Will a custodian job count against me?

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 11, 2018

I don't envision the types of problems you do. If anything, a custodian position lets you meet a LOT of people at ALL levels of the organization. Then, when you get into the nursing program itself, you have lots of contacts who might speak up for you to get a tech/ extern position. work hard, be cheerful and see if it doesn't take you places!

verene, MSN · Jun 11, 2018

Shouldn't be a problem - one of my friends started out as a custodian, he did well in that role and his employer paid for his CNA, then when he finished his ADN he was given preference into a residency slot (even though the hospital normally hires BSNs), and now has had the same employer pay for his BSN.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Jun 12, 2018

Custodians are the ultimate networkers. They get to interact with all employees, patients, and visitors. One of our custodians received a Commitment to Compassion award this year. He was 1 of 5 honorees out of 12,000 employees. Hospitals try to promote from within. A custodian that getting their nursing degree is a win for the hospital. Do you think that a healthcare group with 12,000 employees would give their highest award to a custodian if they looked down on them as just a person that cleans toilets?

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 12, 2018

Not at all. We have quite a bit of turnover in our cleaning staff because people are going to school and take those jobs due to more flexibility in hours.

wyofishgirl · Jun 13, 2018

Thank you all for your positive comments. I really did see it as a way to network and become more familiar with the setting and you reinforced this!

Wiggly Litchi · Jun 13, 2018

Thank you all for your positive comments. I really did see it as a way to network and become more familiar with the setting and you reinforced this!

To me, willingness to work as a custodian shows work ethic - you're not scared of getting your hands dirty and doing what needs to be done. It's a seriously valuable quality! I think experience as a custodian will help you to network, and it will help you to get a feel for the healthcare environment so when you start clinicals, you won't be like a fish out of water.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2018

Fisheries -- cool! When I was in middle school I had considered working for the WI DNR. :)

Anyway, it is an excellent networking opportunity! We have good working relationships with the regular custodial staff.

I actually used to work with a CNA in subacute, and later crossed paths with her as a custodian at the hospital I now work for. I believe she had worked both jobs at one point. Working with her as a CNA, I always felt like my day would go better. :) I actually told her to use me as a reference if she decided to apply for a CNA position in the hospital.

You would be demonstrating your work ethic by taking a "dirty" job -- and in your case prioritizing your nursing education by taking a job that offers more flexibility than your longtime fishery work.

No decent human being looks down on someone who not only does honest work, but VERY IMPORTANT work. Actually one of Florence Nightengale's big innovations: sanitation in hospitals. Actually it's believed that 2/3 of Civil War casualties were due to DISEASE, not the battlefield injuries themselves.

I also remember back in hospital orientation, our CEO recounted asking hospital employees how they supported our mission statement. A custodian said he contributed to pt/family centered care by making the patient's environment safer, more relaxing (*I* for one would go batty if I had to stare at an overflowing bin with diarrhea-soaked bedding!), and by helping them to feel cared for.