Madidautel Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Hi everyone, I'm thinking about getting my CNA certification in the next couple of months. Currently I have no patient care experience and also no prospects of LOR from a doctor or anyone. I am just starting this journey into trying to become a good applicant for PA programs and just want to know what my best bet is for getting LOR from a PA. What certification will give me those opportunities. I've heard that CNA you wont have much physician interaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyJ Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 EMT would be better then CNA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madidautel Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 8 minutes ago, DizzyJ said: EMT would be better then CNA Would EMT give me good physician interaction to secure letters of rec? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nichole96 Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Don't worry so much about the letter - worry about if you'll actually like the work. You'll be doing this job for at least a year (likely more) and it'll be a long year if you're dreading getting up in the morning. Plus, being naturally enthusiastic and eager about the work will give you a better shot at a good letter than a perfunctory letter from a job you hate. Good luck! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janemoe Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 As someone who got both my EMT and CNA license, there are pros and cons to each. I started out as a CNA in a rehab/long term care and was miserable, never saw anything medical-related, never saw any doctors/PAs. No one helped each other and I hated it. So then I worked as a CNA in a hospital and came across plenty of doctors/PAs that I then asked to shadow. (I got a LOR out of that!) The culture was different; people were always willing to help. It was an inspirational environment actually, to see the healthcare team in action... and be a significant part of it. Even though you do the dirty work haha. So with being a CNA, I would recommend working in a hospital and not a nursing home, rehab, etc. If you go that route. With EMT... the course was a priceless experience. Not to mention, it greatly improved my sGPA. When it comes to jobs... and this is specific to my city... EMTs really only worked on private ambulance companies. So they transported patients from one hospital to another mainly. I didn't want to do that. But EMTs commonly work as ED techs (again, specific to where I live). I think that is highly valuable experience. Hopefully that made sense. Let me know if you have any questions! My PCE is kind of all over the place because I wanted to try everything. I agree with the previous comment too, that you should pick the PCE that you will enjoy the most. It can be draining and discouraging going to a job you hate, even if it is PCE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat97 Posted September 12, 2020 Share Posted September 12, 2020 I got my CNA license and instantly got a job in the pediatric intensive care unit at my current hospital as a PCT. In the hospitals if you have your CNA license you can work as a PCT/PCA. I have loved my experience. I help the nurses with patient care and they taught me phlebotomy on the job. I am always surrounded by doctors, NPs, and PAs. I also served as part of the code blue team for the hospital so I helped by being a runner or doing compressions. During my time I have been able to shadow PAs in multiple units, even in surgery. Since I was already an employee in the hospital, there wasn't any paper work I had to fill out to be able to shadow or get permission to observe a surgery or clinic visit. This is where I got my letters of recommendation, I got one from a PA I shadowed in the hospital, a doctor who worked in my unit. and my nurse manager. My time as a CNA has been nothing short of amazing. They even cross trained me to work in NICU, CICU, hem/onc, rehab, and med surg. I highly suggest the CNA route for PCE, but like people said above, you need to do something you will like. I did a 2 day CNA class and then signed up to take the CNA exam. There were materials that helped me study such as the youtube channel "4urCNA," they show all 21 clinical skills for you to practice. In addition, since having my CNA license I have been able to take on contracts to work with covid patients in other hospitals, which has definitely been an experience I will never forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia5827 Posted September 12, 2020 Share Posted September 12, 2020 I think both provide their own valuable experiences! Like someone said, I think it depends on what type of patients you want to care for and what you enjoy more. I got my EMT license because I am more interested in emergent/trauma situations, but CNA positions can allow you to help more in long care facilities. It also depends on what jobs you can get in your hometown also. In my hometown, if you have an EMT license OR a CNA license you can be an ER tech. Look around at hospitals and clinics and see what licensure they require Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preped Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 On 9/10/2020 at 10:50 AM, Madidautel said: Would EMT give me good physician interaction to secure letters of rec? EMT will help more with your classroom side. You'll have lot of medical hands on experience working with paramedics pushing drugs. CNA will help more with being a good nurse in the long run. now choice is yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelaneyR44 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 I chose to become a certified EMT because it is the certification required to become an ED tech, which is often preferred by PA schools to other patient care experience because it involves so much hands-on patient care. I got a job in a busy ED/trauma center and got TONS of experience. I saw dozens of patients every day and was literally always involved in patient care. I also saw everything you can imagine, learned to read EKGs and draw blood, etc... all with an EMT certification that took just 2 months. I've also worked for the last several months as an EMT on an ambulance and, while I have more independence, I get very little patient interaction and zero physician/PA interaction (you'll want LORs from PAs ideally). There's no reason for you to interact with PAs while working for an ambulance because you hand off to nurses, and even that is too brief an interaction to warrant a LOR. Long story short, I would definitely recommend becoming and EMT but working in a hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kortney123 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 How about ACLS or PALS certifications? I got mine from Save a Life Certifications by NHCPS. They have several bundles to save you money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuchiKopi Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 37 minutes ago, Kortney123 said: How about ACLS or PALS certifications? I got mine from Save a Life Certifications by NHCPS. They have several bundles to save you money. Most acute care settings require ACLS and PALS through organizations backed by the AHA and not NHCPS. Just throwing this out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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