Becoming a nursing assistant first

Your Question:
I am not sure if I should become a nursing assistant or not. I will be starting school in the fall at a university working on becoming a RN. Would it be a good idea to get my CNA certification while I am in school? Are their similarities between nursing assistants and nurses?

My Answer:

Hi. Congrats on starting on the path to becoming an RN. A lot of potential nurses ask the same question about becoming a nursing assistant. The answer this will depend on the school you want to go to, your personal preference and your finances.

First of all, the school you hope to attend for nursing may require you to get your CNA certification prior to applying to school. If they don’t require it, then it may be good just to get it to help boost your application for school. I personally did not get my CNA prior to school. My school was structured so that all the students became a nursing assistant after the first semester however I have heard this has changed at many places.

Second you need to consider your personal preference. Do you feel working with patients as a nursing assistant prior to being a nurse will make you a better, more comfortable nurse? If the answer is yes, than I would highly consider that.

Finally you need to consider your finances for school. Does a nursing assistant job give you enough money to finance your life during school? I had to waitress to pay for school. A CNA job simply did not pay well enough, but most of my classmates did it and found it to be great.

The job from nursing assistant to nurse is very different, but the teamwork is necessary. Click here to see our certified nursing assistant page. Here you can get a better idea of what that job entails. In addition to these tasks RNs are responsible for patient assessment, medication administration, complex wound care, communication with other healthcare professionals, and overall safety of the patient. RNs have the ability to “be in charge” of CNAs in hospitals.

Hope this helps!