Trying to get into the hospital

[infinite0meow]

(First post here! Woooo!~ )

I just need to let off some steam. So I'm working on my prereqs for nursing school and am almost finished, working in the mean time. Anyway, I had a customer come in and I chatted with her for a while and it turned out she worked for the hospital system. She gave me her card and was trying to help place me in a PCT position. So the recruiter for the hospital I wanted to go to, who was under the lady who gave me her card) told me I needed a CNA certification and to talk to her after I got it. So I kept her updated the whole way, what I was doing, when my test was, etc.

Fast forward a couple of months, I have my state certification and I got back in touch with her. She pretty much told me she couldn't offer me a position because I didn't get the training from a program accredited by a certain organization. That I would need a year at a facility in order to qualify.

That's well and good, I understand needing certain experience, etc in order to work in a hospital. But... you knew I had no experience as a CNA and you didn't tell me that I needed to follow a certain organization. I still don't know what that organization is. Maybe could you have mentioned this before I spent $500 in courses, certifications, background checks, and exams?!?

[Missingyou, CNA]

I'm guessing that was just an excuse on the recruiters part.

Even if you did go to that particular training program, I would bet you will still need 6 months to a year in long term care experience.

It is the rare opportunity that you get into a hospital without that experience.

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

Before I had experience I had my CNA and I applied to so many hospitals jobs to no avail.

After about a year of getting experience in a nursing home I did another round of applications and got about 4 offers from two different hospitals.

[verene, MSN]

I'm guessing she, she liked you and was interested in you but can't offer you a job with out experience and the bit about the program not being right is more an excuse for her not remembering experience requirements while talking to you. Almost no hospital system in my area will hire with out a minimum 6 months healthcare experience and realistically want 12 months. If they are union facilities the HR staff may not have much if any leeway in hiring applicants who don't meet the written standards.

While it is frustrating on your end to feel you had a job already lined up before training when you didn't, you do now have that training done and can start a new career even if it isn't at this particular hospital. For future employment talks consider yourself forewarned - you don't have the job until you have it in writing.