Obtaining CNA license during ADN program

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Hello all,

I have been accepted to CSN's ADN program (yay!) and I start in the Spring of 2013...I have heard that you are eligible to obtain a CNA license after successfully completing your 1st semester of an ADN program but I don't know much about it and I have a few questions:

-How does this work? Do you challenge the exam or do they just allow you to obtain the license after you pay the fees and complete other required items?

-Would it be beneficial to obtain a (part-time) job as a CNA during nursing school in order to get my foot in the door/make connections to hopefully make the job hunt easier after I pass my NCLEX-RN? Or are there other jobs available to student nurses in NV (aides/techs....)?

Thanks in advance for any advice. Had I thought about this prior to being accepted into the program, I probably would have just taken a CNA course but since I am already accepted into the ADN program, I think that taking a CNA course would be a bit redundant and that would probably be WAY too heavy of a course load...

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I'm super glad I'm still working my CNA job while in school, though the time crunch is certainly a thing. I believe you just challenge the exam but it probably varies by state. At least in my area, "student nurse" jobs (like through the va) are reportedly easier to get when you also have a CNA lisence. Good luck.

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At CSN you will be eligible to take the CNA exam once you are pass the Fundamentals of Nursing class with a C or better. The process is simple fill out the application, which I have attached a link to, get finger printed, then wait for a letter in the mail stating you can register for the test.

Taking the CNA class is a waste of your time, because those topics are covered in Fundamentals of Nursing and none of them are difficult to grasp.

The real question you should ask your self is, "do I have the time to learn a new skill while in nursing school"? It may be a CNA position, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye and it requires time to learn. Nursing school is difficult. You have a lot of material you are going to cover and not a lot of time to learn it.

All that said, I do not recommend becoming a CNA during nursing school. My advice is that you dedicate 100% of yourself to school while you are in the program. Study, study, study and be the best student nurse you can be, because your future patients deserve that of you.

http://nevadanursingboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/CNA-application-packet.pdf

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At CSN you will be eligible to take the CNA exam once you are pass the Fundamentals of Nursing class with a C or better. The process is simple fill out the application, which I have attached a link to, get finger printed, then wait for a letter in the mail stating you can register for the test.

Taking the CNA class is a waste of your time, because those topics are covered in Fundamentals of Nursing and none of them are difficult to grasp.

The real question you should ask your self is, "do I have the time to learn a new skill while in nursing school"? It may be a CNA position, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye and it requires time to learn. Nursing school is difficult. You have a lot of material you are going to cover and not a lot of time to learn it.

All that said, I do not recommend becoming a CNA during nursing school. My advice is that you dedicate 100% of yourself to school while you are in the program. Study, study, study and be the best student nurse you can be, because your future patients deserve that of you.

http://nevadanursingboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/CNA-application-packet.pdf

I appreciate your advice! I will have to think about it over the upcoming semester and see how my workload is. If I decide to do this I have the whole summer to locate a job and hopfully learn how to do it, then only work part-time hours during the school semesters. The only reason why I am considering this is that my current employer (I work as a retail pharmacy technician) may not have me around for much longer since I'm no longer full-time and that is scaring me. I figured I could go down to part-time hours during the semester, but that may not be an option for me. I figured that since I will have to get a job anyways, I might as well get one that will help me in my future as a nurse. Unfortunately I don't have any financial assistance so working (at least part-time) is an absolute must for me.

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Almost all cnas in Vegas start in LTC. So, don't except to start in a hospital right after you get a license. Hospitals wont even look at candidates without 2 years experience. Heck, I'm in a hospital now and can't get a different hospital job because I don't have enough "acute care" experience. Not trying to sound mean or anything. Just wanted to share my experience. When I finished my cna, I thought a hospital would be falling over to hire me lol. >_>

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Thanks stargurl, I was thinking about getting my CNA in or before nursing school, but I think focusing only on school would be far better after reading this thread.

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