Certified Nursing Assistants A Stepping Stone Towards The Future - CareerAlley

Certified Nursing Assistants A Stepping Stone Towards The Future - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. If you are having thoughts about a nursing assistant career, there are several things you should consider before turning your dreams into reality. This article offers a perspective on nursing jobs, medical careers and future opportunities in the healthcare field. 1. CNA: Who Can Attend And What Happens After Just like any other career, certified nursing assistance careers also rise questions such as Who can attend?, Is there an age limit or degree limits and many more. Lets start by saying that anyone can attend these courses, as long as they are over 18. In terms of degree limits, applicants must hold a high school graduation diploma. CNA courses offer a certificate upon completion. This means you become a certified nursing assistant and are qualified for jobs in the healthcare field. Courses last from 5 weeks to a year, depending on the course curricula. After the students take their final exams, they are presented with a nursing assistant certificate and can get hired right away. Many online resources such as http://www.cnatrainingclass.net/ can provide answers to all questions. 2. Job Requirements Nursing jobs are available in fields such as home healthcare, long term care facilities and hospitals. As with many career-related decisions, becoming a nursing assistant is also influenced by other considerations such as salary and compensation, job location and career perspectives. Sometimes it can be influenced by the type of assistance our patients require, by the level of stress involved and even by the number of working hours per week. For example, in home healthcare, most patients suffer from medical conditions such as cerebral vascular accidents, heart failure and cancer, so nursing assistants are vital for them. But nursing assistants also provide help to healthy people age 60 or higher. Older, healthier patients require help when taking their vital signs, administrating medication or taking baths. Unfortunately, patients can also develop severe symptoms which make them unable to perform daily activities, so a nursing assistant helps them in their daily routine. 3. Career Opportunities As previously mentioned, a CNA course offers its attendees great hiring potential. Basically, anyone who obtained their certificate can get a job right after graduation. And that is not all. Certified nursing assistants can advance in their careers by following other courses such as LPN programs in order to become Licensed Practical Nurses or even RN programs which offers attendees a Registered Nursing Certificate. Right now there are more than 104 specialties for nursing assistants: 34 specialties allow applicants to work outside hospital areas; 68 are more research-oriented, although still interesting and well-paid; 37 specialties are managerial-oriented and a majority of 92 are patient-facing. Salary and compensation are based on experience and start from USD $27 000 annual income to USD $40 000 per year. 4. A Certified Nursing Assistants Work Environment Nursing assistants can work in hospitals, as long as they have patients under their care for more than 25 days. However, nursing assistants can also offer home healthcare services for patients with partially-treated medical conditions who return home. Some patients do not require permanent nursing assistance, while others depend more than 80% on the help of nursing assistants. Through CNA programs, nursing assistants learn the basic medical procedures that are a must in the healthcare field. It is a starting point in aiding the old and the ill. It is also a starting point for anyone aiming for a nursing career. Author bio: Roxana is a soon-to-be Occupational Health Psychologist. For people interested in following a career as Certified Nursing Assistants she recommends http://www.cnatrainingclass.net/ as one of the most suitable online resources for CNA courses. You can also stay in touch with her on Google+ (https://plus.google.com/116574487602024827434/) This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook