Senior nurse no floor experience besides clinical

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I'm a senior nursing student and have no floor experience aside from clinicals. I would like to see how many recommend me becoming a patient care tech. I must work full time to support myself along with school. What are the pros and cons and would it be worth transferring from the administration side of the hospital where I currently work to the clinical side as tech??

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You're a senior nursing student. Does that mean you will graduate from nursing school soon ish?

If you can easily get a job as a patient care tech that would be great. But many nurses, myself included, graduated with no floor experience.

I would have done better my first year of nursing if I had worked as a tech or CNA. But somehow I and my patients survived.

But your main focus, priority, should be your education.

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Yes. I will graduate in December and hope to be done with my nclex and in a RN position by February/march. I just dont want to feel like a deer in the headlights when I become a new nurse more the I'll already will be... I agree with focusing on school but I've managed so far with working full time so I feel like I may need the next step... I'm just stuck between a rock and a hard place lol

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Working part-time or PRN as a CNA is great for several reasons: you gain experience, get your foot in the door at a local hospital, and make a bit of extra money. However, it doesn't seem like it would be feasible to work full-time, attend nursing school, and complete all of your nursing school clinicals. The worst thing to do would be to over-extend yourself, do poorly in your nursing school classes, and be unable to meet your time commitment for your CNA job; if you upset your manager or have to quit, the hospital may not want to hire you as an RN after you graduate. It's better to do a few things well than to take on too much and do a lot of things poorly.

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Being a PCA was one of the best things for *me*. It gave me a lot of needed hands on experience that I hesitated in and lacked in clinical. I think since you have your foot in the door already working in the hospital, you don't need to be a PCA to secure a job there? But if you feel like you lack in hands on pt experience then it might be worth it for you. I know I'm going to have some deer in headlights moments when I'm a new nurse even after working as an intern and PCA!! Thankful for new grad nurse residency programs!!! Basically I think we will all be in the same boat just about, whether you PCA or not, as new grads. You'll get a lot of experience in your preceptorship too don't forget.

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