Work as a student nurse?

[SarahLovesNovember, BSN, RN]

When I am in the BSN program and starting clinicals, can I work as an LNA or student nurse in a hospital on my own time? What kind of jobs am I allowed to work in a hospital while I am still in the nursing program. I heard of a student nurse but do you get paid for that or is it voluntary or what? Thanks for the info everyone!

[JR816, BSN, RN]

After the first year of fund., most hospitals will hire you on as a PCT or CNA. A CNA is a certifified nurse assistant and a PCT is a Patient Care Technician. Some programs (not mine) are set up to let you sit for the LPN exam half-way through. That is awesome. But not all programs are set up that way. In my area, there is no such position as a student nurse. But I would imagine that you would get compensated for it. Let me know what you come up with.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

You could work as a direct care staff member, caregiver, CNA (certified nursing assistant), PCT (patient care technician), or phlebotomist (blood drawer with minimal training). Some physicians in private practice will even allow you to work as a medical assistant and train you on the job.

[HHW2006]

The hospital where I work hires students who have completed one year of med-surg as nurse tech III's. We are allowed to do patient assessments, charting, education(within our comfort level), admission paperwork, etc. Pretty much everything except pass meds. However, it did take some time for me to prove myself to the nurses and have them feel comfortable turning over some of their patient care to me.

[HRM672]

In the Atlanta area there are several hospitals which will hire (after med-surg rotation) student nurses as student nurse externs. The job description is very similar to that of a PCT, but they often offer a better salary and more training opportunities as the idea is that you will continue to work for them as an RN once you graduate.

[MissJoRN, RN]

Here, you can work in a hospital as a tech/student nurse extern/nurse's aide/etc. Some homecare agencies will also hire student nurses after a set number of clinicals as home health aides. "Assisted living" or "Personal Care Homes" are also an option. You cannot work in a nursing home (SNF), long term care unit of a hospital or certain home health agencies that require (due to medicare/ state/ JCAHO - sorry I forget who exactly sets these standards) policies because they require a CNA... if you're not state certified you are not a CNA/LNA/STNA. My hospital has pulled RNs to work as aides in the long term dept if they didn't have enough CNAs available. A student nurse extern or patient care tech could not work there, even for one shift. I'm sure medicare re-imbursement had something to do with it. Good Luck with a job in one of the available settings! There is a lot of variety- each setting will offer patient/family interactions, skills, and observation opportunities that the others don't! You almost can't go wrong!

[Jesskanurse]

The hospital where I work hires students who have completed one year of med-surg as nurse tech III's. We are allowed to do patient assessments, charting, education(within our comfort level), admission paperwork, etc. Pretty much everything except pass meds. However, it did take some time for me to prove myself to the nurses and have them feel comfortable turning over some of their patient care to me.

Whoa...whoa there... patient assessments???? I thought this was specifically a duty for licensed nurses? (LPN, RN)??? I can understand admission paperwork, charting vitals, etc. but patient education and assessment, in my understanding was only for nurses? I'd like some input on this....

[Sheri257]

Whoa...whoa there... patient assessments???? I thought this was specifically a duty for licensed nurses? (LPN, RN)??? I can understand admission paperwork, charting vitals, etc. but patient education and assessment, in my understanding was only for nurses? I'd like some input on this....

In my state (California) and perhaps others ... if your school has a student extern program that is approved by the BRN ... you can do everything that you've been checked off on either in school labs or clinicals ... with RN supervision, of course.

You just have to make sure that you're enrolled in the appropriate program and that you're working for a hospital where BRN approved student extern programs are set up.

I'm doing my second externship now and, it's fantastic. But, there are also some pitfalls that you may want to avoid:

The first hospital I worked for wanted us to do a CNA day for every extern day we worked. It doubled the amount of hours you had to work, which was fine during school breaks but horrible during school when you needed to study. Also, the CNA work was grueling ... you usually had to juggle 13 patients. So I quit.

Also, some hospitals use externships as an excuse to have students do nothing but CNA ... and you don't get any RN skill practice at all. Ask around and make sure the hospital does give you RN training, not just aide work.

Make sure the hospital is also going to be flexible with scheduling. One hospital insisted that we work two days a week both as externs and aides ... which is ridiculous during school. So I didn't take that externship.

I finally found a hospital that has been great with scheduling. They let me take certain weeks off for tests, and then I make up the missed days during slower weeks or during spring break. I also don't have to do any aide work with this externship.

It may take awhile to find the right situation but, when you do, it's fantastic. I often get a lot more skills practice with the externship than I do with school clinicals.

[mnwhaley]

I worked as a PCA (patient care assistant) during my junior year. This year is my senior year so my job status will be changed to SNAP--- extern...student nurse apprenticeship program where I follow a preceptor. Working is definitely a good idea.... if you can schedule it around your studies. I am learning how to prioritize things better and improve my skills.

[nursesaideBen]

In my state (California) and perhaps others ... if your school has a student extern program that is approved by the BRN ... you can do everything that you've been checked off on either in school labs or clinicals ... with RN supervision, of course.

You just have to make sure that you're enrolled in the appropriate program and that you're working for a hospital where BRN approved student extern programs are set up.

I'm doing my second externship now and, it's fantastic. But, there are also some pitfalls that you may want to avoid:

The first hospital I worked for wanted us to do a CNA day for every extern day we worked. It doubled the amount of hours you had to work, which was fine during school breaks but horrible during school when you needed to study. Also, the CNA work was grueling ... you usually had to juggle 13 patients. So I quit.

Also, some hospitals use externships as an excuse to have students do nothing but CNA ... and you don't get any RN skill practice at all. Ask around and make sure the hospital does give you RN training, not just aide work.

Make sure the hospital is also going to be flexible with scheduling. One hospital insisted that we work two days a week both as externs and aides ... which is ridiculous during school. So I didn't take that externship.

I finally found a hospital that has been great with scheduling. They let me take certain weeks off for tests, and then I make up the missed days during slower weeks or during spring break. I also don't have to do any aide work with this externship.

It may take awhile to find the right situation but, when you do, it's fantastic. I often get a lot more skills practice with the externship than I do with school clinicals.

By "aide work" I assume you mean bed baths and wiping butts, those are very much used and basic "RN skills".

[MissJoRN, RN]

By "aide work" I assume you mean bed baths and wiping butts, those are very much used and basic "RN skills".

:yeahthat:

I'm not sure what the OP situation is, or the situation of other students who are reading this and asking the same questions but I had to work when I was a student. I had bills, etc. I was a CNA (not an NA, etc) and had worked in a SNF but was lucky enough to have an agency job where I could do HHA work (adult and pedi) but pull in extra $ as a CNA or PCA by doing nursing home and assisted living staffing prn. I applied for a Student nurse job but the $5/hr pay cut was not worth it at all! Believe me, though I learned a lot in the "menial" positions I had!! If someone wants to learn they will find a wealth of opportunities between wiping butts and spoonfeeding mashed potatoes! On the other hand, I've seen student nurses come in to their extern jobs and not care about more than doing the minumum to collect their checks and miss some golden opportunities because when I offered they said "no thanks" or "I already know that"

The "job" makes very little difference. The student makes the difference!

And yes, taking care of 13 pts as an aide can be grueling, esp when a few have showers! Been there done that. But there are many more grueling days ahead, LOL!

[foxyhill21]

here in texas they have student nurses, who follows a nurse and perform skills that they have been checked off on. You get paid more than a PCA