TAG | cna certification
A CNA stands for certified nursing assistant. In a nutshell a CNA is a person who works closely with doctors and registered nurses in a hospital environment. A CNA can also work in a home for the elderly, or in an assisted living facility. There are CNAs who are privately employed for home care of patients.
There is a projected need of close to 400,000 CNA jobs by the year 2016 in the United States alone. More schools are opening up CNA classes to accommodate the surge in enrolment. Why the surge in enrolment? Being a CNA is a stepping stone to your dream of being an RN. The training you’ll undergo would prove useful to a future career of becoming an RN or a doctor.
A CNA’s salary varies from one State to another. A certified nursing assistant who took her CNA classes in Louisiana would in all probability apply for a job in that city too. Wrong move? Right move? Look at this way. A CNA’s salary Louisiana would average at $7.75 per hour grossing at around $22,320 per year. If you less taxes, taxes and more taxes, that amount could net at about less $16,000 to $17,000. The gross amount, however, does not include other benefits and overtime pay.
If you choose to apply in Alaska, the average salary for CNAs there is at a high $ 14.36 per hour granting that the CNA has had years of CNA related experience. That would gross at $41,000+ a year. The average salary of a new CNA in Nebraska City would be in the vicinity of $23,000 while at Omaha the rate could go up to $25,000 annually.
Rates vary per State and per institution. The working experience of a CNA plays an integral part regarding his or her salary bracket. The more experience you have, the higher your rate will be. There is a general trend for highly urbanized cities to offer higher salaries. In New Jersey the average salary of an experienced certified nursing assistant can reach up to $44,000 a year. In New York, salary range for CNAs is from $24,000 to $ 45,000. The salaries are all gross income. Taxes and other fees are not yet deducted. Standard of living in highly urbanized cities is high. Working in a big hospital in a big city does not necessarily translate to a bigger net income because of the high cost of living there.
Working in a nursing home might also be profitable for a CNA. The average income of such worker averages at $25,000 in Washington State. Some hospices even pay more than a hospital as there as hospices that pay from $10 to $14.50 per hour.
In conclusion, the salary of CNAs depends on their experience, type of institution and the locality they are in.
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Find the Right School for Your CNA Certification
0 Comments | Posted by admin in Useful CNA Information
The healthcare industry is one of the largest in the nation, making medical careers smart options for students. Among the important professionals employed by hospitals and clinics are Certified Nursing Assistants. In many cases, a high school diploma or equivalent is required for a job as a certified nursing assistant. However, specific qualifications vary by State laws and work settings. Finding the right school for your CNA certification is like finding the right school for your child. You have to choose wisely based on what your needs and preferences are. Some may be off to a good start in a classroom setting and some may flourish with an online education. Making a great match has many benefits. But it’s not always easy to choose the best-fit school. Here are some of the best places to search for CNA classes and trainings:
- The best place to look for CNA classes is at your local hospital. Hospitals that offer CNA classes normally prioritize employment for students who have taken their classes and training. Visit your local hospital and ask whether they offer classes for nursing assistants. If they do not, see if they can refer you to nearby hospitals that offer such course. There is good chance that other hospitals offer this type of training. Call or visit one in your area.
- Another place you could check out is your local college or university. Most colleges now offer CNA classes because there is a high demand for it. Specifically look for colleges or universities that have science courses. More often than not, these institutions also offer certificate programs on health industry.
- The internet is also a good place to look for institutions that offer CNA training. If you are generally more inclined to take an online CNA course, the internet should be able to give you a list of websites or references that offer CNA training. Go check each one and take note how they go about their online class. It’s better if they also offer classroom option and have a physical address. Look for career colleges, community colleges and universities that offer online instruction. That way, you would be able to know that they are not fly-by-night companies who just operate online.
- Another good place to try is retirement homes and communities. There is usually one in every city or town. Retirement homes or communities almost always need additional nursing assistants or caregivers and they should be able to refer or direct you to a school or hospital that offers classes. These places need a constant influx of health personnel to help with the residents, and thus offer classes to help train these new employees. Like most hospitals, they offer preferred employment if you have taken the class there. So give them a call.
If you are aiming to become a Registered Nurse (RN) someday or if your current career is not working out as well as you had hoped and plan to switch into healthcare, then becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA may be one of your top options.
Breaking into the healthcare industry can be quite difficult, as you need to proper training and skills to get gainful employment. Fortunately, practicing to become a CNA makes this a little bit easier, as you get to practice the basic nursing skills while on the job and on the way to acquiring a certificate or a degree in nursing.
For the uninitiated, a CNA is someone who assists the RN or LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) with the routine tasks, in order to give them more time to perform specialized duties such as nursing assessments, formulating care plans, assisting in surgery room preparation and administering medication. The basic tasks of a CNA involve assisting the patients with their activities of daily living, feeding, assisting with personal hygiene, making sure their environment is clean, wound dressing, exercise, repositioning bedridden patients, as well as assistance in the preparation and transport of patients into treatment, examination and surgery rooms.
In the United States, the CNA is also called by names such as PCA (Patient Care Assistant), STNA (State Tested Nurse Aid) or NA/R (Nursing Assistant-Registered).
Offers for CNA classes are widely available in local hospitals and nursing homes, trade schools, vocational schools, technical colleges, community colleges, as well as online. These courses typically involve a certain amount of classroom-type lessons, and some internship. The amount of hours required for internship depends on state rules, however. To be a fully practicing CNA, one also needs to pass the national CNA exam to be allowed to perform all the duties.
If you plan to get the best possible nursing education, you may want to consider one of the Top 10 Nursing Schools for Adult Nursing in the US as of 2009:
1.University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia
2.University of California – San Francisco
3.Columbia University – New York, NY
4.University of Washington – Seattle
5.Yale University
6.University of Maryland – Baltimore
7.University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
8.University of Colorado – Denver
9.It is a tie between University of Pittsburgh and Rush University of Chicago
Although the above list pertains to the Adult Nursing specialization only, the University of Pennsylvania also notably in the top ten lists for Nurse Midwifing, Pediatric Nursing, Family Nursing, Geriatric Nursing and Psychiatric Nursing.
