What is a Nursing Assistant?

Have you ever wanted to work closely with patients within a hospital? Well, those talented and amicable people looking to be on the ground floor of a hospital and working closer to the patients should seriously consider becoming Certified Nursing Assistants.

For those who are wondering, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNAs), otherwise called nurses aides, orderlies, patient care technicians, and home health aides, works under the supervision of a nurse to provide assistance to patients with daily living tasks.

Although most Certified Nursing Assistants do not have the most glamorous or high-level job in the hospital, they are definitely high priority personnel. CNAs are the lifeline of day-to-day patient care.
It is their responsibility to handle daily living tasks with ease and efficiency.

Those wishing to be Certified Nursing Assistants need to be able to handle essential patient care tasks such as bathing, grooming, and feeding patients. In addition, they should be able to assist nurses with the operation of medical equipment and check the vital signs of patients.

More importantly, Nursing Assistants play a critical role in the emotional health of patients by interacting with them on a more personal level. They are responsible for ensuring that the patient is comfortable, relaxed, and well-rested while in the hospital. After all, emotional health is an important component to physical health!

Most Certified Nursing Assistants need 75 hours of training with a minimum of 16 hours under supervision before they can receive official certification. The average salary for a typical Nursing Assistant in the United States is around $24,363 a year.

If you’re looking to work on a more emotional level with patients and under the supervision of other nurses, then becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant could be a career choice for you to consider!