Was offered a CNA position in ICU but may not work around school. Advice please?

mirandaaa · Oct 28, 2015

My advice: Stick out your current job until you're done with school or until you can find something more accommodating to your school schedule.

I know what it's like to dislike your current job, but this is why you're in school, so you can get into an area you want to be in.

It seems like there are way more cons than pros when it comes to switching to a new unit.

As far as drawing blood and all that goes, that really doesn't matter because you're going to learn all of that in school anyway.

Good luck.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Oct 28, 2015

School can be very difficult. You need to be able to be awake, and going to clinicals after working all night, even if you can go to them (you can't show up late) is not a good thing.

If you take the ICU job, you'll be sacrificing successful participation in your education.

SierraMoon, ADN, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2015

Could you see about picking up extra shifts on the unit instead? You might not get the additional training but you'd still get to see a lot.

VANurse2010 · Oct 29, 2015

I work as a CNA at a hospital on an ortho med/surg floor and I can already tell that med/surg isn't for me and not something I want to be doing when I'm an RN. I 3 7a-730p shifts each week. I have a good boss who tries her best to work around whatever days I need off, however I just don't like med/surg. Sometimes I dread going to work. I was offered a position in the ICU and I love working there. They also teach the CNA's to draw blood and other things. I enjoy it so much more however it's nights 7p-7:30a. I have worked nights before and it isn't terrible other than always being tired. That wouldn't be the problem it's just I talked to someone who works down there that said the boss schedules based on seniority. If you need a day off for school it doesn't matter. I have an 8 am class, and also when I'm in clinical I don't want to have to work all night then do that.. But it's KILLING me becauE I want to be in ICU so bad and I would like to eventually become a nurse anesthetist. I know I should probably turn down the job due to school but I can't bring myself to What should I do?

It's more important that you do well in nursing school than get your desired unit as a CNA. In either unit, you won't have any actual responsibility for patient outcomes. The ICU job may help you get a job in that particular ICU, but it probably won't make a difference applying as a new grad RN to other ICUs - you'll be treated like any other new grad.

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Oct 29, 2015

This really isn't a question. It's not a matter whether you want to work the night before clinical, but the fact that you CANNOT. You simply cannot work all night and then safely care for patients. If you did, I would question your ability to make safe decisions and whether you should be a nurse.

Unfortunately, that means it wouldn't be a good choice to work on a unit where you would be faced with that. You'd have to call out and that job would last very long.

I'm sorry that this job doesn't work for you. I can tell you really wanted it to. Keep looking! Or maybe go PRN at the ICU to keep your foot in there.