Typical part time hours for hospital CNAs?

Cat365 · Sep 3, 2016

I don't know about other hospitals, but when I was hired I contracted to work a certain number of hours. If they needed help beyond that they asked for volunteers and they usually get them. I was not required to work beyond my contracted hours, but I was free to do so if I chose. I have never heard of a patient tech being mandated to work over. I was not a nurse.

RNperdiem, RN · Sep 3, 2016

A couple of things come to mind.

When you say that being a CNA will help you get into nursing school, are you sure about that? When I applied, my CNA experience was dismissed with a wave of the hand when the nursing school counselor told me that they admit strictly based on grades and test scores. all of the community colleges I applied to told me that. If this is holding you in this job, you might want to double check.

Secondly, have you considered going to per diem CNA status? If you work somewhere that employs a lot of CNAs like a hospital, there is usually plenty of work available. You might more control over your schedule, which is most important for a student. I went per diem, paid for my own benefits and scheduled myself mostly weekends and the occasional evenings. When school was out, I could increase my hours and when things got busy I dropped back. As long as the minimum work hours were worked, everyone was happy.

Sour Lemon · Sep 3, 2016

A couple of things come to mind.
When you say that being a CNA will help you get into nursing school, are you sure about that? When I applied, my CNA experience was dismissed with a wave of the hand when the nursing school counselor told me that they admit strictly based on grades and test scores. all of the community colleges I applied to told me that. If this is holding you in this job, you might want to double check.
Secondly, have you considered going to per diem CNA status? If you work somewhere that employs a lot of CNAs like a hospital, there is usually plenty of work available. You might more control over your schedule, which is most important for a student. I went per diem, paid for my own benefits and scheduled myself mostly weekends and the occasional evenings. When school was out, I could increase my hours and when things got busy I dropped back. As long as the minimum work hours were worked, everyone was happy.

I second all of that.

ChipotleNurse · Sep 3, 2016

A couple of things come to mind.
When you say that being a CNA will help you get into nursing school, are you sure about that? When I applied, my CNA experience was dismissed with a wave of the hand when the nursing school counselor told me that they admit strictly based on grades and test scores. all of the community colleges I applied to told me that. If this is holding you in this job, you might want to double check.
Secondly, have you considered going to per diem CNA status? If you work somewhere that employs a lot of CNAs like a hospital, there is usually plenty of work available. You might more control over your schedule, which is most important for a student. I went per diem, paid for my own benefits and scheduled myself mostly weekends and the occasional evenings. When school was out, I could increase my hours and when things got busy I dropped back. As long as the minimum work hours were worked, everyone was happy.

Since the nursing program I am applying for only accepts about 96/1000 applicants, they advise applicants to have some type of job related experience whether it be CNA experience or volunteer experience. While GPA, grades, a personal statement, and a recommendation latter (they don't require applicants to take any tests) are very important in their criteria, they're also looking at things that can help an applicant stand out, and show that they are actually passionate about nursing. This was all information I received at their information session by the way.

ChipotleNurse · Sep 3, 2016

I don't know about other hospitals, but when I was hired I contracted to work a certain number of hours. If they needed help beyond that they asked for volunteers and they usually get them. I was not required to work beyond my contracted hours, but I was free to do so if I chose. I have never heard of a patient tech being mandated to work over. I was not a nurse.

yeah that's exactly the type of job I am looking for. I was told anybody who works below 40 hours a week is part time. But let's be honest... 32 hours is just one 8 hour shift away from being full time. This rule makes my contracted hours very ambiguous. And it's not so much that I am mandated to work, but I am just put on the schedule without notice or permission

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2016

I had one hospital CNA job; I was a 0.6 FTE and they stuck with it. I was scheduled every other weekend, they worked with me with my school schedule, and never any mandatory OT or other extra shifts.