nursing assistants?

nursn4me · May 20, 2006

JaniceLM,

Congratulations for graduating nursing school!!! Nursing assistants generally provide direct patient care that includes baths, helping the patient get dressed, comb hair, brush their teeth,feeding them if they cant feed themeselves,taking vital signs,reporting to the nurse pertinent and relevant information that is not normal for the patient. May involve reading a letter to the patient they received from a friend or family member, taking them to planned social activities etc. Nursing assistants do alot of strenous work that can be very hard on the back and they dont get paid very much. Here in Virginia a nursing assistant can make anywhere from $8.00-$16.00, but to make towards the higher end you would probably have to have a fews years of experience as a nursing assistant. Why are you waiting to take the nclex??? Whatever you decide best of luck to you!

anonymurse · May 26, 2006

NAs get paid poorly. So do unit secretaries. I quit a higher paying job to work as NA and US PRN at the hospital whose RN school I attend (and where I'll work). What I'm losing in money I'm more than recouping in relevant experience.

We had a brilliant student go to a different hospital system that paid more and during her preceptorship she got chewed out daily for being "too slow." It had nothing to do with her RN expertise. What it is, she had to learn the little everyday things from scratch.

If you work at the hospital you'll work at as an RN, you'll learn hospital policies and procedures, more importantly, the unwritten values and routines of the hospital and its units, the idiosyncrasies of your hospital's software, and how the units habitually interact with each other.

You'll get to know little things like where things are stored, how to get things when you run out, and most of all, the go-to people that will save you countless hours of frustration and make you look good in your job.

So in the short run, you eat Ramen. But when you begin as an RN, you'll be calling most of the nurses, aides, phlebotomists, portable radiology, transportation, linen, housekeeping and cafeteria workers by their first names, knowing which doctors work with which others and what their preferences are--you get the picture.

In short, you'll buy yourself the chance to hit the ground running in grand and memorable style. You'll be getting twice as much done as any new hire, and you'll be advising them. You'll be able to help fill in for aides and secretaries for 5 minutes or a shift and think nothing of it, you'll have their respect for knowing their needs and skills, and when it comes time to supervise their efforts, they'll know you'll make sure they're taken care of.

Furthermore, you're building an employment history. My boss is the PRN dept nurse mgr. I give her 110%. She knows if there's any way I can make it, I'll be there in 30 minutes to help her out. She can't pay me more than she pays anyone else, but cash isn't everything. Worth a thought. Best wishes.