It's great that you want to assign yourself for one of the most noble professions. Role of Certified Nursing Assistant is the stepping stone in your Nursing career. It will open the doors of practical experience and training for you.To begin with, here are some resume templates in three different formats.
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Job Duties of a Certified Nursing Assistant
A Certified Nursing Assistant, also known as Nurse’s Aid, works under the supervision of the Head Nurse. Western Governors University has enlisted following duties of a Certified Nursing Assistant related to caretaking of patients.
To move and turn the physically seized patients.
To help the patients in routine tasks like brushing, bathing, shaving, combing hair etc.
To look after their basic necessities like food, medicines and make sure the timely consumption of both.
To keep timely reports of their blood pressure and heart rate.
To answer their calls and brief the updates to visitors.
To document all the information related to the condition of patients.
To gather the medical supplies and keep note of stock.
To assist nurses in some medication procedures and safety aids.
To transfer patients from one place to another.
To carry on basic necessities like first aid, dressing wounds etc.
Average salary
All Nursing Schools suggest that the income profile of Certified Nursing Assistant varies according to functions and the healthcare sectors in which they work.
- Medical and Surgical wards: In this role CNA works under the supervision of the Nurse and performs tasks related to care taking of patients. For this role CNA get paid average salary of $32,540
- Facilities related to Nursing: CNA is appointed to extend services to residents. The time limits for the same people are extended for some period of time. To perform this task CNA gains average income of $29,650.
- Providing healthcare assistance at home:Here, the Certified Nursing Assistant makes timely visits to the patients at home. The work profile includes to keep note of routine checkups like blood pressure, pulse rate etc. The average salary for this service extends to $29,310.
Top skills for Certified Nursing Assistants
Job role of CNA asks for a balance of various physical, mental and emotional traits. From punctuality to great team worker, you should possess a particular set of skills to perform your duties smoothly. Let's have a look at some of those specific qualities.
- Compassion: If you have a compassionate heart that beats for the well being of your patients then you will survive even in the toughest situations. A genuine empathy towards patients, good rapport with them and the visitors is must.
- Patience: In this profession you will meet patients from different walks of life. You have to deal with the frustration, anger, despair and silence of your patients. And all this asks for lots of patience.
- Will power: Most of the time you have to assist the Head Nursing staff in varied shifts. To not lose calm and cope up with emergencies and situations like pandemic ask for strong will power.
- Confidence: If you yourself will remain dull or clumsy while performing duties, how would the patients recover. Hence a lively, active and confident persona is a must. Your every action should speak about your dedication towards your duties.
- Interactive: This profession is more about emotional bond. Imagine a patient suffering from internal or external pain gets greeted with a just stern hello! Sounds pathetic, isn't? Therefore a few kind pleasantries exchanged with patients or the visitors add on a lot of positivity into the whole environment. A good dose of positive conversation works like therapy with comatosed or paralyzed patients.
- Physically strong: Shifting and moving patients require lots of strength. You should possess a strong personality to perform such tasks. You can't fill others from empty cups, hence make sure to keep yourself physically fit and active.
Certified Nursing Assistants education and certifications
Education
Requirements for becoming a CNA may vary for every State. registerednursing.org briefs following information about certifications and education required for becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant.- Unlike other professions you don't require a degree to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. You have to go through the training to get a certificate or diploma. Therefore aspiring candidates have to enroll themselves for specific training programmes.
- Initially candidates should make sure that the programme for which they are enrolling themselves is sanctioned by the States Nursing Board and by the Nursing Accredited Commission.
- To become a Nursing Assistant students should have a high school diploma and nursing assistant training. Community colleges, schools and healthcare centres offer such training programmes.
- After the training is completed, trainees are required to clear a certification exam. Examination is held in two parts.
- First one contains a written examination. 90 minutes are alloted to candidates for attempting Multiple Choice Questions.
- Second one emphasis on the practical part of training. In this part competency skills and practical knowledge of candidates is checked by a single observer/supervisor.
Certifications
Nursing education training programmes are evaluated and monitored by the Commission Collegiate Nursing Education. U.S Department of Education is assigned to maintain a database of schools that run such training camps.Nurse Journal quotes that coursework of becoming CNA involves care taking of patients, operating various medical equipment, knowledge of nutrition, details about body mechanics etc. The course extends for a minimum of 200 hours.Licensure
Norms related to issue of license vary as per policies of different States. Usually aspirants have to gain 75 hours of classroom training and practical experience. After completion of training, a candidate's name gets listed in the States Registers of CNA.
Certified Nursing Assistant resume-writing tips
Resume should be the face of all the efforts and dedication you put in while getting trained. Hence it is necessary to keep your resume to the point and narrative at the same time. Let's look at these quick tips that can help you to customise an outstanding resume for yourself.
- Power of objective statement: It may sound obvious and general to spare three to four lines in objective statement. But in this profession a good objective statement is a great kick start to the resume and to your career.
- Fresher: Clearly mention how passionate you are about this career. Write in brief how well you have understood your duties during training. State few qualities that may help you to become a dedicated and responsible Certified Nursing Assistant.
- Experienced: If you have already landed your services as CNA then it's a great opportunity for you. You should flaunt your on the job training experience in the objective statement.
- Skills always matter: If you are a part of any fitness club or treat yoga, workout or gymming as priority then don't hesitate to write about it. This career asks for a combination of stable please and fit personality. Hence detailing about your dedication for your own self is an advantage.
- Hard skills: Hard skills means practical knowledge and experience you gained while getting trained. Training here means both be it attending Certification programs or while gaining some previous on the job training. Enlist all the qualities you nurtured while care taking of patients. If you have worked in some rehabilitation centres, healthcare wards etc, briefly write two three lines about it. Statung how it helps you to shape up for this career.
- Soft Skills: This profession is more about your individual capabilities. How well you can handle emergency situations, your communication skills, time management qualities etc every single detail about you matters.
- Profession oriented: While writing about your training phase, experience or even little things apt for technical terms used in the healthcare sector. Mention how well you get along with equipment used to perform the role of the CNA. A good vocab not only makes you sound professional but also shows how well versed and well trained you are.
- Achievements and Certifications: Bring all your practical training on the floor. Dedicate a separate section for the Certifications. Below that respective certification, write how that training period helped you to move inch forward into this career.
FAQ
What's next after Certified Nursing Assistant?
Getting assigned as Certified Nursing Assistant is only the starting point. This role brings advantages like-
- No need for a special degree
- Get trained while attending courses
- Experience a great on the job learning opportunity.
After gaining experience you can further step into some advanced career opportunities such as Licensed Practical Nurse, Therapy Assistant, Personal Caregiver etc.
What's the future scope of choosing CNA as a career?
As per the statistics stated by the US Bureau, the employment rate of Nursing Assistant careers has shown growth of 8 percent between 2019-2029. The main reason behind this is a huge portion of the population will step into the elderly age. Old age people are more likely to suffer from health issues like cardiac problems, diabetes, blood pressure, excess obesity. Henceforth, the need for a Nursing Assistant will automatically arise as such patients would need constant help and support from some experienced personnel.