospital in the future. I am not yet taking nursing classes but I know that I am going to be a lot more comfortable when I do start them having had a CNA job. This obviously varies person to person.