Nurses req. to be CNA's before becoming a Nurse?

[Phoenix16, RN]

Hello Again,

Let me start off by saying that this post is not intended to offend/insult anyone! I want to hear peoples opinions and point of views on the matter, so PLEASE, do not have my head.

So, I have been reading quite a few post from nursing students who are now questioning if nursing is for them. Those questions are not based on their grades, its based on their experiences in the clinical sites. Some are grossed out by what they have seen, others claim they didn't think it would be like that, and more than a few don't think they are cut out for It, and do not have the patience to deal with "difficult" patients.

So this is my question; should nurses be required to be a CNA (for at least 3 months) before they enter the field of nursing?

Please remember, this is only a question not a recommendation in anyway. I am really curious because I have seen people spend all that money only to drop out because once exposed to the reality of nursing they find out that its not something they can handle. Also, it would prevent them from wasting their money, and or preventing other prospective students from getting into the program who would really love the nursing profession.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

My two cents: if you are going to require students do an additional 3 months to gain experience I would much prefer it be in the RN role rather than CNA role.

Sent from my iPhone.

[VANurse2010]

I beg to differ. Being a CNA will not get you hands on nursing experience, but it will expose you to the nursing environment and get you used to working with patients. Also, you will see nurses and all they do as they run around trying to complete their never ending tasks. You will see the disease processes in person that you learn about in school. You will see how each profession collaborates to help the patient. There is a lot more to be learned from being a CNA then just how to clean poo and vomit.

That all may be true, but that doesn't mean it's requisite for becoming a competent nurse.

[Carlalily]

My two cents: if you are going to require students do an additional 3 months to gain experience I would much prefer it be in the RN role rather than CNA role.

I agree, but I think hospitals and the nurses involved don't have the desire to let students spend more time in clinicals. Nurses on our floor acted like we were a huge burden unless we worked as CNAs which seemed to make them happy. Probably easier to supervise us as CNAs than as student nurses.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

Personally, I agree. When I was looking into RNs schools (back in the 1990s) the community college where I was applying required either a CNA certificate or an LPN license in order to get into the program. The traditional program had a three year wait, the LPN transition program had no wait list. After I finished LPN school, they dropped the requirement and went by GPA alone. Now, this would have been a quicker path, but, as the OP said, it can take the spot for someone if a student does not know what they are really getting into. The A+P instructor said that since they dropped that requirement, more and more students were dropping from the program the first semester than ever before. My husband knew someone that was going to LPN school and when she got to the fourth week and found out that she would have to give a bed bath, she dropped out of the program, no way was she willing to clean somebody up.

While not all nursing specialties require patient care, most clinicals will. Also, most companies that are not patient care related will still want the nurse to have X number of years experience before they will hire someone. Most of the places that will hire new nurses are patient care related.

One of the things that I thought it was good fore was overall appreciation for all members of the nursing team. Most nurses that have worked as aides are willing to get their hands dirty. I know there are some that won't but there's nothing more irritating for an aide than seeing a nurse sitting at the desk gossiping and then say to the frazzled aide that is tending to the christmas tree call bells going off all over the floor "room such and such is dirty again" (the c-diff patient that they just cleaned up head to toe 30 minutes earlier). Once somebody has experienced that situation first hand, they are less likely to do it to someone else. I agree, CNAs are way underpaid for what they do. I worked as one during the last month of my LPN program and while waiting to take my boards. I had a job as an LPN in that same facility the minute my license popped up three days after taking the exam on the MQA licensee lookup online. Also, many facilities offer tuition reimbursement which can reduce the out of pocket cost of nursing school.

All in all, what's three months? Especially if it can weed out the students that are going to drop out of the program once they get to clinicals anyway?

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I think it can be helpful, in that in my nursing class there were quite a few young women who were ill-at-ease socially +/or shy +/or embarrassed to get personal with a stranger's body. Some overcame this impediment and learned how to be kind and matter-of-fact. Others would blush at the THOUGHT of the mere possibility of being required to, say, catheterize a male patient. They didn't last long in the program.

I don't see that it needs to be a requirement, but for some it would be mighty helpful as a 'warm-up' exercise.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Here are my thoughts. Your idea is a good one in theory, but what you've laid out will go one of three ways:

1) Prospective student will get certified, interview, land job, get trained, work your mandatory 3 months and say "Oh heck no! This is NOT for me" and quit.

2) Prospective student will get certified, interview, land job, go through training, hit the three month mark and think "Oh YES! I was BORN to be a nurse". Will proceed with his/her dream while working as a CNA for the experience/money/connections.

3) Prospective student will get certified, interview, land job, train, get to 3 months and think" Yep, confirms what I thought, I want to be a nurse" and will quit the job to focus on becoming a nurse.

In 2 out of 3 examples, whatever facility hires and trains said CNA loses said CNA at the magical 3 month mark. LTC's in particular could become a revolving door of potential nursing students dipping their toe into the world of healthcare because of this silly requirement. Not to mention, the work of a CNA is very unlike what a person will do as a nurse!

My school required that you successfully complete the CNA class before applying, mostly so we had the basic skills of toileting, ambulating, turning, etc and could perform those tasks with confidence---they just don't have time to teach those things in nursing school!

[sjalv]

No. I echo the previously suggestion saying that if an additional requirement is added to becoming an RN, it should be additional hands on experience in the role of an RN. While working as a CNA may familiarize a person to the hospital or LTC environment, it does little to help one be a better nurse. I don't feel like a nurse needs to have been a CNA in order to appreciate their aides; that just requires empathy and not being self-centered.

[friggasdistaff]

My program (ADN) in North Carolina not only requires a student to have an active CNA license, throughout the program. It's my understanding that all NC ADN programs require this. It saves time in that the instructors don't have to teach basic skills. A nurse is always needs to be ready and able to perform the same skill set as a CNA. It also gives a nurse an appreciate of the aides!

[ClaraRedheart, BSN, RN]

I chose to work as a CNA after my first semester as a nursing student. I've had nurses tell me that it will not help me at all. I do think that it did... in learning time management. I also got comfortable in the hospital as a CNA. If you're a new nurse not used to a hospital environment, it's easy to trip over lines

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I ended up going into nursing because I had a job as an NA. When I started working 3-11 at a nursing home, I had no thought in my head that I'd become a nurse. I got a job because my mother said if I was living at home (age 19 or 20), I had to work.

[Graduatenurse14]

I know that working as a CNA helped me. I was now used to the lingo of the hospital, the crazy pace of a busy med-surg floor, saw how hard nurses work and I learned how to talk to patients, families.

I do think that RN's who've been CNA's are more likely to get their hands dirty in general and chip in in general- not just sit on their phone when their RN work is caught up.

[sjalv]

I do think that RN's who've been CNA's are more likely to get their hands dirty in general and chip in in general- not just sit on their phone when their RN work is caught up.

I think this has to do with one's work ethic more than anything. I've never worked as a CNA but as an RN, I know that my job responsibilities entail my own and those of anyone to whom I delegate (CNA's/LPN's). Also, if MY patient needs something, then I should be the one doing it if I am able, as I am THEIR nurse. CNA's are a luxury to a nurse, and I'll help mine whenever time allows for it. Nurses who do not assist their aides when they could are bad nurses, in my opinion. I don't often assign criteria to what I think makes a 'good' or 'bad' nurse, because it's pretty subjective, but I think helping your aides vs not helping them is pretty black and white.