Become a Nurse Aide

A nursing assistant is a trained and experienced health care provider working side by side with nurses and doctors to provide quality nursing and health care services to patients. Among their most common duties include delivering and serving meals to patients, taking of vital signs and blood pressure, attending to patient calls, operating of medical equipment, and taking note of patient activities and condition. Nursing assistants are also referred to as a nurse aide, although they're known worldwide under many names such as Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), State Tested Nurse Aid (STNA), Auxiliary Nurse (Aux-N), Healthcare Assistant (HCA), Clinical Support Worker (CSW), and Patient Care Associate (PCA).

Many modern hospitals and health care facilities now consider the nurse assistant or nurse aide as an integral part of the medical team comprised of physicians, nurses and other medical practitioners. As the jobs of registered nurses now become more complex, the need for nursing assistants becomes very important. And while registered nurses attend to the duties exclusive to their profession, the nurse aide can now help in taking care of patients and attending to their needs. Knowing this, the nurse assistant must have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary in performing many health care procedures.

Becoming a nurse aide will require you to undergo a nursing assistant program, usually from a community college or other accredited schools. It only just takes around 6 to 12 weeks to complete the program, after which you will have to pass a certification exam to become a full-time Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA. A lot of individuals are getting into medicals fields such as this because it only takes a short period of time to complete training, and that means you can get started with your career in no time. A career as a nurse aide can also be used as a stepping stone for other opportunities – for example, many Registered Nurses nowadays started as a nursing assistant.

Another reason why many individuals seek a career as a nurse aide is because of its enticing financial rewards. Based on data gathered from the website salary.com in 2009, the average salary for nursing assistants working in mid-level positions is estimated to be around $24,729 to $29,887. On the other hand, those working in top-level positions are capable of earning around $32,388 or better. Of course salary figures will always be dependent on the nurse aide's level of expertise and experience, as well as the geographical location of employment. Bonuses, health insurance and retirement benefits are also among other financial rewards one can expect from this field.

Individuals who work as a nurse aide can also expect to have strong job security. While most industries feel the effects of the recession, careers from the health care industry is still going strong. This is because the elderly population increases significantly each year and besides this, more and more people prefer to receive in-home treatments. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that this particular field of health care can expect a job growth of around 19 percent over the next eight years or so.