Mandatory CNA!!!!

rnmomtobe2010 · Dec 23, 2007

You don't have to work as a CNA, just take the CNA classes.

One of the schools here that I wanted to attend has a mandatory policy where you have to work at least 20 hours a week as a cna. The school I am currently attending, if you want to be excused form 6 credit hours of nursing classes, then you have to show proof of current cna employment.

caliotter3 · Dec 23, 2007

None of the programs that I applied to made the CNA certificate mandatory, but at least two of them gave you consideration in the admissions process for having it. I believe that it should be mandatory for the reasons others have stated. There are actually some people that would reconsider their decision to enter nursing once they see how hard the work is at the bottom of the ladder. And yes, no nurse should consider themselves above, doing some of these functions. It is all part of nursing. If the CNA is gone, then someone has to do it.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Dec 23, 2007

I don't think it's fair to require someone to have had a job in healthcare to become a nurse. What about traditional students who are attempting to enter right after high school? What if it is too difficult for someone to work and go to school? This requirement forces them to quit school for a period of time to get a certification and acquire the necessary work experience which puts an additional burden of time and money on the student. If their program is not enough to successfully prepare someone to become a nurse without placing all these upfront requirements for work and certification then they might need to re-evaluate their program.

I understand what you're saying, I guess I just didn't read the prior post carefully enough.

theatredork · Dec 23, 2007

That was a similar requirement for my nursing program. I was able to have this waived because I worked as a 'Patient Care Associate' at a local hospital. I think most programs offer this option. I was never a licensed CNA, but my experiences as a PCA definitely helped.

I think being a CNA/PCA also comes into play later in nursing school when you learn delegation. It gives you an idea of what can be delegated to them, and also you know what they're going through since you were once in that same position.

wooh, BSN, RN · Dec 23, 2007

I think being a CNA/PCA also comes into play later in nursing school when you learn delegation. It gives you an idea of what can be delegated to them, and also you know what they're going through since you were once in that same position.

I can generally tell the nurses that used to work as CNAs or PCTs or PCAs from the ones that didn't. Not just in delegation, but time management. I used to do vitals and blood sugars (not to mention all the "dirty work") on 10-30 patients as a PCT. Which was easy compared to getting a hall full of people up for breakfast every morning at the nursing home. It's made a huge difference for me as far as time management skills.

Nursing requires a lot of critical thinking. I'd rather nursing schools spend more time on that than on bedmaking. I'm all for the basic skills being out of the way before admitted to nursing school. I'm all for getting some work experience in healthcare before admission to nursing school. If you're straight out of highschool, work weekends or evenings while you're doing your prereqs.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Dec 24, 2007

My school didn't require you to be a CNA first. There were some students who were anyway and if anything, I found that in clinicals, they had a hard time trying to think like a nurse. They were using the CNA mindset because it was easier/came naturally.(ie focusing more on basics than on critical thinking, which is fine in the first semester, not so fine in the last)Also, I worked during school and made far more as a surg tech(about 18.00 an hour) than I possibly could have as a CNA. Even if it were just a matter of taking the CNA classes, it still would have been difficult to juggle with prereqs and work and it would have been a waste of time. I did just fine in school by the way. Then again, in the OR we get blood, mucus, feces, urine and saliva on a daily basis so I wasn't exactly squeamish to begin with!

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Dec 24, 2007

This is a way for colleges and schools of nursing to do less work without reducing tuition cost. By requiring the recruits to come to school with basic skills that used to be their responsibility to teach, they do less all the while their tuition remains the same or continues to rise.

Yep, you hit it on the head! And this is going to sound snotty, but it's not like making a bed is rocket science. Most people pick this up fairly quickly. If the basics are really that challenging for someone, maybe they should rethink their decision to enter nursing in the first place. Just my 2 cents.

awk5 · Dec 24, 2007

I just finished the first term of Nursing school, and I can't imagine having to learn my CNA skills on top of everything else I had to learn.

Just think, a 10 week CNA course on top of an already packed first term of Nursing!

There were several students in my class that did not have their CNA and they all struggled to catch up to the rest of us.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Dec 24, 2007

I think it's just another way to weed out the applicants. The school I got into that requires applicants be a CNA and have so many hours paid experience in Health Care. They got over 500 applicants for 110 seats. I can't help but wonder how many they would have gotten if they didn't require this.

I think this is a good idea. I wonder if schools that do this have a higher pass/completion rate??

Balder_LPN, LPN · Dec 24, 2007

I'm gonna guess that it saves time. If the entire class already knows how to make an occupied bed, use bedpan, help feed a patient, ect then less time is needed review these skills. Instead of two days of bed making (my school) it's one or maybe a half day which allots more time to skills not taught in CNA school.

My school is changing to this next year. Our first two clinical rotations where the same as CNA class, 1/2 the nursing students had done this before 1/2 had not. So we had to use two of our valuable rotations making sure people knew how to do basic care. With the requirement of CNA's first, we can progress quciker to med passes and other advanced skills, getting more practice before graduation.

3 more months

CHATSDALE · Dec 24, 2007

i had never worked in the health field before starting to school and i know that it was a detriment..of our class only three of those with no previous experience completed the course

Mexarican · Dec 24, 2007

Waste of time...absolutely not necessary...

Mex