Should I get CNA job during nursing school?

2bEQNurse14 · Oct 18, 2013

That's honestly something only you can decide. Both getting the job and what amount of work to take on :)

It's fairly easy to get a position in long term care, hospitals are harder to get into.

While it can be good experience and there is nothing wrong with being a STNA, school and a flexible schedule work wise should be your priority. If working a couple of short shifts in retail or food service fit your schedule better, do that. If you find a healthcare job that works for you, then that's great.

There are some people in my clinical that think that they are God's gift to nursing school because they have been working in long term care for several yrs. The truth is, the scope of practice is completely different between an RN and an aide. You are in school to learn, both basic skills that aides do and the skills and judgement associated with being an RN. Experience as an aide can help, but it isn't going to make or break the type of nurse you are going to be.

RNstudent13renee · Oct 18, 2013

I work as an aide in a hospital and I have to say that it is definitely worth it to have a job in a hospital while in your program. Most hospitals will require you to have at least one semester under your belt before they will hire you as an aide, and it might take a while for you to get a call back. If you need the money, in the meantime I would get a retail or food service job since those are fairly easy to snag and apply to a ton of aide positions at hospitals while you work. It took me about 6 months to get a call back, I applied to at least a 100 positions over that time period. You could definitely get in faster though.

If you feel like you can handle a part time aide job while in school then I highly recommend it. It will get you in the door and also get you familiar with the hospital environment much more than clinicals will. It helped me a lot with confidence at clinical. The one thing that is kind of frusturating for me was differentiating between my aide work and my school requirements while in clinical, because they are way different. The responsibilities of an aide are a lot less stressful than RN, but it is definitely hard work.

The hours you want to work, again, depend on you. I work 20 hours a week with no problem, sometimes more. If you don't want to be tied down to a specific amount of hours try getting an occasional part time position or a per-diem, if money isn't a huge issue. I would personally also recommend getting a hospital job, not a long-term care position, just because you'll most likely be in a hospital as an RN. That's my personal opinion though, long-term care can be a great learning experience also.

MandieeRN · Oct 18, 2013

Hi. I am in my first semester of nursing program at Purdue. So far I love it. However I have no prior experience in medical setting. Do you think I should get a job as CNA during school? If yes how many hours per week and where. Is it easy to get a CNA job? Thank you for your help.[/quote']
Working as a CNA really taught me basic nursing skills. You should go for it! You will be a better nurse managing CNAs. If your able to walk in their shoes and have the skills to help out when you can.your patients and coworkers will appreciate you:) I loved being a CNA! You get to see a different side of the patient. CNAs are always in demand. I'm not sure where you live but where I live there's always adds for CNA work. You have to do whats right for you but I think anytime you have an opportunity to master skills you should:)