Should I volunteer or work?

It really depends on what job opportunities there are and what volunteers do in the hospital. I volunteered at the hospital in my town from age 14-17 and usually did things like bring specimens to the lab and walked around to find wheelchairs. Volunteers in this hospital were high school kids and elderly, retired people. It did help me get a job there as a CNA when I was in school but since I did it when I was so young and since the work was barely patient related, I didn't even mention it when applying for nursing jobs. Working as a CNA is good experience in many ways. You don't necessarily have to become certified. In my area, nursing students are generally eligible to work as CNAs once they've completed their first clinical rotation.

Although it would be nice to volunteer at a local hospital, I highly recommend that you work part-time as a CNA, tech, secretary, admin assistant, etc. within a hospital. This approach will help you in the long run when you are done with nursing school and get licensed because nowadays internal employees get first dibs on available nursing positions within any given hospital. This specific environment will also give you a better advantage to start networking while you're in the program and yes, this will give you the opportunity to work with nurses. Working as a CNA would be my top choice because the very first portion/months of nursing school covers the basics/fundamentals in which your experience as a CNA may come in handy. If attending a CNA program doesn't please you, try looking into secretary positions in postop, ICU, PACU, tele, or surgical units. You won't need clinical experience or certifications for that. Bottom line is get a job in a hospital and while you are job hunting, volunteering a few hours a week won't hurt. Good luck!

I live in Ohio & here, if you've completed 2 semesters of clinicals then you could be a nursing assistant at one of the local hospitals. Our BSN program that I applied to actually has this co-op where it's 3 credit hours(so u pay that) and get to work as a nursing assistant on whatever shift your nurse works and you get about $14 an hour...this is during your semester off during the program. I'd be going spring, summer and have fall off so that's when I'd do it. It's something to put on your résumé! Also, here our hospitals have nurse techs or unit clerks and all you need is a HS diploma & current CPR certification.