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Health facilities that provide quality, long-term care to patients with a variety of medical, physical and emotional needs. Nursing assistants are the health professionals who provide the most direct care to these patients. As the medical staff who typically have the most contact with a patient, nursing assistants handle everything from delivering messages for patients to assisting with medical procedures.
What Does a Nursing Assistant Do?
Nursing assistants are called many things, including nursing aides, orderlies, geriatric aides, unlicensed assistive personnel and hospital attendants. No matter the name, learning to be a nursing assistant includes both training in personal care and assistance and limited medical training. Nursing assistants perform all these types of tasks and whatever else might be needed for the patient's health and well-being. On a daily basis, nursing assistants may be responsible for:
As a nursing assistant, you will also have medical responsibilities such as taking vital signs, observing mental and physical changes in patients' health, and assisting with some medical procedures.
As a nursing assistant you could choose to specialize as:
Psychiatric nursing assistant. Psychiatric nursing assistants care for emotionally disturbed or mentally ill patients. In addition to the assistant responsibilities mentioned above, psychiatric nursing assistants socialize with patients by watching TV, playing cards, going on field trips, and participating in group activities. These assistants typically work with a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and other medical staff.
Home health aide. Home health aides perform the same duties in private residences. Additional duties may include getting patients to and from doctor appointments, meal planning and grocery shopping and laundry. These aides, unlike home care aids who perform similar functions, usually work under the direction of a nurse and document changes to the patient's condition.
The type of facility further defines your job duties. In addition to private homes, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes, you could work in other long-term care facilities in hospitals, hospice centers, and prisons.
What Are the Steps to Becoming a Nursing Assistant?
You can become a nursing assistant with a high school diploma and some on-the-job training, though you may be able to negotiate a higher wage or take a better position if you have some formal education. Formal training as a nursing assist can also help you to avoid workplace injury, which is more frequent than average for nursing assistants.
Generally, you can get started on your nursing assistant career by:
How to Become a Great Nursing Assistant
Even career nursing assistants with twenty or more years of experience are still called nursing assistants. What makes the difference between a rookie nursing assistant and a great nursing assistant is a little bit more than just experience. If your goal is to become a great nursing assistant, consider the following:
Certification. Any nursing assistant who works in a nursing home is required to become certified according to federal law. With seventy-five hours of education and training and a passing grade on a competency evaluation, you can become a state-registered certified nurse assistant. Staying up-to-date on state certification and education requirements is critical for long-term success.
Continuing education. With the continued changes to health care system and legislation, you need to protect yourself and your patients by staying up-to-date. Technological advances and receiving education from veteran nursing assistants will also help you to do your job better.
Professional associations. Collaborating with other nursing assistants in organizations such as National Association of Health Care Assistants or National Network of Career Nursing Assistants may help you find job and training opportunities and allow you to become engaged in advocacy efforts.
Teaching. If you have a knack as a nursing aide and for helping others to distinguish themselves as nursing aides, you may be able to use your experience and authority in the field as an instructor.
Nursing assisting can be a rewarding career full of growth opportunities. Overall, nursing assisting is projected for grow 18 percent between 2008 and 2018, but home health aides can expect 50 percent job growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a trained nursing assistant, you can be ready to have your pick of job opportunities and meet the growing personal care needs of others.
These schools offer particularly quick info upon request, and we have written detailed profiles for each (click school names to see the profiles).
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| School | Locations | Degrees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookline College | AZ, NM | Diploma | |
| Career Point College | OK, TX | Diploma | |
| Computer Career Center | NM, TX | Certificate, Diploma | |
| Everest Institute | FL, GA, PA | Diploma | |
| Florida Career College | FL | Diploma | |
| Florida Technical College | FL | Diploma | |
| Illinois School of Health Careers | IL | Diploma | |
| Kaplan College KHE | CA, TX | Certificate, Diploma | |
| Pittsburgh Technical Institute | PA | Cisco Certificate | |
| Prism Career Institute | NJ | Coursework | |
| Salter School of Nursing and Allied Health | NH | Certificate | |
| Ultimate Medical Academy | FL | Diploma |
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