What summer job could I get as a nursing student?

[ImSoNervous]

Good afternoon!

I'm a sophomore nursing student and I'm thinking about what nursing-related jobs that I would be fit for during the summer. I've learned how to do injections, insert foley catheters, trach suction, bathe patients, etc. During the summer I will have already completed my my first clinical rotation.

My classes have basically trained me to be a CNA or medical assistant but without giving me the certification. I doubt that hospitals will hire me without a certification or any CNA experience, so does anyone have any advice on what jobs I could be qualified for? Or how I could get hired without it?

Thank you you so much for reading this!

[EmDash]

Actually, some hospitals will hire nursing students as PCTs after they've completed their first semester of nursing classes. I've also heard that some states allow you to apply and receive your CNA cert if you've pass that magical first semester. (Or you know, see if you can just apply to take the test/challenge the test.) You could then try to find units or hospitals that will have certain skills for you to learn. One student worked as a tech in the ED for a summer and got even better at IVs. If you're legit good at putting in caths (idk if you are talking about learning on a dummy only?), then a rehab hospital may be good as well at that point, since from what I've seen during clinicals, it's a lot of straight caths (and trach care too).

Otherwise, I'd say any type of hospital job would be good if you are looking to network: surgical tech, clerk, etc. You could work at a skilled nursing facility/nursing home. Maybe a receptionist at a doctor's office, though I imagine that may be harder to get as a temporary job?

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

Every facility in the country has the option of training their own aides. If they do, all you have to do is take their course. If everyone around you needs you to be certified, tons of states will let you test as long as you had a minimum amount of clinical hours in nursing school. For experience, we don't do anything that hard as an aide. The challenge is competition. An experienced aide is going to get hired than one with none. But nursing school definitely helps, you're a potential RN for them when you graduate. Use that in a cover letter for your applications.

But for jobs. The best nursing related job is to be an aide. But that's not a summer job. It's a big time investment orienting an aide. You're not going to get hired for a temp job. Also, you have to remember to only be an aide. You're limited by your state laws and the rules where you work. All that stuff you learned, there's a high chance you're not using any of it. It's going to be very situational. There's only certain settings where you can do anything above what a typical aide does. Usually, you're wiping asses and giving baths. There's exceptions, like where it's common for aides to be trained and put in an IV port in ED, but you're not going to be doing that on a Med Surg floor.

But look for any aide/tech job you can. Get used to the environment. Clinicals are easy compared to one day as an aide.