My life these past 6 months

It’s been about 6 months since I last posted. I started a new job 5 months ago but got hired shortly after my last post. I decided to start my job hunt thinking it would take months, but literally applied to a position, interviewed the following week and was hired two days later. I’m a patient care technician at a hospital here in San Antonio, basically a CNA, and I had zero experience.

From what I saw, it’s typically harder to start off at a hospital vs an assisted living facility and I was expecting to face months of interviews and rejection. I did get hired with my interview, but I did get two rejections from the same hospital system. One was seeking more experience and was my dream unit (I want to work in L&D/mother baby/nicu) but they wanted experience, and the other was the team I’m currently on there was just a misunderstanding on my career goals since I studied fashion merchandising.

Thanks to reaching out to a recruiter, she was able to find out what happened, and get me an interview with my current team after we explained that I am making the switch to nursing. That’s tip number one, look out for job fairs because they typically can hire on the spot and you have the opportunity to pitch yourself if like me you have no experience but are eager to learn. Reach out to a recruiter directly if their information is available and get feedback and advice.

I have gained a lot of on the job learning. I did have an initial training orientation as well as an orientation period to train under a lead tech in different units, but in this field you learn as you go. You can learn in online trainings how to handle a situation, but first experiencing it makes a big difference. Be prepared and always remember there is a person behind the patient. Compassion is such a big key, and being mindful that someone is away from the comfort of home, has to ask to do certain things, is being checked on round the clock is what will make you better at your job.

Always find opportunities to learn when possible. If you’re in school for healthcare, ask a nurse or other medical professional if you can assist/observe. Find out if your hospital/facility has opportunities to get phlebotomy certification. In some cases, you can be trained to draw labs as a pct through your facility but you may or may not be able to be certified elsewhere. I’m currently exploring this opportunity since I am a pre nursing student.

Have goals and speak to your manager/director for ways to make them happen. Learn about opportunities for higher education, from tuition reimbursement, academic partnerships, and loan repayments. My facility’s parent company (HCA) owns a local galen and has a partnership with options like reduced tuition, reimbursement and direct billing with an agreement to work full time for two years.

Speaking of education , make sure you explore the options you’re interested prior to your eligibility. For me, I was eligible after 90 days, but I should have had my ducks in a row. As a mom of 2 in daycare, I really had to explore program costs and scheduling on top of working full time. So two months after being eligible, I just started a program and got into a local college.