jobs for nursing students

[Martina222]

Hi all,

I would like to ask anyone who is having some experiences or dealing with same issues as I do. I am a nursing student, graduating in December 2016, and I am in quest of searching for a job for nursing students. Because I am not that lucky, I was thinking to take a CNA exam around September, and maybe this would give me more chance to find something. I am very worry that after graduation, I won't be able to find a job as RN w/o experience. Do you think it is worth it to invest the time in studying and taking CNA exam 3-4 months before graduation from nursing school? if yes, where would I be able to get the books?

If there is anyone kind enough to advise me what to do, I would appreciate it a lot!!

Thank you

Martina

[oceanblue52]

I think this would depend on your state and the job market. In my opinion, that is a pretty short period between getting the cert and graduating. It would probably take at least 2-4 weeks to put in applications to CNA positions, another week to schedule an interview, a week to do HR stuff, 1-2 weeks of training, etc. *Sometimes* people will hire you on the spot but there is still some turn around to getting everything in order. It is likely you wouldn't even be off probation at a new job before graduating, so it might be difficult to apply for new grad positions. If you do go ahead and get the cert, you'll want to ask about this in your interview (if they are opening to hiring you in a few months as an RN).

[the_murse_factor]

Hello, I'm a student and also will be graduating in December 2016. I guess I lucked out because I landed two jobs as a PCT and Nurse Extern at two different facilities. I also don't have a CNA certification as they used my nursing school "experience" in place of the CNA certification.

My best advice is to look for opportunities that would allow you to use you experience in nursing school to become a tech or aide and look for some Nurse Extern positions in your city and state.

Good Luck!

[aprilrn2010]

I think it depends where you live. Many hospitals have new grad internships/training programs. Most long term care facilities will hire without experience. Do you want to work as a CNA? I think it depends what is around you and what you want to do. I think that nurses who have been CNAs have a better feel for nursing the patient as a whole.

[Martina222]

Thank you guys for your answers. I had three interviews already for nurse extern but still nothing. One of them, they told me that they wont have enough time to evaluate me since nurse extern position should start after 2nd semester so it can give them 1 year to evaluate if they take this certain person to new grad program....I feel sooo frustrated.....I just cannot believe that this is happening while seeing almost all my classmates working.

But thanks again.