student nurse

RN1982 · Oct 19, 2008

1. Yes/No

2. When you work in a hospital, you will be required to met certain criteria in order to work or continue to work in a certain area. Nurses take CEUs to maintain their license but I don't think they should be required to take the NCLEX on a yearly basis to keep their license if thats what you mean.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2008

Yes, I think most nurses should start out as CNA's. Many schools now make it mandatory that their students be CNA certified, but they never have to work as such. When I was a CNA, the best nurses had been CNA's before becoming nurses. I'll have to see if I still feel that way when I start working as a nurse.

I agree with the above poster regarding ceu's to stay current.

lunden · Oct 19, 2008

what about work as a dialysis tech. i've been one for 14 years and i am waiting on acceptance letter for spring 09. i asked wcccd and they said that was fine, because they prefer medical experience. cause i would sure hate to have to be a cna with dialysis exp.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2008

I think the real issue isn't that a person needs to be a CNA, it's that the student needs to know that being a LPN or RN doesn't get them out of the "icky" side of nursing. One person I met doing the pre-reqs for my RN...she said she wanted to be a RN because, and I'm quoting here, "RN's don't have to touch poop." I burst out laughing, and so did the other LPNs in the room. I told her she needed to shadow a RN before she spent any more money. I mean, even if you end up working in a doctor's office, you've still got the clinicals where there's going to be plenty of poop, and even in an office, what do you do if you have someone get ill in the office, send them home dirty? Good grief.

I guess her patients will have no GI tract....

iteachob, MSN, RN · Oct 19, 2008

No, I don't feel like it should be required....and we don't require it at our program.

It can actually be a detriment in fundamental's skills lab.....lots of "that's not the way we learned it in CNA school"..., plus some find it difficult to make the transition from CNA (very task oriented) to thinking like an RN.

Nevertheless, having given my opinion on whether or not it should be required...... we have had some OUTSTANDING CNA's in our program!

NurseBrittney · Oct 19, 2008

I would not be a nurse today if i HAD to be a cna... I hate cna work, and would have most likely chosen a seperate career path. I love my nursing job, and while I still occasionally have to perform some of these task, it is not my daily routine, and its very tolerable.

keno138 · Oct 20, 2008

It can actually be a detriment in fundamental's skills lab.....lots of "that's not the way we learned it in CNA school"

i actually see this happening a lot, not only on skills check-offs, but also on exams.

CapNurse09 · Oct 20, 2008

1. Do you think that nurses should be required to work as CNA's before being accepted into a nursing program?
2. Do you think that there should be a continued competency exam every so often for nurses to ensure they keep up on their skills?

1. No

2. Yes

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Oct 20, 2008

1. no Just some experience in healthcare is good.

2. no You learn all the time on the job as well as take classes that the hospital signs you up for or that you sign up for.

As for NCLEX it too does not reflect the real world so I don't think any nursing exam that is made up for this situation would either.

algebra_demystified · Oct 20, 2008

I don't think so. Doctors aren't expected to work as a nurse before they're MDs.

scribblerpnp · Oct 20, 2008

One person I met doing the pre-reqs for my RN...she said she wanted to be a RN because, and I'm quoting here, "RN's don't have to touch poop."
Just last week I met a friend from awhile back who is in the first year of nursing school and who pretty much said the same thing. (?!?!?!)
My reply? "I have a MASTER'S DEGREE in nursing and still whipe butt and get thrown up on."
People like this really worry me.