A Certified Nursing Assistant provides a vital role in health care. Working under the supervision of a Licensed Practical Nurse or a
Registered Nurse, a Certified Nursing Assistant provides assistance to patients with healthcare needs. This job title carries a lot of responsibility, however due to liability issues the duties of a Certified Nursing Assistant is limited to certain procedures.
What Does A Certified Nursing Assistant Do?
The actual job as a Certified Nursing Assistant may vary from state to state and the area that you reside. Some of the common tasks that a nursing assistant may be assigned can include observing the patient’s condition, vital signs, applying dressings, recording liquid and food intake and reporting any changes to a supervisor. Other duties can include, assisting patients that are unable to feed themselves, turning and repositioning bedridden patients, assist patients with walking and moving in and out of bed, bathing patients, changing patient’s clothes, cleaning rooms and changing the bed linens.
Working as a nursing assistant allows you to choose from a wide variety of work place settings. Certified Nursing Assistants can often be found working in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement or assisted living facilities, adult day care centers and the patient’s own home. Working at all of these job settings, the duty of a Certified Nursing Assistant is to be a helpful liaison between the patient and the nurses. Because nursing assistants have daily contact with their patients, they serve a vital role by providing vital information to the nurses or supervisors regarding the patient’s condition.
A Certified Nursing Assistant job can be difficult at times. Often times the workload can be intense and fast paced. Providing care for the ill and elderly require a great deal of patience’s and compassion. When asked, many Certified Nursing Assistants agree that their job is very rewarding. Their compassion for patients and the desire to help people, help nursing assistants get through difficult days.
Training
Becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant can be accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. To become a Certified Nursing assistant, you are required to complete a certified nursing assistant certification program. Depending on the school and your location, the program can be completed between 6 and 12 weeks. Most technical schools and community colleges offer these programs. The certified nursing assistant program teaches basic nursing skills, infection control, physiology, anatomy, and nutrition. The clinical sessions provide hands-on training and experience.
Outlook
A Certified Nursing Assistant that is just starting out can expect to earn between $20,000 and $30,000 annually. Place of employment and experience are the major factors that determine a Certified Nursing Assistants salary.
Labor statistics predict that Certified Nursing Assistant jobs will have a 28 percent growth by the year 2016. Certified Nursing Assistants also have a higher turn-over rate. It is not because people are unhappy working as a Certified Nursing Assistant, but many people enter the Certified Nursing Assistant career as a stepping stone to continue their education to later become a licensed or registered nurse.
