Male CNA's or STNA's?

[jazz404]

I'm taking pre-req's and I'm on the local cc's RN program wait list. I'm considering getting certified and working as a CNA for experience. Are there many males working in long term care facilities?

[BmtTXLVN]

We have 10 Male CNA's at our facility

[lindseyyy]

Two work at our facility. But I know of many more.

[djewel6]

Well being a Male CNA I can speak directly to the issue. Its not viewed the same as it used to be in fact some facilities and even Hospital Units prefer males (Pysch, ER/ED). Ive worked both in Long Term Care and Hospital settings, even Home Health, and while I prefer hospital, It wasnt a bad experience working LTC either. I orginally started out as in LTC while getting my CNA in NC. Here in VA where I live now the VA Medical Center actually has more Male CNAs then females if you can believe it (at least according to a couple of my LPN classmates who work there). Any experience you can get prior to starting Nursing classes is a bonus and will help you along the way in fact if anything it will likely make it easier since the initial core circulum will in fact be a review for you (IE Vital Signs, Ambulation of patients, etc).

David S Jewel

VA CNA, NC CNAII, LPN Student Class of 2008 ECPI Techincal College

[jazz404]

Thanks for the replies. From what I'm hearing, I think I will go ahead with CNA training and hopefully land a job in an LTC. I'd really like to have the patient care experience before I start my RN program.

[JLam5078]

Male CNA here too. Most Hospitals prefer that you have LTC experience before they'll consider hiring, but that's not always the case. Hospitals want you broken in to the sights and smells in the slightly less critical chronic environment so that you'll more easily tolerate the acute environment. I went straight from CNA-I into CNA-II with my facility and I'm really enjoying it. By the way, when hospitals see that you're taking level II training, they're more interested. But be ready, most LTC environments are a little abusive to the CNA. Don't become a Hoyer lift in tennis-shoes for the ladies, but do your part.

[november17, ASN, RN]

I just wanted to throw out that I did the same thing you are thinking of doing. I'm male and in my last semester of RN school right now. I did CNA training and worked as a CNA in a nursing home in the interim between pre-reqs and the RN stuff (spent a year on the waiting list :angryfire ).

I found the experience very helpful when clinicals rolled around. Since CNA work is more or less basic nursing, it made the first semester of RN school a breeze. I was very comfortable and used to handling patients; plus any qualms I had about "getting my hands dirty" were long gone.

If your waitlist is anything like mine was, you'll get a good year of experience as a CNA in LTC. You'll be gold for any HR dept/nurse manager that does hiring - especially if you want to jump over to a hospital. Plus it will look good on your RN resume and make finding a summer job very very easy if you decide to do an externship.

I was the only male that worked my shift at the LTC facility where I worked, but there were some other males around on other shifts. Being a male was never a problem though, and I've found that it was easier for me to complete some of the tasks that the female CNAs were unable to do. Like moving heavier immobile patients, and two person transfers were often only one person when I did them (I lift weights and had a lot more strength than a lot of my coworkers).

Being a male can be very advantageous in a LTC facility!