New Home Health Aid Wants to Transfer in to an LTC - Best Way to go about it?

[JennyFields]

hello!

there is wealth of information here, but i have some specific questions i hope you good folks will help a girl out with. i posted something similar in ohio nurses but i think i will get better responses here.

i've been doing home health work for about five months now, however, my agency hasn't been able to keep me above twenty hours a week most of the time (when i signed on for full time)--and i'm working 7 days a week! the intimate atmosphere and autonomous work place is great in some respects, but the erratic hours and low over all pay just isn't cutting it.

plus, so much of what i'm doing (with some exceptions) is glorified house cleaning. i want patient experience that will help prepare me for nursing school and then working as an rn. i'm in my mid-twenties with a ba in english and am taking pre-recs at a cc so i can enter an accelerated bsn program sometime in the future. thus, moving out of home health would be good for my professional growth in that area as well.

plus, i'd like a chance to learn on my feet and "never be bored," so any advice would be appreciated.

i have some questions if you good people would be gracious enough to lend me your experience.

questions:

what is the best way to go about getting a cna job at a nursing home? i'm in columbus, oh if that makes a difference.

i know there are lots of companies that offer the training in preparation for the state test and "claim" that they hook you up with jobs at the end. is this true or just marketing?

i know i could get the class through the local community college but without the guaranteed job help. are there advantages of going through the community college as opposed to a company?

should you approach a ltc facility before or after you start your class? i hear some nursing homes have their own cna classes in house that they want their people to go through. is that true?

is it true that a nursing home has to reimburse you for your cna training?

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i'm a hard worker with an education with eight years of mostly uninterrupted work experience with great references and willing to work any shift. i just want to get my career off the ground in the best way possible. nursing school isn't going to hand me a job on a silver platter (neither will a cna class) so i have to be working to get experience and professionalize now if i want to make this happen for me.

thank you for your advice, and i'll look out via pm in case someone has something they want to pass on privately.

thank you again. you're all so very helpful on here.

jf

[WannaBNursey, ADN, ASN, RN]

I wish I would have read your post first! I am having the exact same problem (I have CNA certification) but I'm trying to break into the hospital setting.