Certified nursing assistants are primarily responsible for providing medical care and support to the ill, injured and the elderly people. The CNAs work under the supervision of registered nurses and doctors, catering to the patients’ medical needs. They can work in any health care sector ranging from personal clinics to big hospitals, day care centers, rehabilitation centers, etc performing the same set of duties irrespective of their work place.
The common duties of a certified nursing assistant include activities such as helping the patients with their daily tasks like bathing, brushing their teeth, dressing, feeding and combing their hair. In addition to this, the CNAs also help the patients in moving in and out of their bed, assist them in walking and do their daily physical exercises correctly. Apart from this, taking vital signs of patients like the temperature and blood pressure, monitoring their progress and reporting it to the concerned doctors also forms a major portion of their job.
Since, the certified nursing assistants performs all these skills that provide direct care to the patients, they should have loads of patience to deal with the patients. It is very important to make sure that the nursing assistants never lose their calm in case of emergencies. They should also have good sense of responsibility towards the patients and their duties. Strong interpersonal skill is also an important aspect of a good certified nursing assistant, since, they have to interact with different types of patients and sometimes their families and look after their needs.
In order to become a CNA, you must be at least 16 years of age and either having a high school diploma or the degree of a GED. If you fulfill these criteria, you need to go through at least 75 hours of CNA training program that will provide you with both classroom and laboratory training. You can enroll for the CNA classes in either vocational schools, colleges or even go with online CNA classes to take your training. In these classes you will learn all the medical ethics that are necessary for becoming a nursing assistant.
After completing your training, you need to apply for the state approved CNA certification exam. This exam is divided into two sections based on the two parts of training i.e theory and practical. You need to pass in both these sections in order to earn your certification. This will put you on the nursing registry of the respective state and you can start looking for the job as a certified nursing assistant.
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