Selecting which nursing homes to work at?

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2012

My first nursing home job was at the lowest rated places in the county. I only stayed a couple of months, but boy did I learn a lot cuz it was a good learning experience. The most important thing as a new CNA is to hone your time management skills! It's totally different than the class (you might have one or two residents to care for, and you're paired in groups of two or even three). Good luck!

panjia · Jul 30, 2012

Great advice! Thank you! :) Yes, you have pinpointed exactly what I have been focused on --time management/organization.

How many days were you trained for your FIRST CNA job?

The past few months, my first employer offered to train me for no more than one week, even though they knew I was a brand new CNA. That one week took me a span of about 1 month to do, because the nursing home had low patient census, therefore low staff to train me. Actually I still have 2 more days to go, but the employer has not called me at all the past 2 weeks, so I'm looking for another part-time position.

Are you currently working in a hospital now? I know I've seen other posts about this topic, but if so, do you feel that working in a nursing home before moving into a hospital is better?

Do you think being a CNA has helped you become a nurse?

How long were you a CNA before going to nursing school?

I appreciate your help! :) CNA is a low-paying job, but, learning experience is invaluable, especially since I'm considering a nursing career.

breezycna · Jul 31, 2012

There aren't many options by me, so I was about as picky as I could afford to be. I applied everywhere I could, only had three interviews (two at the same place), then ended up at the county LTCF where I am now.

I wish you luck on your journey.

duskyjewel · Aug 1, 2012

Hi,
I'm currently looking for CNA position at a nursing home. I have several places I can apply to. In http://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search.aspx , I can check how the nursing homes are rated. Just to screen out the terrible nursing homes, I also check google reviews and such.
Is doing this worth my time or not? Should I just apply to everywhere, regardless of low ratings (i.e. may be inaccurate or not true)?
Main question is, although I shouldn't be picky, how can I determine for which place would be decent to work?

I did the same thing. I figured, I can't stop the terrible places from existing, but that doesn't mean I have to murder my soul by working in one. Didn't do me much good.... got one interview at a SNF/LTC and the ADON seemed ready to hire me, but then the idiot running their HR office completely screwed me over. (Claimed I had "insufficient licensure" when you can look up my certification on the BON website in literally five seconds. This was after telling me two weeks before that that she was checking my references and would call me in a week. She then had the audacity to accuse me of being irate and rude when I asked her how my app could have ended up in the circular file when she herself told me she was checking my references! Yes, I am still bitter incase you can't tell, but oh well, if her facility wants to keep missing out on great people like me because they choose to employ a moron as their HR gatekeeper, that's their business.) Took me three months, but I got hired by a hospital on a tele floor..... and I hate it. Leaving for a hospice job in two weeks. But I got six months of good experience here, and that helped me get the other job. Hospice won't even look at you without experience, and I have felt led/pushed in that direction almost from the beginning of this career change. Sometimes you have to pay your dues to get to where you want to be.

panjia · Aug 1, 2012

Thank you for your post. :)

Yeah, I'm going to apply to the my first-place choices, and then apply to everywhere, no matter how bad the nursing home might appear to be. Sometimes one can look great, but the administrative people can be disorganized...at least from personal experience.

panjia · Aug 1, 2012

Breezycna,

Thank you for your response.

Yeah, it makes sense to apply everywhere, to increase the chances of being hired. I've had about almost a week of training at this one place, but the entire time of this one week took about a span of one month. Now, I had been waiting for calls from them, but they never call. I've given up waiting, and will look elsewhere.