Healthcare Career Opportunity – Certified Nursing Assistant

To fill their staffing requirements, hospitals and nursing facilities usually hire unlicensed assistant personnel like certified nursing assistants (CNA). Patients who are unable to carry out activities of daily living on their own require the help of these nursing assistants. CNAs can also be hired by private individuals to provide home-based care. These assistants have to undergo compulsory CNA classes before they can work as a CNA.

Most of the time the responsibilities of certified nursing assistants include facilitating range of motion exercises, vital signs monitoring, and assisting in ambulation as well as personal hygiene. They can also be delegated with the daily checking and setting up of uncomplicated medical equipment like suction machines. Their tasks may also include non-invasive specimen collection for analysis. Those employed by private individuals usually have the added function of buying groceries and preparing food according to the dietician’s prescription.

Essentially, a nursing assistant is required to do almost everything a caregiver is expected to do and he/she is expected to approach his/her work in a professional manner. It is said that the best licensed nurses started out as certified nursing assistants. Also, this career path is particularly enticing because of its undemanding eligibility requirements and the relatively short period allotted for training to get certification. Schools often require you to present a high school diploma or its equivalent to qualify for admissions.

Typically, CNA classes last for 2 to 3 months at a community college or a healthcare facility. These CNA classes include lectures on anatomy and physiology, nutrition and basic nursing skills. Return demonstrations and internships are also performed so students can gain hands-on experience. CNA classes also highlight therapeutic communication techniques to their students which is an essential skill for anyone pursuing this career path. Empathy and a desire to serve is an unwritten requirement for being a CNA, it is the difference between an average and a good nursing assistant.

In 2018, it is expected that the number of individuals being in this career will grow by 19%. This trend is probably because more and more families are becoming more partial to hiring certified nursing assistants to care for their elderly or sick family members at home instead of admitting them in the hospital or in nursing facilities. Salary range for CNA’s is pegged at $7-14. Their salaries are also contingent upon level of experience, seasoned CNA’s can get as much as $32,000 in a year.

Certified nursing assistant earn as much as $14 per hour. Unlike other healthcare jobs, you only need to complete 6 to 12 weeks worth of CNA classes and training to start your career. To learn more about this career path, click here.

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