RN grad to work as CNA...help!

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Hi guys, I have been wondering if i can work as Nurse assistant while waiting for my license. or what kind of work am i eligible for as i know i cant be LVN... Well first of all i am a foreign Grad Nurse but im still waiting for my eligibility to take the exam for NCLEX .it was supposed to be last month but its taking some time. i am currently here in CA and just being bored wating for my ATT. i am thinking of going to work while doing my review so atleast i have extra money for myself. if you have any knowlegde with regards to this or know the requirements, please help me out, thanks in advance.

:redpinkhe

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I am not sure that you can work as a Nurse Assistant. I was told that once a person has earned an RN or LPN/LVN they cannot be an assistant because the scope of their knowledge and what they have been trained for. There are things that CNA's/Nurse Assistants are not allowed to do that a nurse can and you may be tempted to do more than an assistant is allowed to do which would cause problems. Has anyone else been told this?

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Specializes in LTC.

I haven't heard that. If you're overqualified, so what? You just stay within the scope of practice for the job you're hired to do. During the clinical there was a CNA at the nursing home who was also a nurse at the hospital.

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I found the following on the frequently asked questions page of the michigan.gov site regarding nurse aides:

"17a. I have been an RN for years, but I would like to be a Nurse Aide now. How can I apply?

b. My LPN license was revoked. Can I become a Nurse Aide?

Federal regulations prohibit licensed health professionals from being registered as nurse aides. Even if your license was revoked, you are still considered a licensed health professional.

Page 5 - Nurse Aides

Additionally, the tasks a nurse aide can complete are at a significantly lower level than those of other health professionals. It would be difficult for health professionals trained in a higher-level skill to limit their activities to those of a nurse aide. Practicing higher-level tasks would be a violation of the nurse aide regulations. "

However, if you're not licensed it may not matter. Good luck to you!

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hey guys!thanks for the shared informations...greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in acute.

Hi There: I know my niece here in Maine was working as a CNA while she was waiting for her NYCLEX. She was already a CNA because here in Maine, after your first semester you are automatically a CNA. They told her she could work as a CNA at the LTC facility she worked at even after she graduated as a RN, BUT when she passed her boards she could never work again as a CNA because the RN overroad the previos CNA. I know kinda weird huh. Thats just my experience. I am a CNA in RN school. This is Maine. OH SO COLD. I cannot wait for summer.:typingITs 12 degrees right now BRRRRRR.:redbeathe

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When I started working at my hospital, I was in the Nursing Assistant Orientation class with two graduate nurses who had not yet passed the NCLEX. So yeah, I think you can work as a CNA while waiting for your license. I'm in PA though, I don't know if this is the same in CA. Good Luck!!!

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