Nostraadms Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Hello everyone, I applied to PA schools this cycle and started working as a CNA about 3 months ago at a convalescent hospital. I like my job, my coworkers are okay, and it fits my school schedule; HOWEVER I do want "better" hce, such as a CNA in a hospital or emergency department. My problem is that I haven't been able to get an interview for any hospital jobs. I have volunteered at a hospital and everyone I spoke to said that he or she got the job "because they knew someone"- that person being a close friend or family. One EMT even told me that he got a job in the emergency without prior experience because his dad was a charge nurse there. My problem is I don't really know anyone on a personal level who would be able to put in good word for me and I'm not the kind who can sweet talk or cozy up to the nurses and staff. This seems to be the case for many of the hospital jobs in Southern California What advice would you give me??? There was another CNA who told me to just call the HR department every other week, not too often to avoid annoyance, but just enough to let them know you are very interested. I plan on following his advice and I will also keep my current job, but will start actively looking for new positions elsewhere (in a few months). Please, any advice is greatly appreciated :) Thank!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smccccc Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I work in the icu of a hospital as a PCT. However, I did work as a cna for a year and a half in a nursing Home before that. If you have only been a cna for 3 months I think you may not have enough experience to work in a hospital yet. Where I work they wanted one year of experience. Yeah, it is hard to get in but keep applying and eventually you will get a call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dndandrea Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I landed a job as a PCNA/PCT/Nurse assistant at a big named hospital with zero health care experience. You have experience in one of the toughest fields of medicine, geriatrics (assuming most of the people at your nursing home are older). Mentioning that you're studying to become a physician assistant should also be beneficial to your application. Most nurse assistant jobs at hospitals are held temporary by students, so its not uncommon for these positions to be come available often. Unfortunately, you just have to contact them at the right time, which can be difficult! You're going to get various answers from people on here because it really depends on the hospital and location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDtech Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I would keep your current CNA job and apply for any job opening at the hospital even if it is not direct patient care. That way you could get your foot in the door and get to know people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm7sus4 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 To land quality employment in this economy, you have to make finding it your full-time job. I put in the better half of 100 applications over a period of 2 years to land where I am now, which is right where I want to be. I did a total of 7 interviews for all these applications, 4 of which happened during the last semester of my bachelor's degree. A good 10-15 of the applications were for jobs that I was blatantly unqualified for, but submittted on the off-chance that I would get an interview (I did not). 4 offered jobs, and after I accepted here I had two other offers for interviews, I did not know anyone on the inside. I have no adverse events in my work history as an adult...it's just that hard to find a decent job. Apply, apply, apply. Then apply some more. Set a goal of 10 applications per week (I'm assuming you live in/near a fairly large urban area for this to work...) Where I work, many people take jobs in housekeeping or at a store counter just to get their foot in the door and make a lateral move into the position they really want. That's very effective for those who are willing to wait it out doing something they don't necessarily care for doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian7 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Most CNA and PCT jobs at hospitals in my area want a minimum of a year experience before you apply. Nothing wrong with applying for jobs now but you will probably have better luck when you have at least 6 months under your belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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