Life of a Certified Nursing Assistant in the US

Life of a Certified Nursing Assistant in the US

Life of a CNA in the US

Life of a Certified

Nursing Assistant

in the US

Key Points

Qualities and abilities

Earning

Duties and Responsibilities

lifestyle

Hard work but greatly

rewarding

CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT

If you are considering becoming a certified Nursing

Assistant, this presentation will provide you an idea of

what it is like to one.

Basically, we help patients or clients with healthcare

needs under the supervision of a Registered Nurse but

that’s not all.

Teamwork

Mentoring

Group work

Decision making

Delegation

Collaboration

Good interpersonal

& communication

skills

TeamworkHelping others

Nurturing

Caring

Ability to lift 40

to 60 pounds

High standards of

personal ethics &

professionalism

Qualities

and abilities

For a certified nursing assistant to be successful, there are qualities and

abilities he or she must posses


•Density of population

•Practical work experience

•Size and number of hospitals and clinics

•Competition

•Additional certification and

degrees

•working hours.

•CNAs typically earn hourly

wage. This means that their pay

will fluctuate depending on the

hours they work.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nursing

assistants generally earns between $7.50 and $11.50 per

hour with the median hourly wage at $9.50. But there are

few key factors that can play a crucial role in deciding the

earnings even beyond $15. They include:

Location is the major factor that can affect the CNA earnings. In the

following Bureau of Labor Statistics, you’ll learn that CNAs working in home

health care and assisted living facilities tend to earn less than their

counterparts working in general hospitals and the average CNA salary in

some states can be well over $30,000-per-year


The position of CNA is usually considered entry level in the healthcare field

which means that their pay would be considered entry level. It varies based

upon many factors such as qualifications, experience, the facility that the

CNA will work for, job location, etc. However, because it is entry level, the

certification process doesn’t take four years like a nurses or require loads of

money.

Many employers provide full time certified nursing assistants with fringe

benefits such as paid vacation, sick days, medical and hospital benefits,

over-time pay

The demands placed on certified nursing assistants may be so great that

they may feel that the pay is not commensurate with their duties. Sometimes

some may feel abused, angry and under appreciated. Therefore if you are

expecting to make a lot of money, you may be disappointed.

Whatever the reason for your interest in becoming an assistant to nurses,

their wages are nothing to scoff at especially if you are making a fresh start

in your life. These wages can still take care of a lot of bills.


They provide basic direct patient care to assist with daily living activities

such as turning and positioning patients; providing basic hygiene; lifting;

transferring; infection control; toileting; measuring vital signs such as:

blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and respiration.

Duties and Responsibilities

The life of a certified nursing assistant tends to include a vast array of

different responsibilities that may change on a day to day basis, depending

on the specific needs of the patients under their care.

CNAs fulfill critical roles in various medical communities such as:

►Hospitals

►residential care facilities

►nursing homes

►rehabilitation centers

►home health services.

►adult day care centers

►personal homes

►assisted living facilities


CNAs help in gathering different information such us testing vital signs,

ordering blood tests, taking temperatures, and asking questions of patients

to form a dossier of information so that the nurses can get right to the point

when they see a patient.

CNAs interact with the

public as well as acting

as a liaison between

patients and registered

nurses or licensed

practicing nurses.


Day to Day Work •CNAs help in Keeping Records

•Other duties they may perform include answering patient calls,

providing patients with food and drink, as requested, and helping

patients change into clean clothes.

•Certified Nursing Assistants will often be asked to help the nurses

with a variety of responsibilities – cleaning up meal trays after meals

and helping patients who are unable to feed themselves.

•CNAs may also collect urine or stool samples, change adult diapers

for patients who are incontinent, or change linens which become

soiled.

•They fulfill basic quality of life needs for patients of any age, ethnicity

or gender in nursing care facilities and clinics. Therefore they have

daily contact with patients.

•Sometimes their workload can become intense and fast-paced, but

the human contact and ability to help those in medical need is a strong

motivating factor.


ONE BIG RESPONSIBILITY

Dealing with the patient’s relatives. This can include assisting the family with

unexpected needs and taking their telephone calls.

The relatives always have a lot of questions and are on edge most of the

time. That’s why the CNAs are taught proper terms and techniques, they

also need to be good in their communication skills.


When nursing assistants are employed in residential care facilities and

nursing homes, they often provide round the clock assistance for the

patients’ personal care.

These jobs are in high demand in the health care industry because the

doctors and nurses are involved in ensuring that the patients are getting the

best medical care.

It also allows CNAs to show the world the compassionate person they are.

Seeing the smiles on their patients’ faces makes their days go a lot

smoother

For those who want to work in hospitals, it is crucial to go through the CNA

Exam Cram to find out more about the requirements of becoming CNAs as

well as other resources such as practice tests and best study guides.


Lifestyle•The CNAs are enjoying full time employment and different working

hours that go well with their lifestyles.

•They are enjoying their hourly

payments that go well with their

lifestyles and wages..

•They are in large demand all

around the world by hospitals and

nursing homes.

Being a CNA can be an amazing

experience and provide a wealth of

experiences and joy in your life. But,

before you take that first step and start

preparing for this wonderful career, you

should make sure you understand what

you are getting into. Others quit their

job each year because they find that it

is too much work for too little salary.

Being a CNA isn’t easy, and we all wish

the pay is more, but most people don’t

become CNAs for the money, they

become a CNA because of the

enrichment their job provides for the

people around them. You do it

because you care.

Sometimes there is no rent or food to be paid for, No travel

payments or other expenses when you work and travel around the

nation. This is the most favorite benefit when working as a certified

nursing assistant because it shows many opportunities out there. So

when a Nurse goes on a travel assignment the agency pays her the

same kind of money as they do in a regular job. The agency spends

one part on the housing, another part on the car and moving expenses

and whatever is left remains in your salary.

HARD WORK BUT GREATLY REWARDING

You will be constantly attending to patients needs, helping

with meals, cleaning and moving patients between wards

and different areas of the hospital.

But Most certified nursing assistants agree that the job is

worthwhile and there is a sense of satisfaction at the end

of everyday while they carry their duties at the best of their

abilities.


CONCLUSION

CNAs are a crucial part of the healthcare industry and there is a constant

need for nursing assistants whether in medical facilities or nursing homes

You can have a great and prestigious career as a Certified Nursing

Assistant. It plays an important roles in the modern health care environment.

Without the dedication and hard work of CNAs, life for both nurses and

doctors would be a whole lot more difficult.

There are many ways to learn more about what life is like for CNAs, but your

decision to become a certified nursing assistant should be influenced by

your personal life circumstances. With CNA Exam Cram you can find out

exactly what you need to know about being a CNA and the preparations

required to pass the CNA exams. Access their CNA practice tests, pretest

and even free Study Guides. They can help you pass and even help you to

write your Resume or Cover letter.

Being a CNA is a very important and rewarding career, especially if you

aspire to to rise in the health care field.

Prepared By:

CNA Exam Cram

Website: www.CNAExamCram.com

Email: [email protected]

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Health & Medicine

Life of a Certified Nursing Assistant in the US