Hi, I am currently finishing pre-requisite classes for a CSCC nursing program in Columbus Ohio. In the meantime I'm interested in working at a hospital as a Patient Care Associate or PSA
can anyone give me some helpful advice on getting hired. I've submitted online applications with no response.
I have a STNA license with out any expenrience
Questions
Will hospitals hire STNA's without exprience
What hospitals are hiring
how did you get hired
what are some pointers or advice to make myself stand out among other applicants
PCA jobs are basically impossible to get around Columbus. I've been applying for about a year now and still no luck. I was able to get a phone interview, but it was at a time when I had practically no healthcare experience. The only way I was able to get the interview in the first place was because I knew several people who worked there. According to my NURC 102 instructor, who works for OhioHealth, there are over 400 applicants for every PCA job that becomes available. I've been working as an STNA for about eight months now and they still will not even consider me. If you're really serious about getting a PCA job, I would consider getting an EMT-Basic certificate to boost your resume.
I wouldn't say impossible. I got a PSA job after I finished NURC 101 and I didn't have any health care experience and I didn't know anyone. I had just volunteered for a few months at Children's.
How long ago was it when you got your PCA job? My first year anniversary at the nursing home is coming up in a few weeks. The residents love me and appreciate the work I do for them. I really enjoy getting to know the people and developing relationships with them. However, I'm severely limited in what I'm able to do and what I can learn from that job. The nurse I work with wants me to seriously pursue a hospital job. I get turned down for every job I apply for. It's almost like there is a script on their website that automatically rejects my application every time I apply. Since my last post here I was able to go in person and interview at MCE, but to no avail. The person who interviewed me was really nice and even said, "we'll probably give you a call". I never heard from them again. Probably the fact that I'm a student might have turned them off. Perhaps that I work in long term care now, and have been exposed to a much different healthcare environment, could be a determinant. However, total care residents we send out to the hospital typically come back much worse than before. Therefore, the quality of direct patient care must not be all that better in a hospital.
I finished NURC 101 in December of 2008 and I started my PCA job at Grant Medical Center in June of 2009. I worked there until December 2009 and then switched to being at MST at Mt Carmel so I could expand my job duties.
I just got hired on at OSUMC, with my Nurc 101 & 102, no hospital experience but 7 years of patient care in an office setting. I just kept applying to every open position, and they called me for an interview eventually: Recruiter and then the floor Nurse Manager. They also knew I was starting nursing school in a month and a half. I applied at OSU, Ohio Health, and MtCarmel, and OSU was the only one that got back with me.
Part of me thinks it would be a good idea to stay where I'm at and the other wants me to go for it. I don't know what to expect in the hospital setting. My job at the nursing home is ideal for someone going back to school. I work weekends and have the week off. I was once on a rotation for a month but then I had to stop because it was getting to be too much. Nothing sucks more than to show up to class after working a twelve hour shift the night before. However, I'm not gaining the kind of experience in the nursing home that I could in the hospital. These HR people know I'm looking for more than just a job. They know I'm looking for someone to pay for school and provide a foot in the door. Perhaps they believe hiring me would end up costing them more money. I don't know. I'm sorry for ranting, I just can't help but think about this stuff almost all the time.
foreverLaur
1,319 Posts
I wouldn't say impossible. I got a PSA job after I finished NURC 101 and I didn't have any health care experience and I didn't know anyone. I had just volunteered for a few months at Children's.