Working as a Medical Assistant while going to nursing school?

[Venusx30]

Reading the requirements to get accepted into nursing

It seems I would need prior experience in the healthcare field. WCCCD - Nursing Admission. Would being a Medical Assistant while going to nursing school be a good idea? I know most people usually work as CNA'S while in school. But I really don't want to work as a CNA.

[jess.mont, ADN, RN]

It's not that prior healthcare experience is required, but if you claim that you have prior healthcare experience, you need to prove it. Some programs do look favorably on prior experience, just like some like to volunteer experience. Besides, an MA progress is at least 140 hours and potentially expensive. Our local community college offers a course for $2600, which is very reasonable, but most training courses are offered at career colleges, which tend to be expensive.

If you need to work during nursing school, consider working as a patient care technician or whatever they call it at your local hospitals. You're usually eligible to do it after your first semester of nursing school and most of them are nursing students, so they're willing to work around your schedule. Plus you get to see how the units function and meet people who might give you a job after you graduate from nursing school.

Good luck!

[Dadof2RN2Be]

I don't know about experience in the medical field being required, but it definitely is not a bad idea. I know with my local community college, it's super competitive to get into. They have created a points system where you can earn points for completed tasks such as years of medical field experience. So it definitely helps in that respect. I think it's also a good idea to know what you're getting into and there's no other way than to word side by side with the nurses as a CNA/CCT/PCT.