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Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hi everybody,

I'm going through a dilemma and I need help. Here's the deal I'm a college student studying Accounting and planning on going into the financial service field when I graduate from college in just a couple of years. Now here it is, I was just discharged from my last job as a service transaction specialist at a well known bank. because I am still in school any job that I take on will be just that..a Job, not a career. I want to get into the medical field because of money, really. and the hours will allow me to earn a good salary for someone my age, with very little expenses. (

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Specializes in RN- Med/surg.

I hate to say it...but I don't think anyone should be a CNA if your heart isn't in it. It's not a glorious job, and it really doesnt pay all that well. It's extremely hard, unappreciated, grueling work. There are great CNA's and having been one and worked with those that hated it...my pet peave is CNA's who don't care.

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Specializes in LTC.

I never thought I would like being a CNA, once I started working as one I loved it. So I wouldnm't discount the work until you tried it out.

CNAs can get jobs just about anywhere and there are a lot of places that are hurting for CNAs. One thing to note is that you don't always get the hours you want right away. You occassionally have to stay on a less desirable shift until one you want opens up.

Money however, isn't always the best. Check out salary.com to see what the average is for CNAs in your area. Don't be surprised if they make very little. Also check out the 'how much do you make' thread in this forum.

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April, I completely understand where you are coming from. It's not that I don't care or that I won't care, but I work well with people and am a very caring person. So you don't have to worry about me being "careless" about my job and particularly about the welfare of my patients. But this is also a reason why I'm asking about phlebotomy, there's a 80 hrs class offered at my college and to be honest I'd rather do that, but like I said I don't think the job outlook will be there for me, especially with 0-no experience whatsoever.

Casi, money is not necessarily an issue. I live at home with my parents and like I said a >20000 salary wouldn't hurt me much. I'll be fine on a $800-$1000 monthly income.

Do you guys think I can still pursue phlebotomy or just jump deck and take the cna class instead?

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i think you should just go for the cna class. in most areas, you'll always have a job and will pretty much be able to pick your hours. it sounds like the sure thing. you can always go back and take phlebotomy classes later in the cna thing doesn't work- right?

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Specializes in LTC.

The CNA job outlook is definitely better than the others you listed. They are very forgiving with school schedules and other needs as far as I'm concerned -- they always need CNAs which is why they try to treat us so well, what with paying for nursing school, etc.

I'm a CNA and looking into getting phlebotomy training as well, I hear it's a great combination for getting a hospital job that comes with a nice pay increase. And LTCF and hospital jobs are SO different.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I would do both, the CNA and phlebotomy class. The focus in health care is multi-tasking and the more a CNA can do, the better the outcome. If I had to select which course to take first, then, I would say CNA, because in most cases, the outlook for full time employment is better than the phlebotomy alone. Also, most people are very nervous drawing bloods for the first time, and each person is NOT easy to obtain a blood sample from. Some phlebotomy agencies may not keep you on if you are not drawing sufficient amounts of samples.

I can concurr with others, though, that if your heart is not in it, this may not be a great selection. You will never know until you actually try, and bottom line is that as long as you provide safe care, it wouldn't make a difference. However, it can be a labourous, smelly, and tedious job that can add wear and tear to your body. It can also be thankless, because patients, other aides and even nurses may be rude and unfeeling. I did it for many years before I became an LPN. I enjoyed it more times than not, but I was tired. And, I am even more tired as a nurse. Good luck.

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I had friend who, like you had a financial services background and in college she took a job as a CNA to pay the bills. The schedule and pay seemed to work for a college student. Like you, she's also a caring person by nature. She ended up changing her career aspirations and now she's an RN.

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