By
Lanee’ Blunt
image.jpg)
Certified
nursing assistants work on a daily basis with patients by providing them with
bedside care. As a nursing aide your duties will include cleaning and bathing
patients, helping them use the toilet, and dress. You will be responsible for
turning and positioning patients, and transferring them to their beds and
wheelchairs. You will measure patient’s
vital signs for example, blood pressure, and temperature. They also help
registered nurses and LPN’s and serves meals and assists some by feeding them.
Apply for training
You
can apply at a community college or a vocational school. The Red Cross offers a program that provides a quality education for working in a nursing home. Most nursing
aide programs offer students instruction in counting and recording a patient’s
pulse, taking temperature, assisting with using the toilet and bathing, correct
techniques in moving and positioning patients, and filling out forms and
recording information on charts.
Length of Course
it is very fast paced; you
can become a certified nursing assistant in a short time. Compared to other careers becoming a nursing aide can be done in just six
to twelve weeks in most states compared to other jobs that take months or years
of instruction. The requirements for the state examination are to complete a
program, have your high school diploma or GED, pass a drug test, pass a TB test
with a negative result, and a background check.
Certification Test
After
completion, the student must pass a state test. The test is two parts a written
exam and a clinical test. The clinical part of the test consists of the student
operating nursing techniques in a practical setting in front of a
state-approved medical examiner. The written test includes basic
medical concepts, and care-giving techniques.
Salary by Years of Experience
According
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay was $24,010. According to
Payscale.com the hourly wage is $7.84 to $16.22 with the highest hourly rate depending
on the amount of experience they have. Nursing homes pay a compatible wage to a
hospital. The job is in demand because of the growing population of elderly
people that need their assistance in nursing homes and in home-care.
Reference:
Bureau
of Labor Statistics: Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
[Image
of CNA’s]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.cnaaffordabletraining.com/
