Need Advice On Job Opportunity

[Thepreacherswife]

well here goes....

i just got my cna in june. i currently work as a receptionist and my job is very boring. i sit in front of my computer all day and answer the phone. while i feel trapped by this job because of the boredom, i love my boss. she is awesome and the job allows me to continue to go to school (going for my rn) and take off whenever needed to attend church activities or travel. all this while i still get my benefits. yet the boredom is still there...

this week i interviewed at a hospital about 30 miles from where my husband and i live and got offered a job as a cna in the ortho/surg unit. my friend's step-mom is the nm. the cna job sounds great too, day shift (0600- 1830),will work around my schooling, i will get benefits and they also have tuition compensation.

i am young, my husband and i have no kids yet. the only 2 things about this new job that scares me is i live in an area of california where in the winter time the fog is horrible. very thick, and you can hardly see in front of your car. and this would be about a 30 minute drive from our house, early in the winter mornings with thick, nasty fog.

the second thing being, leaving the comfort and flexibility of my job now. the receptionist position is only about 3 miles from my house. i am just scared i will quit this and then be miserable at the new one.

i know i will gain lots of experience if i take the cna job that will help me during nursing school, and i also don't want to let my cna liscense go to waste! it just worries me, i won't be happy driving in the winter or the flexibility won't be the same.

your advice is much appreciated!!! :flowersfo

[Wren]

How about applying for job closer to your home that allows you to use your CNA skills? I agree that your cushy job is hard to leave but it isn't really challenging you or allowing you to grow. The hospital job sounds great but the commute could be scary....so is there another option closer to home?? CNAs are in short supply in many areas so I bet you can get other job offers.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[indynurse#2]

This is certainly just my opinion :) But, a CNA job on a med/surg floor is not necessarily going to be enjoyable to most people, and while it will get you used to being on the floor and around patients, you will be doing very little that you will be doing as an RN. It will be a job of bathing patients, cleaning up messes, handing out trays and taking vital signs (which while you will also be doing some of these things as an RN, it doesn't take long to become real good at it :) Again, this is just my opinion, but I definitely wouldn't leave the comfort of a close, flexible job for a CNA job that was 30 minutes away - commuting gets old, that I do know from experience :) I grew up in a preachers home so I know how important flexibility can be! Good luck on whatever you decide!

[SJW]

Is the hospital where you could work as a CNA one you'd like to work in when you're a nurse? If so, working there as a CNA will give you an advantage when it comes time to work as a nurse.

One more thing to think about!