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?
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?
That would depend on the hospital. When I volunteered at the hospital (in the mid 90s), volunteers had an office and went out to do tasks whenever called. It was usually stuff like a lab needs to be delivered, we need a wheelchair or this patient being discharged needs to be escorted out. When I worked in the hospital as a nurse, volunteers staffed the playroom and sat with the patients if needed. They were allowed to do nothing patient-care wise and saw very little.
The hospital I plan to volunteer at has an application online. On the form, one of the questions is, "How would you most like to help us?" And there is a list of options such as research, visitor/family support, fund-raising, etc. One of the options is "help patients." That's why I was asking about patient care. To me, it seems like this hospital allows volunteers to help patients in some way or another, but maybe I'm just misunderstanding?
Also, I'm doing a work study program for when I begin nursing school and I can begin applying for jobs/a job that I may work during school. If I have to make the choice between working in adult daycare, child/daycare (again), or a physical/occupational therapy assistant, which one would be the best choice? Say hypothetically I don't like working in a daycare, would it be better to take a job in adult daycare or as a physical therapy or occupational therapy assistant? I also want to apply for nurse assitant/aid/technician as soon as I can, but I don't know what kind of experience will be looked for when I go to apply for those positions. Would they rather see experience with being a PT/OT assistant or in adult (or child) care?
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!
I would have agreed with you a few years ago, but I have been interviewing for jobs lately and they emphasize the importance of customer service. With the pressure of patient satisfaction surveys and desire for Magnet status, many hospitals value customer service work. I worked both types of jobs in college and found myself using many more situations from my retail gigs to answer questions vs. the daycare.
I would also suggest looking into direct support for an agency. You work with typically stable clients, get to do fun things with them for community inclusion goals, and in my experience have to have training in crisis intervention, a variety if chronic illness and disabilities, and have the possibility of getting medication training. I was a DSP for the last year of college and enjoyed it in addition to getting great experience. I gave routine meds and filled out MARS in residential homes, prepared meals, helped with personal care, and filled out Medicaid paperwork.
Thank you decembergrad2011. I've never heard of direct support to be completely honest but I'll definitely look into that.
So I guess the real question is, what are other good jobs to have before applying for NA or tech positions as a student? Like I mentioned before, for my work study, adult daycare, child daycare and PT/OT assistant are options.
Thank you decembergrad2011. I've never heard of direct support to be completely honest but I'll definitely look into that.
So I guess the real question is, what are other good jobs to have before applying for NA or tech positions as a student? Like I mentioned before, for my work study, adult daycare, child daycare and PT/OT assistant are options.
A good way to think of it would be as a "public health CNA". Unlike for my CNA, when I became a DSP, all of my course material was online and testing was done within the course via multiple choice tests at the end of the section.
My clients included those with learning disabilities, mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, and mobility and speech limitations. You mentioned adult daycare and the agency I worked for had individual as well as group settings for DSPs to work in. They also had an adult day training center opened through the week that included crafts, exercise, meals, and socialization. I did not work in that part, I worked 1:1 with clients and in the residential homes, but it was within my scope if I had/wanted the opportunity.
Well honestly, I don't know if it is worth paying for courses to become a CNA while in nursing school. I start nursing school in the fall and I know a few hospitals around here will hire CNA's after students have finished certain requirements or their first year of school. I know of some around here that will hire CNA's without any nursing experience or minimal schooling. But the DSP job sounds really good as a "pre-nursing" job. Where exactly do I search to look for that kind of position? I've never heard of it and I wouldn't know how to go about looking and applying for such a position. Do residential homes, nursing homes, practices, etc. offer this kind of position? Do I absolutely need the coursework to get that kind of job?
I will be going into my 3rd year of my BSN program in September and I am working at a daycare for the summer. Where I live, there are not many CNA jobs available.
For someone that has already completed 2 years of nursing, I would not say it is super beneifcial. The only place where I think it may enhance my nursing care is improving my abilities to reason with children (e.g. children won't be all for getting an IV tube placed so this will help me reason with them and think of creative ways to get them to take their meds etc,) As a nursing student, I am the go to person for medical questions, if anybody is hurt or if somebody will need an epi pen.
I don't think it would be as helpful if you do not want to pursue peds but it is still a great place to work.
I have been working in the Day care for 2 years now. It's a good way to develop skills towards interacting with parents about the children, enhancing ciruculum for children throughout the day that will help develop areas such as cognitive, physical, creative social/emotional skills. I work will different age groups but I mainly work with infants/toddlers. If you want to get into pediatrics, that type of experience is good.
I'm in the same boat. I was doing some research as to where they offer training for CNA. Some are in nursing homes. I was going to make some calls today and see what they have to offer. I was wondering the same thing
KelRN215, BSN, RN
1 Article; 7,349 Posts
That would depend on the hospital. When I volunteered at the hospital (in the mid 90s), volunteers had an office and went out to do tasks whenever called. It was usually stuff like a lab needs to be delivered, we need a wheelchair or this patient being discharged needs to be escorted out. When I worked in the hospital as a nurse, volunteers staffed the playroom and sat with the patients if needed. They were allowed to do nothing patient-care wise and saw very little.