Making a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) carrier is an attractive choice for many. A CNA performs assistance role as a caregiver in a nursing home, a hospital, a medical clinic and also as a home health assistant. To be a Certified Nursing Assistant, person must meet the minimum education requirements and also require additional certification and training.

Significance
1. As the cost of medical care increase the need of Certified Nursing Assistant also rises. Medicaid and Medicare look for alternative way to decrease the cost of basic health service. Since CNA offers hands on care to patients they provide a valuable role in today’s medical arena.

Function
2. CNA helps patients with basic hygiene like toileting, bathing, and grooming tasks. In nursing homes, CNA assists patients with transporting, feeding or general companionship. A CNA working for a home health agency helps home bound patient with light housekeeping, meals and other non medical tasks to make life easier.

Features
3. Although a CNA course is the basic requirements to be a CNA but the intensity of individual courses vary. Some medical facilities provide their own courses to culminated certification while many others provides education and also testing takes place off- site. If you are interested in CNA career you CNA contact to a clinic, hospital or home health agency.

Considerations
4. Before hiring, a medical facility also conducts a background check for prior felonies of drug conviction. For specific employer, additional drug screening may be the requirements. And for position with home health agency, you must have driver’s license and for some agencies you should have proof of automobile insurance.

Misconceptions
5. A high school diploma is not the requirement for many CNA training programs, you CNA call and ask about the local requirements. In addition, you may involve in the ongoing education to renew your certification. Ongoing educational classes are often paid by your employer.

A certified nursing assistant may have to do various duties which may vary from feeding patients, checking their physical recovery and signs, as well as maintaining their hygiene. This depends on which section the nursing assistant is working. Some of the basic job descriptions of a certified nursing assistant are listed below.

1)      As the name suggests, nursing assistant basically help the nursing staff in admitting, transferring and discharging the patients. Their duties may also include maintaining required documentations and paper works of patients.

2)      Certified nursing assistant take care of the hygiene of the patients. It is their duty to take care of their feedings schedules, bathing, looking after their beddings and similar responsibilities. They should help the patients in getting dressed and helping them shift their positions in beds.

3)      Certified nursing assistant is also required to check vital signs of the patient and report them to the physician.

4)      A certified nursing assistant is also expected to provide emotional support to the patient. Because they are in more contact with the patients, they are expected to provide physical, emotional and social support and comfort to the patients.

5)      Certified nursing assistants are required to have a valid CNA license to work. Moreover, they are also required to have good communication skills and a good command of English.

6)      Certified nursing assistants may be required to lift patients or even move them from one ward to another. Similarly, nursing assistants may be exposed to several chemicals and are even susceptible to various diseases during the work period.

7)      Certified nursing assistants must be ready to work in any time of day. Most medical facilities do not have fixed time for any kind of medical officers, so nursing assistants must be ready to work in any shift rather than a particular 9-5 job. They should always be ready to work for extended sessions and during emergency.