Need advice to get a head start in nursing. Please!!!

[KyleMims]

Hi, I'm 28 years old and in my first year of college. I'm doing my prereq's right now at a community college and am on the path to get my AAS in Nursing. I'll transfer into Tennessee State University in the fall of 2012 for my actual nursing courses. I need advice on getting a head start to ensure or at least increase my chances of getting hired when I graduate nursing school. I ask for advice from nurses all the time and a lot of told me to shoot for an externship after my first round of clinicals, but would it be wise for me to Volunteer at a hospital to get some some hospital experience? If so, what kind of volunteer work should I be asking to do? Also, I've considered going through classes to become a nurses assistant. Is this a good way to get my foot in the door? I've heard horror stories of getting work right out of school and all I'm trying to do is get the best and fastest start as I can before I am enrolled in nursing school. Any advice from any nurses out there???? I would love to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. Thanks so much!

Kyle Mims

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

hopefully by the time you graduate things will have turned around. Vollentering and working as a CNA should not hurt you at all, as experince is experience.

However the people that were hired right away in my graduating class happened to do their senior practicum on the right floors that just happened to have internships and positions open up just as we were graduating.

I know from my class, that those of us who worked as CNAs during school - as of yet none of us have been hired to work in the departments in which we worked in.