Nursing and waitressing/food service industry

[nursefrances]

I was thinking about how many nurses I know who were waitresses/servers before becoming nurses. I think this comes in handy because you learn how to multi-task, how to work in a fast paced/stressfull environment, how to play nice with other coworkers, AND how to communicate with the public.

Anyone else out there work in this field before nursing?

Sometimes on student threads I see posts from students wanting to work as a CNA, etc. to get experience while going through school. Unfortunately it's tough to land these jobs in the current market. I think maybe they should work as servers instead. You get tips and you learn how to hustle/work hard.

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

Waiting tables might teach you how to hustle, but working as a CNA or PCA or tech or whatever-your-facility-calls-it is going to be a TON more helpful when the time comes to get a nursing job.

The classmates who got nursing jobs right out of school were the ones who were already working for a facility in some capacity. Even if you're just a patient-sitter or a housekeeper or working in the kitchen, you're an "internal candidate" and get first crack at all job postings.

(And while I've never worked as a CNA/PCA/Tech, the ones I've seen in facilities all learned how to hustle, how to manage time, how to prioritize, and how to be diplomatic to rude/demanding clients, too!)

[nursefrances, BSN, RN]

Waiting tables might teach you how to hustle, but working as a CNA or PCA or tech or whatever-your-facility-calls-it is going to be a TON more helpful when the time comes to get a nursing job.

The classmates who got nursing jobs right out of school were the ones who were already working for a facility in some capacity. Even if you're just a patient-sitter or a housekeeper or working in the kitchen, you're an "internal candidate" and get first crack at all job postings.

(And while I've never worked as a CNA/PCA/Tech, the ones I've seen in facilities all learned how to hustle, how to manage time, how to prioritize, and how to be diplomatic to rude/demanding clients, too!)

This is very true. All the nursing students I know who worked as CNAs obtained jobs on the floor where they worked as a CNA. They had proven their worth and that they were hard workers. Not all nursing student can get a job in the medical field though. If a job in the medical field is not available it is easier to get a serving job and you learn many skills that would be beneficial as a nurse.

[ixchel]

Former server and bartender here. I just made my resume for my first nursing job search and I realized that between serving and a former management job, I have all kinds of pretty, applicable buzzwords to throw on there.

[clarabow]

I too, was a professional waitress prior to nursing school. Worked at Red Lobster for almost 4 years..lol. I find it has helped me immensely with customer service skills (ie.."kill them with kindness") and with prioritizing tasks. I earned a BA in criminal justice during my professional waitressing years....couldnt do anything with that degree so I turned around and got a BSN. I was terrified of becoming one of those servers who had a college degree but was still waiting tables because they couldnt find a job that utilized their degree.

[nynursey_]

I'd waitressed for several years prior to becoming a nurse. I am constantly saddened by the fact that I feel more as though I'm back at a waitressing job slinging food more than feeling like an educated, licensed health-care professional. The culture we have created among patients in the hospital is sickening.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

I worked in fast food for 8 years 5 of which was spent as shift manager and store manager. Man you learned to put out fires everywhere and deal with demands from the bosses (cut staff, save money, due more with less) demands of staff and customers. I also worked in a grocery store while in school (more customer service skills) and worked as a CNA in a LTC and an ED. The places where I picked up the most time managament skills were the fast food job and the ED. Both incredibly fast paced, only one dealing with life and death, although customers at the the fast food place felt like their issues were life and death issues, which is where I picked up my problem solving deplomacy skills.

[Marsha238612]

I was a server for a couple of years at at fast paced breakfast restaurant. We has no hostess, or cashier. We had to do it all, it taught me a great deal about multitasking.

I hope it does help me when I become a nurse since I got used to running around and being pulled in different directions :)

Sent via my iPhone using allnurses.com ❤️

[idialyze, BSN, RN]

I waited tables and tended bar at 2 different full service restaurants during high school, and my first 2 years of nursing school. I then got a job as a CNA. The waitress jobs helped in my multitasking skills, and I got my first RN job on the unit I worked as a CNA. The NM just assumed I would work there when I graduated, and I stayed the 10 more years!

Of course that was in 1980, so times have changed!

[ArtClassRN, ADN, RN]

I think this is horrible advice.

While many non healthcare jobs offer good experience, there is no substitute for direct care. I precept a lot of students and the ones who never worked in healthcare have the toughest time - regardless of what their other job was. They spend of good portion of the preceptorship or capstone wetting their pants.

Student nurses who have worked in healthcare are already accustomed to the environment and the pace and get to start working right away on professional nursing tasks during a preceptorship instead of taking hours to change a brief.

A student I had for a clinical day last week (who told me "No, I don't work as a CNA, I work as a waitress because I can make so much more money") spent half of her shift crying because her c-diff patient's briefs fell down while walking the unit and they left a trail of BM for about 100 feet. This was during her final clinical of nursing school.

Students with CNA experience (generally) don't do this.

This is my experience overall. Yes you have CNAs who are idiots and waitresses who learn quickly, but in general the best ones - and the ones who get hired first - have healthcare experience.

[Lisalis]

I worked as a waitress long before becoming a nurse. I totally agree with you. At work the nurses would say that I am always multitasking and always wonder how I hold myself together in stressful situations. I have never put the two together: nursing and food fast. But its interesting now that I am putting them together.

[sjalv]

I don't think this topic is saying "get a job in a restaurant instead of a healthcare facility". I read the OP as saying, healthcare-related jobs are not easy to get, and if a student nurse is having trouble, then waiting tables is a job that will give you multitasking, customer service, time management, and prioritization skills while also providing a decent income. Of course working as a PCT would be better, but as a student nurse speaking, it isn't exactly easy to find a) a hospital that'll hire a student nurse with no previous healthcare experience and b) offer a position for part-time.

[TU RN, DNP, CRNA]

No offense to waiters/waitresses and bartenders, but I feel like this comparison is belittling to nursing as a profession. Many in my nursing class were waitresses or bartenders, and two of my coworkers are even still part-time bartenders. Sure you gain time management and communication skills in serving customers, but waiting tables isn't exactly a respected profession where you're inclined to use critical thinking and apply your knowledge. There already is a stigma surrounding nursing, perpetrated by the ignorant general public, that we are just some servants who bring meds and wipe up crap. Well when nurses themselves are spewing these comparisons publicly it isn't exactly advancing our case... just my two cents.