Working as an NA for clinical experience?

[gsquared]

I'm a freshman bio major who is pursing a pre-med course of studies. I have been volunteering at the local hospital for almost two years now, and I have over 200 hrs under my belt. I've done most of the patient contact units Uro/Ortho, MICU, SICU, and I occasionaly swing down by the ETC to watch.

I plan on continuing volunteering at a different hospital during the school year, and returning to my original hospital for breaks/summer. However, I don't really want to work at a part time job that doesn't relate to my interests, and I need some money.

I'm considering applying for an NA position, but I was wondering how that would look on a med school application. Will this be seen as "positive clinical experience", or will this be just another part time job? Don't get me wrong- I love volunteering, and I spend most of my spare time at the hospital. I just don't have time to go through an EMT program, I don't see myself getting a research position for the summer, and I need some cash to pay for room/board.

Thoughts, opinions, or experiences?

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[ChubbyChaser]

You seem to have a good deal of clinical experience, but i dont think a CNA is any quicker than EMT, possibly a little. But, yes It will be good on your apps, although i think with your exposure a research position might be better.

 

[xpinchx]

NAs have to take a course similar in length to EMTs, although they make a bit more money. If you're interested in a patient care job I'd suggest applying as either a PCT (mostly vitals and cleaning up code browns, but only requires on-the-job training) or a patient safety sitter (aka patient attendant, only a short orientation is required) which will give you constant patient contact and responsibilities vary. I've been doing the latter for ~2 years and it's been great clinical experience, great exposure to the "dark side" of the medical world (by that I mean, drug addicts, psychotics, alcohol withdrawals, non-cooperative patients, violent patients, etc. Stuff you normally won't see if you just volunteer or work as an NA in a cardiac unit.)

Seeing as you're a freshman in college, a "regular" part-time job won't be held against you when you apply to medical school.

 

[gsquared]

I talked to nursing human resources, and they told me that you don't have to be certified to work as an NA in the hospital. They actually provide in-house training (like an orientation) and since I already do most of the things taught (bagging bodies, cleaning rooms, transporting patients, turning, etc.) I would be fine. I guess we have a lot of nursing students work as NA's. I was volunteering last night, and the NA's in SICU told me that starting pay really isn't that bad, and that they get loads of patient contact (I personally want to work in the ETC).

Provided I can get a position, do you think this would be good experience/look good on my resume?

 

[armybound]

I worked basically as a NA with my EMT cert. It was a good experience, and I think you'd gain a lot from the experience if you didn't have much clinical experience before.

Your volunteering experience will probably be more than enough, and I doubt you'd be able to do much more as a NA/EMT than what you've already done, especially if they've let you get hands-on already.

 

[gujuDoc]

I talked to nursing human resources, and they told me that you don't have to be certified to work as an NA in the hospital. They actually provide in-house training (like an orientation) and since I already do most of the things taught (bagging bodies, cleaning rooms, transporting patients, turning, etc.) I would be fine. I guess we have a lot of nursing students work as NA's. I was volunteering last night, and the NA's in SICU told me that starting pay really isn't that bad, and that they get loads of patient contact (I personally want to work in the ETC).

Provided I can get a position, do you think this would be good experience/look good on my resume?

It will be good experience but if you are doing it just to look good on your resume then don't do it. do something because you want the learning experience.

 

[gsquared]

Don't get me wrong- I'm totally into the hospital environment (sometimes when I'm free I just go to the hospital and observe- I don't record volunteer hours or anything). I'm basically doing all the NA tasks at the moment, but I'm not getting paid for it. Money is an issue, as my dad isn't contributing and I have room/board to pay.

 

[armybound]

ahh, that makes sense then.

it might be worth your effort to get trained as a NA then.

 

[curlywurly]

NA training is super easy and takes about three weeks. It's worth it to get trained because you have a wider variety of jobs available to you as well as the potential for a higher salary.

I took the class this summer with the intention of getting a NA job this school year, but with a few thousand nursing majors at my school there is a lot of competition for NA jobs. Hopefully I'll find something soon!

 

[gsquared]

Yeah- that's what I was thinking. There is a two or three week program/orientation for NA's at our local hospital (you don't have to be a CNA). It seems like every NA I know is pre-med, pre-nursing, or a nursing/medical student.

I think I'm going to apply a few months before I get back from school for the summer (Jan or Feb). Thoughts?