15 Best Jobs For Nursing Students
Getting a job while taking classes to become a nurse is a great way for future nurses to receive crucial experience that will help them later on in their nursing career job search. Another great benefit to getting a job while becoming a nurse is to experience some of the great pleasures of impacting patients in a positive way, as well as to ensure that becoming a nurse is the career path you’d like to pursue. We have compiled a list of the best jobs for nursing students.
Why Having A Job Is Useful As A Student
Having a part time job as a nursing student is a great way for nurses to gain some valuable experience. Increasingly, healthcare employers and recruiters are looking to hire the most qualified talent to fill vacant positions.
Nursing students can help separate themselves from other candidates by showcasing their previous experience in a hospital or healthcare facility. These nursing students who can gain extra experience through these jobs for nursing students will help condition them for their future healthcare career as well.
One great benefit, is that some of these jobs are focused around a position within a hospital. So nursing students will have the ability to be mentored by existing healthcare professionals that they will work closely with, and gain valuable insight that other nursing students would otherwise miss out on.
The second fantastic benefit of these nursing student jobs, is that working closely with other hospital and healthcare officials will let you be the first to know when a potential opening is available. This means that you will be one of the first candidates who can apply to vacant positions when you are close to graduating.
Another fantastic benefit is recommendations. As mentioned previously, hospitals and healthcare facilities are looking to hire the most qualified talent for vacant positions, and recommendations can help set you apart. While other nursing students are going to seek the recommendations of their student peers and teachers, you can set yourself apart by having professional recommendations from those you worked with.
Having these professional recommendations will help separate yourself from other candidates who lack professional experience, and only have their student clinical experience to showcase. Below are some of the best jobs for nursing students that you should consider.
Best Jobs For Nursing Students
1. Phlebotomist
Becoming a Phlebotomist is a great part-time job for nursing students, as these healthcare professionals are responsible for collecting blood that is used for donations and testing procedures. These collected samples are then analyzed in various diagnostic libraries to help diagnose illnesses, evaluate nutrition levels, and determine effective medication dosage.
This is one of the best jobs for nursing students as it allows nursing students to gain some valuable healthcare experience interacting with patients and following important medical procedures.
Phlebotomists typically earn between $12.48 and $17.67 an hour, which will give you some much needed extra spending money as a nursing student.
2. Certified Nursing Assistant
Nursing Assistants help provide some much needed assistance to nurses during critical moments. One great benefit of becoming a nursing assistant for a potential consideration of student nursing jobs, is that nursing assistants are needed in virtually every setting that a nurse might work at.
This includes hospitals, healthcare facilities, schools, camps, etc. If a nurse is needed, then chances are they can most definitely use a nursing assistant. Nursing assistants work hand in hand with nurses to help them in any way that might be necessary.
This is a great part time option to consider in the best jobs for nursing students if you wish to work with young children, as there are plenty of nursing assistant positions available in pediatric facilities.
Certified Nursing Assistants typically earn between $13.16 and $16.14 hourly as a part time CNA.
3. Orderly
Orderlies help provide one of the most important roles in a hospital or healthcare facility as their name suggests, order. Orderlies help behind the scenes in a hospital or healthcare facility and typically help sanitize various rooms, determine patient needs, and sanitize equipment for use. In addition, orderlies might help escort and transport patients to various treatment rooms to receive x-rays or patient treatment.
Working as an orderly is a great nursing student job to consider as it helps provide some much needed experience in the behind the scenes operation of hospital and healthcare facilities.
According to PayScale, an Orderly typically earns between $8.96 and $16.81 hourly as a part time position.
4. Transporter
One of the best jobs for nursing students is to become a patient transporter. Fewer part time jobs for nursing students highlight the in’s and out’s of a healthcare or hospital facility. Transporters get to see first hand all of the logistics involved in transporting patients from one part of the facility to the other.
Becoming a transporter is a one of the great student nurse jobs if you have great communication skills, are personable, or enjoy interacting with different individuals who are receiving care.
Transporters work hand in hand with other nurses and physicians to help move patients throughout the hospital to their treatment procedures or examinations.
According to PayScale, a patient transporter typically earns between $9.08 and $15.53 hourly.
5. Home Health Aide
Home health aides is one of the essential jobs for nursing students to consider, as home health aides provide some of the most critical care a patient might receive. Due to the fact that not every patient can attend a hospital or healthcare facility to receive care, home health aides provide much needed assistance for patients.
Home health aides provide care for those who are physically or mentally ill, injured, disabled, or confined to a home. Home health aides typically work under the close supervision of a nurse who is in charge of overseeing the patient’s care.
Home health aides typically earn between $8.95 and $11.69 hourly.
6. Direct Care Aide
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Direct care aides typically find employment in care facilities and nursing group homes in local communities. These direct care aides interact with disabled clients and perform a variety of functions.
Some of these functions might include helping clients get dressed, preparing meals, assisting with toiletries, giving showers, providing incontinent care, and completion of important paperwork.
This is a great role for nursing students to consider as a nursing student job, as it helps provide an insight into how even the smallest of interactions can go a long way in dealing with patients.
According to PayScale, direct care aides typically earn between $8.28 and $13.64 hourly.
7. Hospital Clerical Worker
Hospital clerical workers work hand in hand with both patients and hospital and healthcare officials. Hospital clerical workers typically help place doctors orders in the electronic system, answer phones, answer questions that patients might have, and provide other various secretarial duties.
According to PayScale, hospital clerical workers typically earn between $10.90 and $19.80 hourly.
8. Caregiver
Becoming a caregiver is one of the most rewarding jobs for nursing students, as it gives nursing students some much needed experience in interacting with patients and providing essential care.
A caregiver’s responsibilities typically include providing companionship to patients, accompanying their patients to important appointments, reporting on changes in conditions, or assisting with the delivery of medication and meals.
According to PayScale, caregivers typically earn between $8.54 and $14.96 hourly.
9. Monitor Technician
Monitor technicians are some of the most important pieces in an intensive care unit or emergency room. Monitor technicians help oversee heart rates and monitor patients. They then relay that feedback to the appropriate officials.
This is one of the great jobs for nursing students who are considering a nursing career that is focused around intensive care, or cardiac care. Working as a monitor technician for a part time nursing student job is great for those who would like to gain some valuable insight and experience in a future career related to cardiac care.
According to PayScale, monitor technicians typically earn between $10.97 and $20.18 hourly.
10. Sanitation Technician
Becoming a sanitation technician is a great part time option as a job for nursing students, as it showcases all the important care and meticulous effort that goes into cleaning and sanitizing medical equipment for future use.
Sanitation technicians typically work inside hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities. Sanitation technicians will help clean and decontaminate various medical equipment and instruments that is often used in routine operations and procedures. This is one of the most important roles in a hospital or healthcare facility, as clean equipment is essential for providing the best care.
According to PayScale, sanitation technicians typically earn between $9.91 and $18.28 hourly.
11. Personal Care Aide
Personal care aides are similar to home health aides in that they provide essential care to their clients and patients. Personal care aides help provide any service that their patient might require such as shopping, general housekeeping, grooming, meal preparation, and other tasks that might be needed.
Personal care aides work closely with individuals who are home-bound in one capacity or another.
According to PayScale, personal care aides typically earn between $8.33 and $15.38 hourly.
12. Dietitian Aide
One nursing student job that nursing students should consider is becoming a dietitian aide. Dietitian aides help prepare and provide meals to patients that are part of the care administered by physicians and doctors.
Much of the care that patients receive comes on the orders of unique diets and meal plans, and dietary aides and dietitian aides help make sure that the meals their patient eats follow those guidelines. One of the great benefits of this job for nursing students, is that dietitian aides are needed in virtually every hospital and healthcare facility, as every patient needs to eat at some point.
According to PayScale, dietitian aides typically earn between $7.97 and $12.62 hourly.
13. Occupational Therapy Aide
Occupational therapy aides are one of the great part time jobs for nursing students. Occupational therapy aides work with closely with both occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants.
Occupational therapy aides will help patients by preparing them for treatment and assembling equipment to be used as necessary. In some occasions, occupational therapy aides will also be tasked with performing a wide variety of clerical duties as well.
Occupational therapy aides typically earn between $9.98 and $15.88 hourly.
14. Psychiatric Aide
Becoming a psychiatric aide is one of the best nursing student jobs available, as they work closely with those in the mental health industry. If you are a nursing student who wishes to pursue a nursing career directly related to aiding those in the mental health industry, then you should consider being a psychiatric aid as a part time job.
Psychiatric aides help keep an eye on patients, help them bathe, dress, and eat. In some cases, psychiatric aides will help patients by cleaning, assisting in group activities, and restraining patients if necessary.
According to PayScale, psychiatric aides typically earn between $9.58 and $19.32 hourly.
15. Emergency Medical Technician / Paramedic
Emergency medical technicians or paramedics as they are sometimes called, are some of the most important individuals in healthcare. Emergency medical technicians are the ones who first respond to emergency situations and help evaluate and treat patients.
Some ways in which EMTs or paramedics might treat patients is by providing emergency medical for sick and injured individuals, administer oxygen, administer CPR, or provide interventions to allergic reactions.
Becoming an EMT is one of the best jobs for nursing students to get a first hand look at how to deal with emergency situations. There are frequent moments where nurses are thrust into emergency situations, and having this valuable experience as a part time job will help separate you from other candidates who don’t have comparable experience.
EMTs and Paramedics typically earn between $16.77 and $21.34 hourly.
Summary
As one can see, there are plenty of opportunities and jobs for nursing students that will help give valuable experience, enable you to earn some extra cash while obtaining your education, and offer opportunities to separate yourself from other candidates who don’t have the same experience.
