Question for nurses from a student

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

I have been a stay at home mom for 8 years and haven't really worked in 12ish years more than little odd jobs here and there. I did work as a teaching assistant one year at my son's preschool a couple of years ago.

So, I am thinking of either volunteering or finding a part-time job. Do you all think that a volunteer position at the local hospital 4 hours a week would help me to be employable once I am in nursing school hopefully next fall. I hope to work as a CNA during the summer in nursing school, if they hire seasonal employees. Will facilities hire a CNA during the summer only? I really don't feel like I can do more than 4 hours right now with school and family.

I would appreciate your thoughts!

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I would go the CNA route vs. the volunteer route. If your time is that tight, you don't want to spend it working for free. Plus working with pts/residents will be more helpful for preparing you to be a nurse I think. I don't know if all schools are the same, but I was able to waive Basic Nursing Skills I lab b/c I was a CNA already.

I don't know about seasonal work, but places do hire casual/per diem/PRN staff. Every place is different as far as minimum required hours. The last place I worked PRN required us to work a minimum of 3 shifts every 6 weeks, plus two holidays per year, but then you could pick up as much as was available (as long as it didn't go into OT) whenever it worked for us. So if you did that you could just work the minimum during the school year and extra during the summers.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

I agree that a paid position is much better as you will have more access to actual situations. Due to confidentiality laws we are prohibited from putting volunteers in certain areas; areas where a paid person would learn.

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

Thanks for the info. I am not a CNA now and haven't been seriously employed in close to 12 years. So, I was thinking if I volunteered now, it would help me find a CNA position during the first summer after my first year of nursing school. Right now, since I haven't worked in a long time, I am not sure how employable I am. I was hoping that if I volunteered at one of the local hospitals that I would be more employable especially if I apply at a hospital where I previously volunteered. Does that make sense?

I could try to find a job too, I think I qualify as a unit secretary or sitter. I use to be a pharmacy tech but didn't get certified. Anyway, I couldn't work too many hours, I guess I can call and find out how many hours a person has to put in PRN.

So, do most PRN personnel have the option to turn a job down if they work a minimum of hours? I was thinking I would have to take a job if it was if working in PRN position. However, if I only have to work a minimum number of hours it might be doable.

[treeye]

CNA definitely

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

those are HR questions. We have prn which has little or no comittment and then part time which has some comittment but also benefits. Almost any position is good, but in a nursing department is best. Also consider monitor tech. We train ours and that means they do not have to have experience.

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

Classicdame, I see that you are from Texas. Which hospital system are you referring to that trains monitor techs? That is a great idea if I can find one nearby and I am also in Texas.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure what the market is like now, but I found it pretty easy to get CNA jobs when I was one. That was my first "real" job after high school--my only employment previously had been as a church organist which I did my Jr. and Sr. yrs of high school. I worked with kids younger than I was, I worked with farm wives, I worked with 40-something divorcees who had been SAHMs when they were married.

How the PRN positions I've held worked was I gave the scheduler the days I was available, and they scheduled me. Or, she would tell me if there were days she was short and asked if I wanted any of those. They sometimes called to see if I could come in and cover sick calls, but no you don't have to come in when called if it wasn't agreed upon already.

[RNperdiem, RN]

I also worked CNA per diem while I was a student. The minimum requirements were pretty low. I could ramp up my hours to full-time hours during the break times, but I could also work a shift or two a week when I got busy.

The money is handy too.

My experience as a volunteer taught me that volunteers are invisible.

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

So, should I try to find a PRN position now or just wait until after a semester of nursing school and then find a job as a PRN CNA? Since I haven't worked in so long, I was worried I may have a hard time find employment.

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

Maybe I'm not understanding correctly, but if you only want to work 4 hours a week I don't think you would even be able to find PRN work. I can't foresee any CNA position that wouldn't want someone to work at least a full shift.

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

I could work a full shift, if I only had to do it every couple of weeks. However, volunteering requires a minimum of 4 hours per week as I was reading on the local hospital websites.