Need to work while earning BSN...Advice

[dontknowwhen]

Hi Everyone,

I start pre-reqs for BSN this Fall 05 and should be finished by Summer/Fall 06. I would not be eligible to apply for my program of choice until Spring 07 which gives my about two years.

I NEED to work and would like to get some nursing/hospital experience during this time. Would it make any since to become an RN through a diploma program so that I am able to work as an RN during school? Or does that not make any since at all?

All advice or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

I don't know what area of the country you are in, but I believe that in most areas you have to be state certified to be a CNA these days. If you want to get into patient care look for a local nursing home that will hire and train you. You will have to call them and ask if they do this. You will need to sit with the Yellow Pages and some paper to take notes some morning or afternoon--this will be a project. Now that we are going into the summer, it is a good time to do this. Some states allow nursing homes to do this as long as you take the certification exam within a certain amount of time. Working as a CNA in a nursing home is about the most basic kind of nursing care you can learn to give. It is also very, shall I say, challenging work.

I don't think you are going to find much in the way of a job in actual hands on patient care without some kind of training. The next best thing would be to check the job listings of the local hospitals and nursing homes. Turn over in nursing homes is high so if you can make an impression on someone in one of them you can get your foot in the door. They will love you if you can work weekends. Let them know you are a nursing student and dress, talk and act nicely and you'll make a good impression with them. One of the biggest problems that nursing homes have with employees is attendance. So, if you can convince them you will show up for work on time as scheduled you just may have an opportunity.

You might be able to get a clerking or office job of some sort in a hospital. Here's some insider information for you. Hospital job openings are not normally advertised in the newspapers until they are really desparate to get a particular position filled. Many hospitals have a job line which is a recorded message listing all their available job openings. If they don't have a job line they will probably have a bulletin board posting outside their Personnel Office that lists all their available open positions. In today's world many hospitals have websites and may list their open positions and take applications on line. You can get a list of your local hospitals partly in the Yellow Pages or by going on line with your state hospital association and searching for that information. I would stay away from the big commercial employment agencies at first as they are mills. They will take your resume, interview you and add your file to a stack of other resumes.

I wasn't aware that there were any diploma schools still in operation. I thought they had all been phased out. The next quickest way would be to get an A.A. or A.D.N. However, having gone that route it took me another 6 years to finish my B.S.N. I ended up having to re-take all my sciences since the university had a rule that they had to have been taken within 10 years. My experience was that once I started earning money as an RN I also started collecting and paying off debts. You're going to want to get a car and a nice apartment and the list of enticements once you have some money in your pocket goes on and on. These things made it a lot harder for me to get back to school. Take the advice of an old baby boomer--go for your B.S.N.

Good luck to you. :redbeathe