What's a good job to have during nursing school?

October 28, 2024 11:43 AM

I'm in an ASN program right now and looking for a job I can hold during school (so part-time or per diem). My #1 priority is finding a job that will help me get a real RN job once I graduate. What are your recommendations?

After graduating, I'm hoping to do some kind of intense bedside job. I'm also very interested in pursuing an MSN or even possibly a DNP, so it would be great to get a job that might help in that area as well.

I just got hired as a medical scribe, but I do like doing hands-on stuff during my clinicals and I'm wondering if maybe there's something in that realm that might exist. I'm also planning on getting my CNA certification this week so I could do those kinds of jobs as well. For me, the more hands-on, the better.

I live in CA and I do plan on getting the BSN very soon after I graduate from my current program.

posted by miltthetank to Work & Money (8 answers total)

The CNAs/patient care techs in my inpatient pediatric unit get a TON of hands on experience, and a lot of our past techs have gone on to work as RNs, so that's my recommendation. (I'm not a nurse, I just work with them!)
posted by obfuscation at 11:48 AM on October 28

While in nursing school my spouse was a CNA at the hospital where he now works. He got a ton of hands on experience and learned a lot about how to be a good nurse.
posted by ElizaMain at 11:56 AM on October 28

Definitely work as a CNA. If you can get a CNA job on a unit or floor you are interested in working on long-term, you'll have a huge leg up in hiring for your first nursing job. My husband's unit (pediatric operating room) typically doesn't hire brand new nurses right after they graduate, but they will almost always make an exception for new nurses who worked as CNAs on their unit.
posted by mjcon at 12:26 PM on October 28

Nthing the recommendation to seek out a CNA job. Try to ask around to find out which hospital or system has the best reputation for hiring and actively supporting new nurse graduates, and apply there. A CNA who is in nursing school is generally a very attractive candidate, and being able to learn a floor/unit and stay there after graduation is pretty much the dream. If it's intensity you're after, look for CNA roles in ICU/critical care, CVICU, NICU, etc.
posted by little mouth at 1:10 PM on October 28

When I was in nursing school I worked as a CNA. I went out of my way to be as helpful and accommodating as possible, told everyone on the unit that I wanted to learn from them, and told the manager regularly how much I loved my job and how much I wanted to work there when I graduated. It paid off—I started working there as an RN the week after I passed the licensing exam.

My friends who waited tables made way more money than I did while we were in school but I had the easiest time by far of securing my first RN job.
posted by jesourie at 2:14 PM on October 28

CNA, or a Nurse Tech, if your state allows for that role. In WA it let's the nursing student, as the Tech, perform some more basic nursing tasks as part of their job description. Simple med passes, mostly, governed by an RN you're working with.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 4:10 PM on October 28

At the hospital where I work, the “work as nurse tech in nursing school” to “hired as a nurse after grad/licensing exams” pathway is a well oiled machine. 100% the oath you should take and the best way to try different settings and get a job after school.
posted by MadamM at 10:41 AM on October 29

I was gonna say "catering," but CNA is much better.
posted by rhizome at 2:02 AM on October 30