Nursing Assistants - Playing An Important Role In The Health Industry

There are many competent, caring and compassionate individuals in the healthcare industry, said individuals of which include certified nursing assistants (CNA). Becoming a nursing aide is relatively easy, too, thanks to the 12-week CNA training program followed by the 2-part CNA certification exam.

If you believe that becoming a certified nursing aide is your ticket to a better life, then read on and find out more facts about the profession. Keep in mind that it is to your best interests to know the waters before plunging right in with your head first, so to speak.

Facts of Work

Nursing aides are considered as the front-liners of the healthcare industry because of their direct dealings with the patients on a daily basis for longer hours than, say, doctors and nurses. This is because their work involves providing for direct care for patients and residents in hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities for disabled individuals. Said direct care includes the following tasks:

• Cleaning and bathing patients as well as dressing them up in appropriate clothes

• Helping patients to use the toilet

• Turning, transferring and repositioning patients from their beds to their wheelchairs and vice versa

• Wheeling patients to other areas of the facility

• Taking vital signs

• Serving and feeding meals to the patients

• Listening to the patients' health concerns and then reporting to the supervising nurse

All of these tasks must be done with competence and compassion, which can be learned during the CNA training program. Also, the CNA certification exam also contains a skill test component to test the applicant's practical skills. From the above mentioned list of tasks, you can easily conclude that most certified nursing aides are the de facto principal caregivers of patients and residents. Many, in fact, develop caring personal relationships with their nursing aides.

Risks of Work

Nursing assistants are exposed to health risks as well mainly because of their working environment. Keep in mind that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are hotbeds of germs, infections and illnesses, thus, the staff must take all necessary precautions to keep themselves healthy - or at least, sufficiently healthy to provide good medical care for their patients and residents.

The working hours of nursing assistants are variable in that shifts are implemented. If you become one, you can expect to work during the graveyard shift especially in hospitals. You will also be expected to work weekends and holidays when your shift manager says so. Since nursing aides also lift people and perform other strenuous tasks, the risks for injuries like sprained muscles are high. You will be taught, fortunately, how to lift people and objects properly.

Don't be discouraged by these risks because the rewards of the job are great! You can earn starting salaries of $22,000 per year plus the benefits package and security of tenure. In the tight job market, the job is good news, indeed.