CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant and is a health care professional who is trained to perform certain basic medical procedures and to help with basic life needs.
To become nursing assistant, one needs to be legal age and take suitable training course. Although the minimum federal requirements are 75 hours for class and labs, most states have much higher requirements for Nursing Assistants to get certified.
CNA classes are offered widely at different prices and durations. But there are also many, who offer free CNA classes, usually community colleges or different health care facilities. Some of the providers may require preliminary test ( basic education and English language ) to be passed before taking the actual class.
Before starting their labs all prospective nursing assistants should provide medical examination which states that they are free from communicable diseases, able to lift up to 75 lb and are in good health in general.
After successfully completing of all studies and labs, and taking the corresponding tests, a state exam is needed for final certification.
State exams consist of two parts: written test and practical exam. If one fails on the written test they are not allowed to take the practical one and need to re-take the written test. And if one fails the practical exam they are allowed for two more attempts, whenever and wherever scheduled state exams are conducted.
Once nursing assistants get certified, the most common places where they can find a job are:
- nursing homes
- assisted living facilities
- hospitals
- rehabilitation centers
- doctor's offices
- special care facilities
- home care
Each of the above mentioned job opportunities require more or less specific skills to be deployed, but as a rule all the skills can be mastered at one place: the nursing home. The more experience CNA-s have in the nursing homes, the easier for them to find better job later.
Nursing homes are long-term health care facilities for people who lost the ability to take care of themselves: elderly; handicapped; people with severe illnesses, bound in bed for the remainder of their lives; humans on artificial life support etc.
The main task for the nursing assistants, working in the nursing homes, is to help residents with ADL-s ( activities of daily living ) and provide all the routine care, such as:
- dressing and undressing the residents
- turning and repositioning bedridden residents
- feeding
- cleaning up residents' body excretions ( urine, feces etc. )
- bathing residents
- changing linen and making beds
- transferring residents from bed to wheelchairs or other chairs and vice versa
- answering residents' calls for help
- observing residents conditions and reporting if there are any changes
- charting in special books for all work and observations done
CNA profession is one of the most extreme profession on today's job market due to the work environment and specific duties. It is very demanding, physically and emotionally job, that requires all nursing assistants to be always in good physical shape and high state of mind to promptly respond to all challenges and successfully complete their duties.
Rewards for CNA work are beyond this material world as this work substantially speeds up spiritual development of all humans and opens their hearts for each other and for God.
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