Working while in school

[Eponine]

Hi everyone! I'm Eponine, I'm starting my first year of nursing classes, and am completely lost as to how to work while going to school. Here's the story:

I'm 24 and have spent the past eight years caring for my mentally ill mother. Because of this, I have absolutely no work experience. My mother has been properly medicated for the past year, and I would like to start working while going to school. Ideally, I would like to work in the medical field to get my foot in the door so to speak, but I don't know how. A friend told me I would be able to work as a CNA after one year of nursing classes, but I have not been able to confirm this anywhere. This same friend said I will be able to work as a LPN after two years of nursing classes. Is ther any truth to this?

My goal is to graduate, and eventually work in the ER, but from what I can tell, that requires experience. So I am very nervous that I will be 28 years old, get my license, and be unable to find a job because I have no work experience at all. Help, please!

Thanks for any advice!

[chloecatrn]

The hospitals in your area may accept nursing students as Patient Care Technicians/Nursing Assistants/Patient Care Associates... most do. My best advice would be to check the websites of hospitals local to you and see what the requirements for their aide positions are. They'll usually state something like blah blah, certifications, stuff stuff, or completion of one semester of nursing school. The LPN thing is not correct.

Secondly, the market is tight right now, which is causing the demand for experienced nurses. Hospitals feel that, if they're going to spend the money to hire someone new, they should get bang for their buck and hire someone with experience. Hopefully, by the time you graduate, the stress will have lifted and new grads will have an easier time finding a job. This doesn't mean that you'll necessarily be able to float right into an ED... you might have to put in some time on a med/surg unit gaining some skills, which wouldn't be awful. But eventually, you'll be able to get yourself into the ED, if that's where you feel you belong.

Good luck.