Certified Nursing Assistant

Certified nursing assistant training requires enrollment in a specialized course or a program at the end of which the trainee can stand the state test for certification. Other names for nursing assistant include nurse aide, orderly, patient care technician or home health aide. This is the health care professional who takes care of all the daily living tasks of patients. The main care services here include bathing, grooming, feeding the patients or assisting the medical stuff with the equipment or by verifying the patient’s vital signs.

Steps to certified nursing assistant training

First of all, in order to be admitted in a certification program for nurse aides, you need your high school diploma or GED. Then, you can start the training program at a community college or local medical facility depending on the situation. The certification program takes between six and twelve weeks to complete.

You’ll have courses on basic nursing skills, nutrition, infection control, physiology and anatomy. Besides the theoretical classes, there is a lot of laboratory and clinical activities that give the trainee hands-on-experience for the job ahead. As part of the certification training program, you’ll work with real patients, in a medical care facility, but under the supervision of an instructor or registered nurse trainer.

Getting your certification

The regulations that apply to the certification of nursing aides vary from state to state. It is important to check all the requirements for certification and registration before you start your training, because thus you can find out which courses are mandatory and which aren’t.

Certification is important for your salary as well. Right after you finish the certified nursing assistant training and you take the exam, you’re a beginner, and your wages will be lower than the revenue of nurse aides with years of experience. The place of employment as well as the years of experience thus have a direct impact on the revenue of a nursing assistant.

Professional opportunities

Due to the increasing health care needs of modern world population, the career opportunities for nursing assistants are excellent on the long term. According to statistics, there will be a 19% growth in the number of nursing aides jobs by 2018. The future looks bright particularly for nurse aides who get hired for in-home treatment, which is considered the more comfortable and money-wise alternative to nursing home care.

Training in a hospital or in a medical facility has numerous advantages because you don’t have to pay for the program yourself, as it is the case with college training, and you earn a revenue (even if small). A hospital can actually pay you for your certified nurse aide training, if you remain their employee at the completion of the course. This win-win situation has so many benefits for both parties involved.

Hence, if you have decided on a nursing assistant career, you should start evaluating your options right away. Learn about training programs and about the possibility to advance in your career by following superior medical education, after the specific certified nursing assistant training.