How do you become a CNA

[urchin]

I am currently working in biomedical research, and try to switch to medical care. I have a good GPA, good research background. A big blank in my profile is the patient care experience. I found out that the best way to gain patient care exprience is to work as a CNA, EMT/Paramedic, medical assistant, physical therapy assistant, or phlebotomist, but I still need to figure out which is the best for me.

 

1. CNA

I know you can got to Red Cross to get CNA training for 4 weeks, and then you can get the certification by passing the test. My question about this is how easy to pass the exam? How easy to get the job after you get the certificate? What is the usually work shift you can get now?

 

2. EMT/Paramedic,

This sounds good, but I a quite pettie, and I am not sure if I can lift heavy things such as 50 bls.

 

3. Medical assistant,

3-semster of class seems too long.

 

4. Physical therapy assistant

I have not yet look into details about this one. I am not sure how long it will take to become a physical therapy assistant.

 

4. Phlebotmist

Class can be finished in 15 weeks. My question is how easy to get a job after you get certified?

 

I don't have the whole picture yet, but I think so far CNA and Phlebotmist will fit me better. Any information and suggestions will be appreciated.

 

 

[db_pavnp]

The phlebotomist question cannot be answered by anyone outside of your city.  Plus, a 15 week program for it is a scam, particularly if your city pays them minimum wage.

 

Three semesters for a MA also screams scam to me.  Same minimum wage issues.

 

Your EMT/Para concern sounds valid to me.

 

No comment on PTA.  I think they pay more legitimately.  Many PTA positions are filled with PT students.  Same as some hospitals fill all CNA-ish positions with RN students.

 

I would do the CNA at the ARC.  How hard the test is isn't important.  No one knows how much your city pays them, but it's not a lot.  New employees tend to get the traditionally less desirable shifts (nights and evenings).  In my opinion, you want to get inside a hospital because of the opportunities to move around and up, greater shift availability and options, learning opportunities, and limit your time spent blowing money on scam programs at local community and vocational colleges.

[Maynard]

I'd say cross PT assistant off your list. The training and pay are about the same as a CNA, but PA programs consider CNA to better HCE since you work on the medical side along side providers. I think the job prospects are probably better for CNAs, too.

 

EMT-B is good experience, but I would take a serious look at the job prospects in your area before you decide on this route. Where I live CNA jobs are hard to come by and paid EMT jobs are basically impossible. Some counties have fire and rescue that are entirely volunteer. Look on Craiglist jobs. Look at the jobs at your local hospitals. See what they require. I really wanted to do EMT. I could lift 50 lbs. I could deadlift 300 lbs. However, there just weren't jobs in my area for EMT and I didn't have the cash flow to pay money for a 1-semester EMT class so I could work a thousand hours without pay (and then there's the problem that some schools don't even accept unpaid HCE).

 

Paramedic is much more advanced than EMT-B. It's great experience, but it will be a lot of training.

 

There are a lot of CNA jobs and there are a lot of people who don't want to work as a CNA. Again, the specifics depend on your area, but CNA is one of the more reliable routes to fast HCE. The training requirements will depend on your area, too. After I got certified I managed to get an evening shift working in a subacute ward, which is pretty good, but this was after two months of hard searching with no luck whatsoever. My understanding is that CNAs in other areas have an easier time job hunting.

 

I don't know enough to give advice about phlebotomy or MA.

 

Again, look at the job postings (especially Craigslist) in your area to get a feel for what's feasible. Check the websites for your local hospitals and long-term-care facilities to see how they're hiring, but take that information with a grain of salt. I've seen many hospitals post understated requirements for job openings that didn't really exist.

 

If you're looking for acceptable HCE that you can obtain quickly and reliably then I think CNA will be your best option.

[paynesm]

Are you guys thinking of PT Aide? 

 

Physical Therapist Assistant  is two years of fairly rigorous course work (AAS) and, depending on the area/school, acceptance is competitive with many applicants. PTA school usually requires at least a year of pre reqs and an interview. I think this is more of a career type deal and shouldn't be on your list if you want exp with quick training. Not saying this is bad exp because from what I understand it's widely considered more than acceptable by PA admissions just not completed quickly or easily. 

 

There are CCs where you can bang out medic with a year cert if you wanted to go that route but I’m thinking CNA/EMT is what you want. 

[Maynard]

 

Are you guys thinking of PT Aide? 

 

 

I guess I am. I remember when I signed up for my CNA classes there was some title like that which required a one semester course. Thanks for the clarification. It's good to know that there's another healthcare "assistant" title which sparks the same confusion and a lack of respect as Physician Assistant, I'm just ashamed that I'm one of the ignoramuses who's getting confused. And I worked for two years on a rehab ward! How horrible is that?

[leinaduo17]

There are CCs where you can bang out medic with a year cert if you wanted to go that route but I’m thinking CNA/EMT is what you want. 

 

 

Lot of states require you to be an EMT for at least a year before advancing to be a Medic.

[GreatChecko]

Check with your state nursing board for CNA reqs. In Florida, a person can simply challenge the CNA exam without taking a course. 

 

Really a lot of what you are asking is state and even hospital specific if there are no regulations. Check with the Board of EMS and Board of Nursing.

 

As for being petite, keep in mind that there are few good entry level HCE roles in medicine where you won't be moving, rolling, and repositioning patients. Now, I worked with an ER Tech that could be described as petite, but is now a police officer, so don't let size stop you. It might be worth looking for a good personal trainer for some strengthening and core exercises if that is the true concern. 

[paynesm]

Lot of states require you to be an EMT for at least a year before advancing to be a Medic.

 

My mistake. Redacted. I forgot to mention that medic programs (accelerated or not) very often require prior EMT exp and you would be doing yourself a huge disservice without it anyway. So yeah OP, CNA or EMT and all the best to you. 

[Nonlegit]

My CNA course was 2 weeks long (14 days) approximately 10 years ago. Not sure if those sort of classes are still around in CT, but as someone else mentioned, its very state and hospital specific. An ED tech job I got in CT later in my career generally wanted their techs to be EMT-Bs (although no actual requirement for this). My point is, my CNA certificate with no experience wouldn't have gotten me the job, but at this point with all my experience I would surely be a good candidate even if I didn't have an EMT license (although I did, its lapsed now).

 

Basically its a crapshoot. Its like this all over the country.  Some times hospitals have explicit qualification requirements for their employees, but many times they don't, or the next hospital 8 blocks over will not. Probably only 2/8 of the hospitals I have worked at as a tech had an actual license/certificate requirement. Most of the time its just a CPR cert, and they will train for that upon hiring.

[aliss929]

I did a CNA training course through the American Red Cross in Massachusetts. Our course had a clinical and written exam at the end --- both of which were pretty easy. Certification, however, is done by individual states following the course. In most states, completing the training course enables you to sit for the state exam. I took the state exam in Massachusetts (very strict, lots of people fail) and then took the challenge exams in Missouri (practical and written, everyone passed -- including people that shouldn't have... some were allowed to change answers after failing written portion of exam) and Kansas (written only). 

 

It took me a very long time to find a CNA job in a hospital (1 year). It is pretty easy to get a job in home health or a nursing home, but hospitals tend to want people with hospital experience (for good reason -- there is a steep learning curve and it takes lots of practice to become an efficient aide, IMO). If you have a connection at a hospital and they can recommend you to HR, that may go a long way. Best of luck to you!