New CNA's in the hospitals

yousoldtheworld · Sep 14, 2011

Work in a nursing home for a while and get some experience.

boogalina, ADN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN · Sep 18, 2011

Yes, you need some CNA experience to be considered circa hospital job.

CNA1991, CNA · Sep 20, 2011

Have you ever heard of Acute CNA training(also known as CNA II training or patient care technician training)? Experience is needed to work at a hospital, but extra training besides your CNA certification will put you heads above the rest of the other applicants. A lot of hospitals also require AHA BLS(American heart association Basic Life support certification) and it would look really good on a resume if you had any of the following(although not required):ACLS, PALS, and NRP. Working at a nursing home is not the only route for hospital work either, you can also consider in home health care and rehabilitation clinics. In my area, there is even a care center for children recovering from illnesses and in home health care for children as well. All count towards your experience and all will help you get valuable nursing experience that will land you the job of your dreams. I hope I have helped and good luck!:hrns&wlcm:

soxgirl2008 · Sep 21, 2011

I was hired at a hospital with ZERO cna experience. So it IS possible. I'd suggest getting your BLS because most hospitals want you to have it. Some hospitals are more likely to hire CNAs that are going to school for nursing too so putting that in your resume somehow may help.

Experience helps, but I know plenty of CNAs who were hired at hospitals without any experience. Just apply everywhere and don't limit yourself just to hospitals.

You could do ACLS and PALS...but even if you did pass ACLS you couldn't actually use it in the clinical setting because it's out of a CNA's scope of practice...ACLS and PALS are usually meant for people who have more health background (LPN/RN) than cnas

northernguy · Sep 22, 2011

If you cant find a hospital job, then work in LTC or rehab to gain experience. I worked in LTC for over a year and a half before also getting hired at a hospital. You might not learn as much as in a hospital, but you will still learn a lot more than if you are just going to school and not working as a CNA. You will see people with plenty of medical problems in LTC and will do many of the same things youd do in a hospital. You will also learn how to interact with patients. Since you have no medical experience and worked as a drafter, the more patient contact the better. You will also prove to prospective hospital employers that you can do the job, since it takes a certain kind of person to do it, its not for everyone. I've heard people say hospitals pay better, but not in my experience. My LTC job pays more than my hospital one.

Working in LTC will also build up your stress tolerance and teach you time managementand organizational skills that will help as a Nurse.

amc911 · Oct 26, 2011

Best bet is to try and gain experience in LTC, though you may be lucky to get a hospital job. I got my hospital job that I start in two weeks because I knew someone that put in a word with HR to have them actually look at my resume and call me for an interview. If it wasnt for that they would have never called me. Many of my friends from my CNA class are getting jobs at LTC facilities while they go to nursing school (which they will pay for -where i did my clinicals told us they would pay for nursing school) Good Luck!!!