Why many new grads don't find jobs....

Nursing Students General Students

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While eating breakfast at a local diner in my scrubs, my waitress was excited to share the news that she, "finished my CNA clinicals yesterday!!"

"Great! How was it?" I asked. She starts nursing school soon.

"Depressing," she said. "It was so sad. Those people hardly have any visitors. My client didn't even have a pair of socks. Just two unmatched ones."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, I worked in a nursing home for two years. Are you going to work as an aide while going to school?"

"NO WAY!" she answered. "They don't make any money and that job looks terrible!"

I nodded, "Yes, it can be hard, but you really do learn a lot. I wouldn't have my med surg job today if I hadn't started in a nursing home."

"I don't know about that," she said, shaking her head. "I had surgery at a clinic the other day and the aide got her job right out of CNA school. Monday through Friday and no weekends!" She continued, "I think she had a really good hookup there."

"Yeah....but that's kind of like winning the 'CNA with no experience' lottery," I told her. There was nothing I could do to convince her that experience in healthcare would help her find a job after graduation. She is going to graduate, apply for jobs, get no offers and blame everyone else for, "Not giving her a chance."

There is absolutely no reason for hiring managers to choose new grads who never worked in healthcare over those who have.

Students, get to work. I know other jobs pay more, but if you really liked those jobs, you would not be going to nursing school.

Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

"Challenging the state exam" is not such a big deal. It simply means You can get the CNA license simply by taking the same examination that everyone else takes, without completing a state approved course. You don't even have to be in first semester nursing school or have any medical experience at all to do this, just practice on your own. The written and clinical portions of the exam are still required to be taken. No clinicals i think refers to if you are asking for an endorsement, i.e you are already a CNA in another State and just moving to a new state. Here in Florida you can take the CNA test up to 3 times and of you fail the 3 rd time only then you will be required to take a state approved course.

You do not need someone to tell you how to challenge the CNA, just go the your states official department of health website in the license section all the information is on there. like just google yourstate CNA.

I'm just transitioning to nursing from a non-nursing career and my wife is a CNA,just got her first job after 2 years (well she was pregnant, so that was a 1 plus gone) and I'm gonna have her show me some tips, then I going to take the test and use CNA as a way to make the transition, only it sucks cause once I do become a CNA my pay will be cut in half but hopefully its for the greater good.

To self train there's a bunch of CNA videos on youtube and google that shows how to do the skills part and a thread on allnurses also has videos.

I don't know if this post was a question but for some,not all, I'm sure its a case of "beggars can't be choosers." in other words take what u can get, complain and stress about it for 1 year then move on with your new found EXPERIENCE...heck i'd mop and clean toilets in a hospital if it counts as hospital experience...lol maybe it won't count, but u get my point.

As far as resumes a lot of people are forgetting we are in the electronic age...if your resume is missing keywords pertaining to your job, the computer will not select it in its initial search...or do people really think recruiters still sit and read all 500 plus applications that they receive on a daily basis. Search the internet and read up on resume keywords, find ways to stand out from the crowd.

Specializes in Mental Health, Hospice Care.
While I agree that having a job in healthcare while in nursing school can be a great in for a job, I don't think this statement is true. There are absolutely reasons for a hiring manager to choose a new grad without experience over one who has experience in health care.

I agree completely....I am about to graduate my program with very high reviews of my clinical performance, as well as the class Valedictorian....and I managed to di this without one minute as a CNA or in any other medical capacity....I was by far in the minority in my class, with most being former or current CNA's....I learned how vital of a role the CNA is in a facility, and have a tremendous amount of respect for them....that is very hard work, work that I had to learn while I learned the art of nursing....that is where my problem is, at least with the group of classmates that are CNA's....the problem is that they think and act as if they are still a CNA, not nursing students....they would rather chase a brief change or get a patient some water rather than practice their assessment skills, patient education and med knowledge....that isn't a criticism, it is a fact....hard habits are hard to break and while their intention and heart are totally in the right places, they have forgotten that they are nursing students first and foremost....having no habits to break, or a marriage to the CNA job itself has, in my opinion helped me a great deal....

People with this attitude give us nursing students a bad reputation! I am halfway through a 4-year BSN program and I owe a large amount of my success to my experience as a CNA. I have been working on a med-surg floor for the past year as a nursing assistant. I did not apply to a BSN program to keep from doing "CNA's work" and I hate when people say this!! I feel that my experience will make me a better nurse later on, and it has already helped me tremendously throughout my first year of nursing classes. One six hour day a week of clinicals with an instructor who has 7 other students to look after does not compare to working alongside the wonderful nurses at my facility for the past year. I am able to see the "real-life" version of what they tell us in nursing school and ask experienced nurses questions about the field of nursing. While I don't feel that it is absolutely crucial that nursing students work as an aide during school, I know that I will be much more prepared as a new nurse, and I hope it will give me an "edge" when I apply for my first job as an RN!

I am currently a student completing my prerequisites to get in to a BSN program this time next year. I also think experience plays a big advantage in pretty much any career field. I have been doing research to find a CNA program and I just can't seem to find one that looks good. Most of the CNA websites advertising their classes look tacky and possibly "fake". Could you give me some ideas of how to go about finding a program in my area? I'm also new on AllNurses, and I can't figure out how to post my own thread on here, do you mind telling me how to go about doing that?Thanks for your post!

Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.
Just curious - what do you mean by "challenge the exam"? Maybe it's a state thing or I'm just having a burned-out-nursing-student-brain moment!

When I was in school, becoming a CNA in Massachusetts meant 75 clinical hours and passing a written exam and a practical exam. A second-semester nursing student who got a letter from the head of the nursing department stating that they'd filled the clincal requirements could become an CNA by passing the practical exam.

Specializes in Mental Health, Hospice Care.
One six hour day a week of clinicals with an instructor who has 7 other students to look after does not compare to working alongside the wonderful nurses at my facility for the past year.

one six hour clinical per week, with 7 students?....really??....where in our universe does a school like this reside, I am dying to know....

Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.
I have been doing research to find a CNA program and I just can't seem to find one that looks good. Most of the CNA websites advertising their classes look tacky and possibly "fake". Could you give me some ideas of how to go about finding a program in my area?

Some nursing homes offer CNA training. Non-profit nursing homes tend to offer much better working conditions than for-profit homes, especially large corporate chains (I'm thinking of a very large Kentucky-based chain). Your local Red Cross may offer training, or at least some idea of how to get training. Your state unemployment office may also be helpful.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
I am currently a student completing my prerequisites to get in to a BSN program this time next year. I also think experience plays a big advantage in pretty much any career field. I have been doing research to find a CNA program and I just can't seem to find one that looks good. Most of the CNA websites advertising their classes look tacky and possibly "fake". Could you give me some ideas of how to go about finding a program in my area? I'm also new on AllNurses, and I can't figure out how to post my own thread on here, do you mind telling me how to go about doing that?Thanks for your post!

Welcome to Allnurses! To create a post, go to the forum you want to post in (like "General Nursing Student") and click on the blue bar on the right side that says "Start A Topic Now". Click on "New Topic" to create the post...the page that loads should walk you through the process.

I haven't taken any CNA courses so I can't help you with that question, but in my area (southern CA) they have Regional Occupational Programs offered through the county that have CNA courses. I have seen ROP students doing CNA clinicals in hospitals so they seem pretty legit.

We have three years of nursing classes so I think our clinicals are a little more spread out than some other programs. This past semester we had our Foundations in Nursing II clinical on a med-surg floor. For Foundations we also had a campus lab one day a week for skills and a day in the classroom for lecture so this one class actually took up three days of the week but we only got one day for actual patient care. That's why I think my job as a CNA will help to prepare me more for the clinical aspect of nursing. My other nursing classes this semester were Health Assessment which had a campus lab and Pharmacology II which has no clinical lab. There were 8 of us in my clinical group (our class was divided into 6 clinical groups).

Specializes in Mental Health, Hospice Care.
We have three years of nursing classes so I think our clinicals are a little more spread out than some other programs. This past semester we had our Foundations in Nursing II clinical on a med-surg floor. For Foundations we also had a campus lab one day a week for skills and a day in the classroom for lecture so this one class actually took up three days of the week but we only got one day for actual patient care. That's why I think my job as a CNA will help to prepare me more for the clinical aspect of nursing. My other nursing classes this semester were Health Assessment which had a campus lab and Pharmacology II which has no clinical lab. There were 8 of us in my clinical group (our class was divided into 6 clinical groups).

okay, I wasn't trying to be critical, I promise....in my program we spend a minimum of 16h per week/two days per week in clinical....near the end of our program we are assigned 2-12h shifts back to back for the last 10 weeks....maybe I am just full of envy lol....

I agree completely....I am about to graduate my program with very high reviews of my clinical performance, as well as the class Valedictorian....and I managed to di this without one minute as a CNA or in any other medical capacity....I was by far in the minority in my class, with most being former or current CNA's....I learned how vital of a role the CNA is in a facility, and have a tremendous amount of respect for them....that is very hard work, work that I had to learn while I learned the art of nursing....that is where my problem is, at least with the group of classmates that are CNA's....the problem is that they think and act as if they are still a CNA, not nursing students....they would rather chase a brief change or get a patient some water rather than practice their assessment skills, patient education and med knowledge....that isn't a criticism, it is a fact....hard habits are hard to break and while their intention and heart are totally in the right places, they have forgotten that they are nursing students first and foremost....having no habits to break, or a marriage to the CNA job itself has, in my opinion helped me a great deal....

I was given the same advice by my mentor and DON. I asked about taking the CNA course during the summer before nursing school started and she told me NO! For many of the same reasons you mentioned. Also, she told me to spend the summer with my family because the next two years would be tough to negotiate with a family and a 70 mile drive.

We learn CNA skills - patient care skills - the first semester. So I'm not paying $1000 for a CNA course. And I am a huge fan of and advocate for the CNA's and HHA's I work with. Being a team player comes from your own value system and not necessarily being a CNA first.

I have no problem if people want to be a CNA first and won't discount that it helps some folks. But you do not have to do it to be a good nurse.

I think the woman in the OP's first post makes a good point - she realizes what she wants to do and is going to do it. Many of the folks I graduated with went on to go almost straight into NICU or ER or surgery centers without being a CNA first.

In fact, surgery centers are great for family life - no holidays or weekend and usually more of a 9-5 schedule.

okay, I wasn't trying to be critical, I promise....in my program we spend a minimum of 16h per week/two days per week in clinical....near the end of our program we are assigned 2-12h shifts back to back for the last 10 weeks....maybe I am just full of envy lol....

Haha no problem! That does sound rough! It's a pretty tough program though- we've already lost over twenty students, but I think the clinicals are a lot more spread out because it's longer. Most BSN programs around here only have two years of clinical nursing classes. I believe we will have to do a preceptorship our last semester similar to the twelve hour shifts you mentioned, which I'm excited about!

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