Pre-nursing student = no job?

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hello thank you for reading my post! any advice would be much appreciated :)

I am currently a pre-nursing student who really wants to get a foot in the hospital door but seeing as I'm not even in nursing school yet, are there any jobs that I can even qualify for??

My qualifications:

- CPR/First Aid cert

- 6 years office manager exp

- 70 wpm

- Computer literate

- Steady in a chaotic situations & I can multi-task/prioritize/anticipate/support like a pro

I applied for 3 unit secretary positions (which are rare where I live) but haven't heard back anything, it's been 2+ weeks so I feel pretty down about it. Am I aiming too high? I know I would do such a great job.. What are some other jobs I could do in a hospital?

Thanks in advance to anyone that responds :heartbeat

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Managers at hospitals have a lot of red tape to cut through when hiring people.

When I applied for a CNA position a while ago I didn't hear anything back for 2 months. I had completely forgotten about it until I got an e-mail out of the blue.

By the way, I also applied to a heck of a lot more than 3 positions.

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Thanks for the reply :)

2 months? :eek: Sheesh! That's crazy...

There were only 3 unit secretary positions at all the hospitals within a 50 mile distance of me otherwise I would have applied for more! Ugh.

Any other suggestions for another position I would be qualified for? I want to apply for all but don't know what for. I think my problem is that I don't qualify for much so even if I'm raring to go... I'm not hireable for anything which brings me to my original question: What hospital jobs can I do in my position?

Thanks to anyone else that posts!

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Try looking for a patient sitter position.

It doesn't pay very much but it may get your foot in the door. They usually don't require any experience.

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Specializes in ICU/ CCU.

Your story sounds very close to mine lol...I just finished up all pre-reqs and had been wanting a job to save up and put away for when I got into the RN program. I applied for 8 unit secretary jobs, 10 CNA jobs, 3 patient transport jobs, and 3 EVS(housekeeping jobs). I hadn't heard anything for months and after the last EVS job I put in for..2 weeks later I had an interview and got the job. Two weeks after that, I got a hospital sponsored seat (at the hospital I work) to start the RN program this Fall semester. Housekeeping hasn't been all that great, but, I got my foot in the door and have learned my way around the hospital, met a ton of the staff, and....I just had an interview for a CNA job 3 days ago and got it on the spot, I'll be transferring to the best "training" floor to work- I start in 2 weeks (very excited). What I'm trying to tell you is that sometimes, in order to get a desirable job you want in the hospital...you just have to work your way from the bottom up. Some hospitals, like ours, are union based, and can be very difficult to get hired on with. But once you're in, you're in. Good luck to you in your schooling and I hope you find something in the hospital to work with your schedule!!

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Specializes in Neuro, Neuro ICU.

My advice-

Start @ the bottom. Many of the unit secretaries in my area have their CNA. So could you apply for Dietary, housekeeping, linens? Registration or Switchboard? Once you have your foot in the door you can start applying for other positions within the hospital and making a good reputation for yourself so that when you become a nurse they'll hire you from within!

Or you could take a CNA course and apply as a CNA. you'll get tons of experience that will make you much more confident in your clinical settings while in NS.

Lastly, you could apply at nursing homes just to get into a health care setting, and once you get some time under your belt there, try applying for a similar position at a hospital.

Hope this helps ;)

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Thank you Supermotojen & afox for your input!

Sounds like I'll be working as a housekeeper for a little bit to work my way up but thank you for the encouragement that I won't be there forever and that it's only to get my foot in the door!

I will also take some classes like CPR/AED, Medical Terminology, etc to show I am doing all I can to beef up my resume :)

Good luck to you in Nursing school Supermotojen!

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Unit secretary. Also constant patient care attendant ( they are the person who sits with the crazy or suicidal pt to make sure they dont do anything funny). AKA sitter.

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Specializes in Infusion.

At our local hospitals all unit secretaries are CNAs.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/DOU/Ortho/Onc/Rehab/ER/.
Unit secretary. Also constant patient care attendant ( they are the person who sits with the crazy or suicidal pt to make sure they dont do anything funny). AKA sitter.

Really? I thought that was restricted to volunteers

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