Should I get a job as a CNA while in school?

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2009

I would...I feel that EVERY nurse should be a CNA first. I think that it really helps you get a grasp on the basic concepts. like "why are we doing x?" cause they have y!

plus the connections may help you land a job after school.

lls9g · Sep 4, 2009

Absolutely. Working as a CNA will give you a perspective that you will benefit from your entire career. Anyone who refers to "tech work" being something they do not prefer to do has never done it and does not realize how beneficial direct care is on your patient care abilities. If you can get a job in rehabilitation, you will learn an immense amount and see just how beneficial you can be to your patients. I learned an awful lot more as a CNA than I did in school. I am now a CNO and prefer to hire new grads that have worked while in school. I do not hire those that do not have any healthcare background.

kitte22 · Sep 4, 2009

I agree, I think its a very good idea. I personally think it should be a requirement to get into the nursing program. I was a CNA for about 4 years before I became an LPN and I feel it helped me tremendously. In my program the first semester was mostly learning CNA stuff, and I feel if everyone was already CNA's we could skip that and start immediately with LPN stuff. Dont over do it though , working on the floor, doing clinicals and having class will get very tiring and overwhelming. Good luck to you!

Errn22 · Sep 5, 2009

I think working as a CNA while in school is a great idea! I did that for the first 3 semesters of my ADN program and even though I worked on a low-acuity med-surg unit, it helped connect everything in school. Plus many nurses will teach you things and let you watch while they do things like foleys, NG tubes, etc. Plus, a lot of hospitals will help pay with school. At my local hospital, they pay for the schooling and for every semester they do, you pay them back by working 6 months full-time when you graduate. I am in my last semester now, and over the summer, the same hospital offered me an externship in the ED which has been extremely beneficial! So not only does working as a CNA help you understand the things you learn in school better, but also with the economy being bad and nursing jobs hard to come by, it helps you to secure a job when you graduate. Good luck!

Destination1 · Sep 5, 2009

In my opinion it would be a waste of time. If you already have a descent part time job that will work around your school schedule I would keep it. Experience as a CNA is a good thing to have BEFORE you start nursing school but if your already accepted i wouldn't bother. You will learn how to be a safe nurse in school.

Bed baths and linen changes are not difficult skills to learn. As a CNA the majority of your time will be consumed doing those two things. Like I said this would have been a good experience to have before school but not during.

I was a cna for a time before school and after the first semester fundamentals I had absolutely no advantage over the non CNA's.

tokidoki7, ASN, RN · Sep 5, 2009

Being a CNA part-time or casual would be a good experience to have while you're in school. I'm a nursing assistant and I don't do bed baths and change linens all day. I work on a med-surg unit and I get too see all kinds of patients with various diagnosis, so I get to see everything. I'm training to be a PCT, so now I get to straight catheterize, do simple wound care, and do phlebotomy. When I'm done training, my next goal will be to become an advanced PCT and learn to read EKGs. The nurses I work with know I am in school and are very helpful in answering any questions I have. It's a total learning experience. Another thing is that 3 nursing assistants on my floor were offered full-time positions as RNs on my floor, so being a nursing assistant would also let you network and at least get your foot in the door.

Work in Progress · Sep 6, 2009

I think that being a CNA has given me a huge advantage over other students. The nurses and doctors let me watch anything interesting on the floor. I am now a nurse intern, so my scope of practice has increased and given me even more learning opportunities. I feel like I get paid to study. And in fact I do on some slow night shifts.

I think any CNA/tech job that you may have is what you make of it and how much you want to learn. I have been told by every clinical instructor that they are impressed by my time management skills and my comfort level with patients.

Also, my manager has promised me a job after graduation in a city that is highly saturated with nursing schools and new grads. She told me that any new grad RN resume that does not have health care experience goes right in the trash. She doesn't have time to read all of the resumes, so she eliminates about 80% of applicants that way.

chickapea · Sep 6, 2009

I think it would be very beneficial if you can handle the workload of school and work. I work as a CNA in a hospital and I learn a lot. It's a lot more than bed baths and changing linen which one poster above implied. I guess you can get as much or as little as you want from it. I take my job seriously and I have a direct affect on patient safety and wellness within my scope. I personally think it would be nerve wraking to be a new grad nurse w/o any experience working in patient care since it is such a huge responsibility! It can't hurt to have first hand experience in healthcare before becoming a nurse and if that's an option for you then take advantage of it. :) That being said, I know there are a lot of outstanding nurses also that had no prior experience before nursing school... I'm definitely not trying to take away from that or how hard they have worked to get where they are at!!

aec rn bsn · Sep 13, 2009

Just remember that bookkeeping to CNA is a big difference, as far as physical workload and the main goal is to PASS and focus on your studies. As long as it does not interfere with your studies, its a good idea. I had no medical experience whatsoever before I became and RN and I did just fine. I would just stick to bookkeeping and focus on school.