Working at a daycare good start for Nursing?

[Loveismagical]

First: I have no idea if this is in the right section. I wasn't sure where to post it.

So I'm a recent high school graduate who will be starting nursing school in the fall. I'm in need of a job at least for the summer but I'm searching for something that will be at least closely related to what I'll be doing for nursing. I don't want to do any retail or mall stores or fast food restaurants because I feel that won't get me anywhere in terms of the experience I need. So I was thinking either child care/daycare or adult care homes.

There is a daycare only about 10 minutes away from my home who is offering a position there as a child care aid. The pay and hours are reasonable and it is very close! I haven't found any adult care homes that are hiring. My question is: is child care/daycare experience a good place to start my nursing resume? I definitely think it looks better than working at a fast food joint. I will either be taking care of infants or toddlers, not the older kids. So I'll have a real hands on experience in child care, etc. Also, they give CPR training and I just feel that this will be a nice little boost for me, at least for the summer. Then I was going to volunteer at hospitals helping patients and then once I begin nursing school, slowly move my way along to find a job in a hospital.

But many of you here know more of what you're talking about than I do. What do you think? Is child care daycare a good place to start considering I have no other kind of job experience in caring for people?

[PrayToTheUnicorn]

It's definitely WAY better than working in retail or customer service because you'd be working with people (kids) and while doing so you are responsible for their well-being!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

it's better than nothing, but i wouldn't expect it to give you an real big leg up in school. enjoy it, though! next summer, you can apply for a cna job.

.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I think that's a great idea.

You'll get your CPR card and a paycheck and get to work with kids.

Go for it!

[Stephalump]

I think it's a better choice than food/retail, just because you can make a better slant out of it in an interview for a nursing job.

But I don't really see it as beneficial to your career in and of itself. Just being a transporter at a hospital seems more helpful than something completely out of the health care field. So I would definitely stick to the plan of trying to move into a hospital job as you proceed through school. Good luck to ya!

[Nolli]

It is better than nothing and you could always pick up a few volunteer hours at a hospital. It's a good start esp if you are trying to go into peds. That said I'm with everyone else that posted in the thread as it should be viewed as a temporary launching point and not something I would put under healthcare related experience. I def think you have the right idea though.

[Loveismagical]

Thank you for all of your feedback. I definitely agree that it is better than nothing I think better than retail/fast food/customer service type jobs. But I'm not looking for it to give me a huge boost of experience in nursing. But I think it helps to start small, you know? I get CPR training, first aid, and 9 hours of child care. Not a HUGE benefit but still something. I need to build up a resume somehow if I want to move up higher and I think having started somewhere in some kind of "care" setting may help with moving to a more hospital based setting. I have to start somewhere! I have no "people care" experience whatsoever on record and I really think I need to start with something, even if it is as small as daycare. But thank you so much for the feedback!

Also, volunteering at a hospital was mentioned, which I do plan on doing. I'm just wondering if this is something that I should add to a resume? Will my clinical volunteer experience/hours with patient care matter to employers when I go to apply for nurse tech/aid jobs either later on this year or sometime next year?

[Stephalump]

Yes! Put your volunteer experience on your resume. It could help :)

[♑ Capricorn ♑]

I think any type of experience working with people or kids is beneficial.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Before nursing school, I worked as an aide in a pre-school summer school program for 4 summers. During during school, I substitute taught, volunteered in various camps for children with chronic illnesses, worked as a 1:1 bus monitor for a child with severe autism and worked as a nurse's aide. I do believe my experience working with children helped me when I was applying to pediatric positions because they saw that every job I'd ever had since I was 14 was with children, therefore it was obvious that I really wanted to work with children.

[Loveismagical]

Thank you everyone. Pediatrics is actually what I'm interested in, which is why I first went for a daycare job. I'm obviously not sure what specific area I want to go into with peds because I don't have any experience yet, but neonatal, ped oncology, ped neurology, and ped psychiatry all are strong interests of mine as of right now. So I definitely do have my heart set on healing children. However, if for some reason I decide to change my mind somewhere down along the line, would my childcare experience be looked down upon or seen as "weak" if say I changed my mind to want to work with adults or the elderly?

In terms of volunteer, what am I limited to as far as what areas I'll be allowed to work in and what I'll be be allowed to do and see? For example, do they allowed volunteers to help out with neonates? What are hospital volunteers allowed to do/see as far as patient care?

[somedaypeds]

If Peds is your focus, daycare is a great launching point. The CPR certification and first aid are valuable skills as well. Volunteering is also a great thing to put on your resume - make sure you start a file to keep your CPR card, list of volunteering dates and places plus contact information.

If you can get the volunteer coordinator to write you a reference that is a very good thing to present when looking for a job. Pick a volunteer position that you like and stick with it to establish good contacts.

Looking into a certified nursing assistant course might help you get some actual nursing skills - the basics that all patient care nurses should have. Or a personal care assistant -PCA or a sitter in a hospital.

Good luck to you!