work or volunteer while in school?

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Specializes in assisted living.

Hi!

I am in nursing school and am wondering whether anyone has an opionion on whether it would be more beneficial to my future job search to work while in school or volunteer at the small hospital where I would like to work as an RN. My current job is PRN and is a private caregiver position. It does not require a CNA license, and I am not utilizing many skills. I basically keep the person company, pick up a little, give a shower, and transfer him to bed. The pay is very low and not really worth the time it takes from my family, but I wanted something for my resume. I have worked there for 6 months. Does a job of such a short duration look bad on my work history? I don't have a lot of extra time while in school, but I want to do something that would help me get a job when I graduate. Would you keep this job or volunteer? Or is it a toss up? Thank you so much in advance!!

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DO IT! I volunteered before nursing school to get a "reputation" at the local hospital. When I was finally in nursing school I was able to interview for a Nurse Extern position. Essentially I am a student who also works at the hospital. Every 12 weeks I rotate units. Right now I am in the ICU, next quarter Birth Center.

When it comes time to graduate I am already an employee so I get an automatic interview for all RN positions and just have to fill out a transfer request instead of an application, resume, etc. I would say being a CNA is also a great benefit. Those were the hardest skills for me to learn because we practice and talk about them so little in school. Things such as transferring patients, etc. I am essentially a resource employee so some times I will be assigned CNA if they are understaffed. I learned a ton and was much more comfortable in clinical because I have taken a patient load of 10-12 patients and had to chart, keep track, etc. of all of them.

I currently work 20 hours because that is all my position allows. I LOVE IT!

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Specializes in assisted living.

Thanks for the advice!! I wish that we had more nurse extern positions around here! I am by Madison, WI. so the big Madison hospitals have programs but I am pretty sure they are reserved for BSN students from UW Madison, Edgewood etc. I am at a nearby tech school. I think I will sign up to volunteer though like you suggested. The hospital that I want to work at is very small so I would think it would be easier to get "known." Glad to hear that you love your job!! And yes...I can definitely notice who has been a CNA. I was one for only a very short time and I wish I had been one for longer!

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It probably wouldn't hurt to call HR of the big hospital and see if they offer it to students at your school. The nice thing when I volunteered is that most of the time it was very slow so I was able to study! :) Also, it is not a huge commitment. Usually you can do it per-diem or once a week. Maybe look for a per-diem CNA job?

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Specializes in assisted living.

I will have to look more into the externships! I would do a CNA/tech job, but my CNA license ran out, and I really don't want to go back and get recertified. I could go take my LPN boards at this point, but they are spendy and I am not sure if I would use it. I would LOVE the LPN experience, but it is difficult to balance school and being home with my 3 little ones AND having a job. I wish I would have done all this BEFORE kids lol. So I was thinking volunteering would be perfect because it isn't a huge commitment, but I don't want to really regret not being an LPN later on if I can't find an RN job because of lack of experience!

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Do hospitals near you hire LPNs? I mean if you do per-diem work it wouldn't matter if you did volunteer work, CNA, etc. It would all be based on what you needed. I understand what you mean about not wanting to do the LPN license. I decided not to do mine since I was working as an extern. I do not have kids, but I know how hard it is for the people in my class that do.

I do not know what the job market is like for you, but I would say that is the number one benefit about getting into the hospital setting. The clinical experience is good, but many people graduate without the extra hours and are still great nurses. Best of luck!

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I'd definitely try to volunteer or work in a hospital if you can. I'm in southern WI and the people I've noticed who had an easiest time finding a job already worked at a hospital regardless of ADN or BSN. I'm in an ADN program too and I work as a tech at the local hospital so I'm hoping that will give me some sort of edge over BSN students who might not have any healthcare experience. So definitely try to volunteer or something if you can!

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Specializes in Nursing Assistant.

I volunteered at a hospital last year...which is now my place of employment. I say go for it!

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Specializes in assisted living.

Thanks for the replies! I think I will sign up to volunteer and hope for the best!! :-) I am glad that it (or working as a CNA/tech) helped some of you get a job! A job at the end of all of this hard work would be very nice :-)

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