There are a variety of ways in which a certified nursing assistant can expand his/her skill set. One method is to obtain additional certifications. In conjunction with the certification as a nursing assistant, there are a number of other certifications that allow a CNA to work in a variety of settings and perform more advanced functions.

A certified nursing assistant can obtain certification to work in long term care facilities working with the elderly as a geriatric nursing assistant (GNA). A certified nursing assistant can also obtain certification to work in a home health agency as a home health aide (HHA). Most home health aides either travel to the home of a patient or live in the patient’s home and provide extensive daily care. There are also medicine aide certifications. To become a certified medicine aide in most states you must be employed as a certified nursing assistant for at least a year and have completed a state approved medicine aide course. These additional certifications provide the CNA with the ability to increase his or her skill set and perform more complicated technical skills and to obtain more responsibility.

There are a number of ways in which certified nursing assistants can expand their skills. Many will take the initiative to complete the additional certifications on their own. These certifications can be obtained by contacting the State Board of Nursing. The State of Board of Nursing can provide the certified nursing assistant with the information needed to complete and prerequisites such as taking additional training courses prior to testing for the certifications.

In some cases, a CNA’s employer may be willing to pay for additional certifications. There are times when employers, such as a long term care facility or a home health agency, may be willing to pay for additional certifications. This is done when the employer has the need for qualified applicants with more advanced skill sets. The employer will pay for the certified nursing assistant to complete the additional training and will provide a pay raise for gaining the additional certification. In circumstances such as these the employer will ask the certified nursing assistant to agree to remain employed at their facility for a specified amount of time. This option to gain additional skills should be taken advantage of if offered by an employer.

Expanding one’s skill set as a certified nursing assistant is very advantageous. The CNA with a number of certifications is highly sought after by many organizations. The more skills certified nursing assistants acquire the more responsibility and the more pay they are likely to earn.

CNA’s, nurse assistants, nursing aids, etc., are all charged with one primary responsibility: patient monitoring and care. Working under a licensed nurse, you are the general caregivers and assist patients in helping them with daily living activities such as bathing, eating, dressing, walking, and other procedures such as taking vital signs, intake admissions and release, other activities as well as specialized and routine care and other activities during a 24/7 shift rotation. They also give patients emotional and social support along with telling the nurse in charge about each of their assigned patients and other vital important information on a patient’s condition.

A certified nursing assistant working in a continuing care or nursing home facility must take care of the elderly or geriatric patients, as well as the disabled. Nursing home patients are there for a long time and the certified nursing assistants are their primary care giver. As a team member, you get to know your patients and develop an ongoing relationship with them in a positive and caring attitude.

The duties of a CNA in a hospital may be very different. In a hospital setting, it may involve everything from taking vital signs and recording them, to helping feed, clothe, and bathe patients, moving them between departments, and providing general monitoring and recording of their condition.

Certified nursing assistants must have to have a good bedside manner, communicate well with people and patients, act accordingly in an emergency, keen observation skills, stay calm in difficult or stressful situations and able to work with people, patients and co-workers.

A CNA must be observant and report any changes on a patient’s condition, be able to move patients and turn patients, report and to respond according to an emergency, be able have communication skills, patient and compassionate to people and to their patients.

As a certified nursing assistant you generally work a 40-hour a week, working holidays and weekends. A certified nursing assistant requires no previous experience as you are trained on the job, need a high school diploma or GED, and pass a state nursing assistant exam to become certified. A nursing assistant must complete a minimum of 75 hours state-approved training and pass a competency test and some states require a nursing assistant to be licensed.

Certified nursing assistant is not an easy field and you must be able to work with people and to give care to patients. Because nursing is such a demanding field there is a high turnaround but with experience and confidence, you find that taking care of patients in need is a very rewarding job.

The duties of a certified nursing assistant carry great responsibility, but offer great rewards as well. In terms of careers, it is one of the most rewarding things a person can do. You are a professional, in great demand, receiving good pay for your skills and services, and at the end of the day, you know you are engaged in a profession that helps others and truly makes a difference in people’s lives.

Board members include one in all fifty states, Washington, D.C., and all U.S. territories. Founded in 1978, organizers recognized the need to regulate nurses apart from organizations representing professional nurses.

One of the responsibilities of the NCSBN is to inform and enforce a set of nursing standards, and keeping the Nursing Assistive Personnel Registry up-to-date. Licensees in this database include Certified Nursing Assistant I (CNA), Certified Nursing Assistant II (CNA-II), and Medication Assistant-Certified (MA-C). The NCSBN operates as a national watchdog, coordinating issues of discipline, education, and certification. Information, such as disciplinary action taken against a nurse by a state board is shared with the NCSBN, which compiles this information, providing background resources for discipline issues and actions taken.

Once a complaint is filed against a Certified Nursing Assistant, he or she may become subject to investigation, which may lead to an informal conference and when necessary a formal hearing. Actions addressing the issue of complaint might include simply the re-educating the nurse or restricting their practice – each one carrying certain probationary conditions. When necessary, a nurse can have their license revoked. All disciplinary actions become public record. Additionally, any nurse holding a criminal conviction substantially related to the functions of their work is obligated to report this to the board. The board will then determine if the offender’s license warrants revocation. In most cases, applicants convicted of a criminal offense are not eligible for certification. The NCSBN requires that all 60 Member Boards update their listings of licensees in the registry on a biennial basis.

In addition to the NCSBN’s database of nurse licensees, Federal regulations are also in place to help combat fraud and abuse both in the health insurance industry and the health care delivery system. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which led to the creation of the HIPDB (Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank) – a Federal tracking system providing information, such as employment history, affiliation, certification, or licensure decisions was put into law. The NCSBN now uses the Nursys® database, which keeps track of all nurse disciplinary actions.

According to the NCSBN’s 8.4 Standards for Assistive Personnel, Certified Nursing Assistants I are bound by law to conform to the following standards:

• Performs nursing tasks and functions within the range of functions authorized in the Nurse Practice Act and rules governing nursing.
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity in performing nursing tasks/functions/activities
• Bases nursing tasks/functions/activities on education, training and the direction of the supervising nurse.
• Accepts accountability for one’s behavior and actions while assisting the nurse and providing services to patients.
• Performs delegated aspects patient’s nursing care.
• Assists in observing patients and identifying patient needs.
• Communicates progress toward completing delegated nursing tasks/functions/abilities, as well as any problems or changes in a patient’s status.
• Seeks clarification if unsure of expectations.
• Uses educational and training opportunities as available.
• Takes preventive measures to protect client, others and self.
• Respects client’s rights, concerns, decisions and dignity.
• Functions as a member of the health care team, contributing to the implementation of an integrated health care plan.
• Respects client property and the property of others.
• Protects confidential information unless obligated by law to disclose the information.

Furthermore, employers that deliberately or irresponsibly ignore board protocol and standards, such as expanding the range of functions of a Certified Nursing Assistant are subject to disciplinary action. As with disciplinary actions against individual nurses, institution violations are recorded into the various public health databases, such as the HIPDB.

Make sure you are dressed appropriately to perform your job as a certified nursing assistant. It is required for nurse’s aides and other hospital personnel to wear scrubs. Depending on your employer you may have to wear a specific color or style but under any case scrubs are the staple for certified nursing assistants and other clinical workers in a hospital or long term care facility. Make sure to purchase enough scrubs so that you will always have a clean set to wear to work. There are many stores that offer scrubs and accessories for relatively affordable prices. Wash and press your scrubs for a neat appearance as wrinkles are unprofessional.

For those who have problems with their legs, especially when on their feet for long periods,  investing in compression hosiery to relieve calf and thigh pain from long periods of standing is highly recommended. Your footwear should be comfortable and sturdy. Open toed shoes are usually not allowed in many working environments. However, clog style nursing shoes are available and should be worn at all times with socks. Making sure that you wear the clothing that is both required and comfortable will enable you to perform you job as a certified nursing assistant with ease.

Maintaining personal hygiene really should be a part of any CNA training class, and should be something that is a goal for everyone regardless of one’s profession. Certified nursing assistants however are in the business of maintaining the daily well being of others so it is imperative that they show they are capable of maintaining their own hygiene. Take a shower or bath everyday as emitting offensive odors is not healthy nor do co-workers or your patients who share close spaces with you want to smell an unpleasant scent. Avoid wearing powerful perfumes or colognes that can make your patients nauseous or sick. Make sure to wash your hair and brush your teeth also just as you would do for the patients you care for each day. Keep you hair in a style that will make it easy to do your work. Remember you have to feed, clothe and assist patients all day you don’t want your hair to get caught on a patient’s buttons or worse end up in your patient’s food. Make sure your nails are neatly trimmed and free from dirt. Avoid wearing long nails either real or faux as they can collect germs and bacteria especially during the changing or cleaning of a patient after urination or defecation. Keep the amount of jewelry to a minimum and make sure it will not become caught on anything while handling a patient. Make yourself an example of exemplary personal hygiene each and everyday.

CNA training is intended to teach the skills needed in patient care. But taking the time to ensure that you are properly dressed and have a high level of hygiene will show that as a certified nursing assistant you are capable of maintaining the daily hygiene of a person in your care.

One of the most important character traits needed as a nurse’s aide is thoroughness. The ability to be dependable and reliable cannot be underestimated in this job. An employer will count on you to show up for work for your scheduled shift or any additional overtime shifts that you have committed yourself to. Failure to be prompt can leave patients without the proper care and hospitals and nursing homes even more understaffed.

Being thorough also is a benefit when caring for patients. Making sure to clean your patient’s body and change dressings and bandages and bed linen thoroughly will ensure the comfort of you patient and prevent unnecessary disease and infection. Being a person that someone can count on from the littlest to the most major of circumstances is crucial.

Certified nursing assistants should also possess a considerable amount of patience. In this job you are dealing with people who need the assistance of others for a variety of reasons. They are counting on people to understand that they can’t perform certain tasks and need the additional help to live their lives. CNAs are trained how to take of people but the ability to be patient is something that must be developed if it is not a quality that is innately possessed. There are patients who have difficulties explaining what they need or want directly because of speech or mental impairments. Similarly, the elderly and disabled may have mobility problems that require that they walk or move slowly. As a CNA you have to develop the understanding that the patient’s pace is different from your own and you are there to aid the patient at their level not yours. Patience is by far one the most important assets you can possess as a nurse’s aide.

Being tactful is definitely required in the nursing profession. Your patients will not always be in the best mood; nor will some of them be as appreciative as you may feel they should be, but as a nursing assistant it is required that you always remain cordial. There are ways to get your patient to complete exercises or to move to assist in changing bed linens without being abrasive. You should never replicate the any negative behavior that is presented to you. This is not to say that you have to be a patient’s mental, emotional or physical punching bag. As a nurse’s aide you must develop the ability to express your concerns in the most suave, civil and respectable way possible.

CNA training classes can give you the technical ability and understanding to perform the job of nurse assistant. Developing or possessing the above qualities and many other favorable traits will be of great help to the depth of your personal character and work as a certified nursing assistant.

Nursing aides also known as nurse aides, nursing assistants, certified nursing assistants (CNA), geriatric aides, unlicensed assistive personnel, orderlies, or hospital attendants provide hands-on care and perform routine tasks under the supervision of nursing and medical staff. Specific tasks vary, with aides handling many aspects of a patient’s care. They often help patients to eat, dress, and bathe.

CNA’s also answer calls for help, deliver messages, serve meals, make beds, and tidy up rooms. Aides sometimes are responsible for taking a patient’s temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, or blood pressure. They also may help provide care to patients by helping them get into and out of bed and walk, escorting them to operating and examining rooms, or providing skin care. Some aides help other medical staff by setting up equipment, storing and moving supplies, and assisting with some procedures. Aides also observe patients’ physical, mental, and emotional conditions and report any change to the nursing or medical staff.

Nurse aides employed in nursing care facilities often are the principal caregivers, having far more contact with residents than do other members of the staff. Because some residents may stay in a nursing care facility for months or even years, aides develop ongoing relationships with them and interact with them in a positive, caring way.

Home health aides help elderly, convalescent, or disabled persons live in their own homes instead of health care facilities. Under the direction of nursing or medical staff, they provide health-related services, such as administering oral medications. (Personal and home care aides, who provide mainly housekeeping and routine personal care services, are discussed elsewhere in the Handbook.) Like nursing aides, home health aides may check patients’ pulse rate, temperature, and respiration rate; help with simple prescribed exercises; and help patients to get in and out of bed, bathe, dress, and groom. Occasionally, they change nonsterile dressings, give massages and provide skin care, or assist with braces and artificial limbs. Experienced home health aides, with training, also may assist with medical equipment such as ventilators, which help patients breathe.

Most home health aides work with elderly or disabled persons who need more extensive care than family or friends can provide. Some help discharged hospital patients who have relatively short-term needs.

In home health agencies, a registered nurse, physical therapist, or social worker usually assigns specific duties to and supervises home health aides, who keep records of the services they perform and record each patient’s condition and progress. The aides report changes in a patient’s condition to the supervisor or case manager.

Psychiatric aides, also known as mental health assistants or psychiatric nursing assistants, care for mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed individuals. They work under a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and therapists. In addition to helping patients to dress, bathe, groom themselves, and eat, psychiatric aides socialize with them and lead them in educational and recreational activities. Psychiatric aides may play card games or other games with patients, watch television with them, or participate in group activities, such as playing sports or going on field trips. They observe patients and report any physical or behavioral signs that might be important for the professional staff to know. They accompany patients to and from therapy and treatment. Because they have such close contact with patients, psychiatric aides can have a great deal of influence on their outlook and treatment.

Getting CNA training, and becoming a Nursing Aide, can give you lifelong satisfaction and the security of knowing you’ll always be able to work and earn a respectable living!

Like more and more people today, you may be looking for a new job or a change of jobs because of downsizing, poor pay, will the dance of eternity. The money of people are tired of being underpaid and under appreciated. With difficult economic finds, minimum wage jobs just don’t cut it.

As a CNA, you will always have plenty of employment opportunity. In fact, employers will be begging you to come and work for them. Nursing assistants can work in hospitals, health care facilities, and patient homes. These professionals are sometimes classified as Nurse’s Aides, Patient Care Technicians, Personal Care Assistants, or Home Health Aides.

Becoming a CNA avails taking a training class to learn the basics of patient care, taking and passing the CNA certification exam – the NNAAP, or National Nurse Aide Assessment Program text. Although there are significant physical requirements for the job, since it involves making beds, moving patients and helping them in tasks like dressing, etc., nursing is largely a job of caregiving and monitoring.

Once qualified as a Certified Nursing Assistant, you will have a wide and varied choice of working environments, workplaces, even areas of specialty. For those who would enjoy the health care field, becoming a nursing assistant can be a quicker path than the traditional nursing school programs, and can be considerably less expensive as well.

There are plenty of nursing assistant jobs that remain vacant due to the chronic shortage, and turnover n the field. Young women are now less keen on taking up the nursing job which is a full time job with lots of disadvantages like no fixed working hours, coupled with extreme tension. Jobs in health care require a dedication and time.

A CNA is both a mentally and physically demanding job and the nurses are often exposed to many infectious diseases that can pose problems of health risk to them and their family. Besides taking care of the patients, the nurse assistants may be expected to administer the medicines and keep a proper medical progress record of the patients. They are also required to set up and operate the various medical equipment.

Still, CNA training can be one of the best, most rewarding decisions you can make. You’ll have the security of knowing you can always find jobs with good pay, the respect of being a professional health care provider, and the satisfaction that comes with helping others.

CNA’s provide basic self care services to patients, including bathing and grooming, feeding assistance, toileting assistance, monitoring of vital signs, range of motion exercises, keeping patients room and belongings organized, lifting and wheelchair transfers and documentation of patient’s conditions and recording of all vital information. In addition to self care needs, CNA’s offer emotional support and social assistance.

Although some people pursue lifelong careers as a certified nursing assistant, many utilize the CNA program as a stepping stone on their path to becoming a registered nurse (RN). The program is a good choice for individuals who would like to gain work experience in the health care field before committing to lengthy nursing programs.

The lack of necessary requirements and the ease of entry into the CNA program appeal to people who are often deterred by the prerequisites necessary to be admitted to other nursing programs. A high school diploma or GED is all that is required to enroll in a certified nursing assistant program. The course is offered at community colleges and medical facilities and can be completed in 6-12 weeks. Coursework includes anatomy and physiology, infection control, nutrition and instruction in the basics of nursing. Upon completion, the student will receive a CNA certificate and will be eligible to register with The National Association for Home Care for home health aides.

After completing a CNA program, individuals can earn between $23,000 and $30,000 per year. Actual salary will depend on a variety of factors, including the chosen work environment and the length of clinical experience as a CNA. Jobs are available to certified nursing assistants in nursing homes and hospitals, assisted living facilities, mental health institutions and private home environments.

A CNA program can be your key to a health care career. The health care industry is the fastest growing sector today and the demand for CNA’s is expected to increase significantly in the next decade.

The first obligation and main duty of a CNA is care of your patient. You’re usually responsible for the daily care & management, and routine of your patient. This is particularly so when caring for elderly or geriatric patients in nursing homes and extended care facilities. You may also be assisting physicians and nurses to care for patients who are physically disabled, mentally disabled, ill, or injured.

If you work in a facility such as a hospital or nursing home, there will be specific tasks and objectives that you’ll have to manage. In a hospital, this will vary by unit. You will usually be required to monitor and record vital signs: temperature, respiration, pulse, and blood pressure, and assess the patients level of pain. Some departments will have other specific functions, such as assisting with eating, dressing, and moving your patient. Certified Nursing Assistant duties often include taking patient history.

You must be quick to observe and know what to do in times of emergency situations.  Protocols for various procedures, emergencies, etc., will vary by state and institution. Your duties are part of the total health care package and program for your patients and clients.

One reason that there is a chronic shortage of qualified nurse assistants is the high turnover rate. This is often due to stress and burnout. Avoiding burnout is something the CNA should be aware of. This is the result of continually feeling overwhelmed by your job duties. The medical field ranks number one in the area of job burnout. It is important that you pay attention to burnout, since patient care is the first thing to suffer.

Your employer will depend on your to report accurate information on patient charts. And if you think something requires immediate attention from a Nurse, then you need to be able to communicate that message effectively. You also need to feel comfortable going to the Nursing staff for assistance and questions as the need arises.

The Nursing Assistant profession takes a very particular type of individual to be able to meet the requirements. Remember that your employers have a responsibility to protect all the patients and provide the highest possible level of care.

The duties of a Certified Nursing Assistant are always challenging, but at the same time they can be enormously rewarding,  exciting, and usually very satisfying. For those interested in pursuing a career in the medical field, obtaining your certification as a CNA can be exactly what you are looking for!

Within the vast scope of health care careers, one of the fundamental underlying functions is the area of direct care giving. These professionals are often classified as Certified Nursing Assistants, Nurse’s Aides, Patient Care Technicians, Home Health Aides, Personal Care Assistants, along with many other titles, depending on the work environment and the region.

Some of the many functions a CNA performs:

• * Taking Vital signs such as Blood pressure, pulse, etc.
• * Range of Motion Exercises, as prescribed by physical therapy.
• * Dressing (according to patients’ needs, ranging from minimal assistance to totally dependent)
• * Feeding (serving meals, physically feeding patients who are unable to do so themselves)
• * Bathing (bed baths, tub baths, showers)
• * Catheter care (emptying, upkeep of Intake & Output sheets when neccessary)
• * Making beds and keeping the patients’ rooms and belongings neat and organized
• * Documentation and record keeping of patient activity, medications, vitals, etc.
• * Assisting patients with movement (ambulation)
• * Report all changes, physical and mental, of the patients to the nurse

How does one become a CNA?

In order to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), you’ll need to take and pass the state CNA exam. Training programs to become a  CNA can be found through community colleges,  hospitals and medical facilities.  Many states also have Red Cross CNA class. Classes are generally taught by a registered nurse and the length of training depends on the program. Depending upon the particular facility, classes may run for two weeks, with a month or more of hands on training to follow. The classes offer the basics of what to expect with this job, however, this is a career in which skill levels and confidence dramatically improve once the nursing assistant becomes involved in the daily routine of actual caregiving.

The CNA test is made up of two parts, written and clinical. You will most likely be asked to bring someone with you to the test who will act as a ‘model’ for you to demonstrate your clinical skills on. The written portion of the test is mostly common sense.

The qualities necessary to be a Certified Nursing Assistant are very similar to the qualities needed in nursing. A CNA should be caring, patient, willing and able to do some physically strenuous activities. Most importantly, they should have the desire to help.

With the chronic staffing shortage in recent years, a vast majority of nursing assistants find themselves in the challenging position of trying to provide good quality care to far to many patients at once, due to short staffing problems being experienced around the world in this field. As a result, the turnover rate for nursing assistants is quite high – and this is not an easy job to begin with. Singlehandedly doing the work of two or more people proves overwhelming to many, and they leave the field.