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The job of a certified nursing assistant can be physically demanding and taxing. CNAs should be fit and physically able to spend many hours standing, walking, and lifting and assisting their patients as the need arise. This is why it’s important that they are trained very well through CNA classes and know the proper procedures for lifting and moving patients. One wrong move and a lawsuit may be on its way. Nursing assistants also face health hazards from minor viral infections to major diseases from direct contact from patients who are already infected. It’s important that they follow certain protocols and proper procedures to avoid infections.
Certified Nursing Assistants work in hospitals, nursing care facilities, mental health care facilities, and retirement homes. They also work with patients who are injured, disabled or infirm but they generally work alone, or with their patients with occasional visits from their supervisor. Their supervisors normally give them detailed instructions at the start of the day explaining when to visit patients and what jobs to perform. These are some of the many tasks of a certified nursing assistant. They’re not always pretty. The job entails long hours Most full-time CNAs work about 40 hours per week, and sometimes even working nights, weekends and holidays because patients need care 24 hours a day. And most nursing assistants work with a number of different patients, each job lasting a few hours, days, or weeks. But the pay is decent.
Right now, 50% of CNAs work in nursing homes and residential care facilities, 29% work in hospitals and the rest are scattered around other health care facilities like psychiatric wards and substance abuse facilities.
The job outlook for a Certified Nursing Assistant is expected to grow 28% between 2006 and 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is primarily due to the high demand for healthcare in the elderly population. They may find themselves working in nursing and retirement homes and communities rather than the hospital sector because job openings are expected to be much more numerous in nursing homes and residential care facilities than in hospitals.
Also due to limited opportunities for advancement, many Certified Nursing Assistants are expected to leave jobs to pursue higher formal training to become registered nurses or licensed practical nurses. So job openings for CNAs are expected to grow because of old CNAs leaving to study another course in the medical field.
Jobs in health care are often fast-paced, difficult but challenging and rewarding at the same time. Not all people can handle a job in health care. By taking the time to evaluate your own skills and goals, you’ll be sure to find a career in health care, particularly as a certified nursing assistant.
The recent Asian pandemic caused by the type A virus H1N1 or more commonly known swine flu, is still a growing threat. Swine flu is a respiratory disease that originated from pigs. The strain has mutated and has now affected humans. The virus does not respond to most anti-flu vaccines in the market today except for oseltamivir and zenamivir. Having had the required annual anti-flu vaccine is no guarantee that a person exposed to the virus will not be affected. It is imperative that a CNA should know review precautions relating to H1N1.
CNA class include the study of infectious diseases so this information is just for review. Swine flu is not really fatal. A healthy person who has had his annual flu vaccine has really nothing to be worried about. The swine flu though is more serious for young children, pregnant women, and the elderly and to those who have diabetes, lung diseases and heart diseases. What precautions should a CNA know so he or she could impart pertinent information to patients.
Require anti-flu vaccines. A CNA should encourage patients to have their yearly flu vaccine between the months of June to September. As there are two generics that have a limiting effect on H1N1, then these should be the flu vaccine that should be required. To make it easier for the students and staff, the school clinic and therefore its doctor(s) should take care of the vaccination. In big colleges and universities who have tie-ups with hospitals, this should not be a problem. For regular patients, they should check their insurance policies if H1N1 vaccination is included in their policy. If not, they should pay for their own.
Educate the patients, parents and students about Swine flu. There are certain measures that a CNA can impart to others and to lessen the threat and possible contamination of H1N1. Although not necessarily “deadly” H1N1 can spread fast.
The first thing is to always wash your hands. Thought it’s not always possible to wash your hands on the hour by the hour in the bathroom, it would be good for you to bring your own alcohol gel. In this connection, it would be better for public buildings and establishments like hospitals and schools to install automatic alcohol dispensers in strategic places within their premises.
Second, always cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze and cough. It would be better to cough or sneeze into your elbow or the crook of your arm. Covering your mouth with a surgical mask does not help unless the surgical mask is an N95.
Third, if you feel feverish and have flu-like symptoms go home and seek medical help. These are some tips that a CNA should know about H1N1.
A lot has been said about the average annual salary that a CNA earns. There are numerous information claiming that a new CNA is paid anywhere from $7.00 to $9.00 an hour and that an experienced CNA can get as much as $15 an hour.
A non-profit group randomly selected 10 cities all over the United States for salary survey to get an estimation of a CNA’s average salary. The ten cities are: Chicago, IL, New York (Manhattan), Houston, TX, Atlanta, GA, Phoenix, AZ, Dallas, TX, Miami, FL, Charlotte, NC, Indianapolis, IN, and Los Angeles, CA.
Topping the list in terms of average gross CNA annual salary is New York at $34, 748. Compared to the average salary of an RN in New York ($76,808), a CNA’s salary is not even half of an RN’s. In Los Angeles, a CAN’s salary is at $32, 450 while an RN’s salary averages at $73,344. In third is Chicago with a CNA averaging at $31,400, an RN at $67,700. Indiana CNAs earn an average of $ 29,350; in Dallas, $29,255 while at Houston $29,000. Charlotte pays their CNAs an average of $28, 972 while they pay their RNs $65,000 a year. Phoenix is at $28,690 while Miami pays their CNAs $28,000.
All these communities are highly urbanized cities in the US. Compared to gross annual salaries of RNs, the salaries of CNAs are cut in half.
Another site surveyed a total number of CNAs working from all over the United States to get the information needed to rank the ten top paying states for CNAs. According to the survey, the top paying states for CNAs on a per hour basis are: Alaska ($14.36); New York ($13.63); Connecticut ($13.54); Massachusetts ($12.77); Hawaii ($ 12.53); District of Columbia ($12.47); Maryland ($12.47); Delaware ($12.32); New Hampshire ($12.24) and the last is Nevada at $12.23.
The results of the first and second sets of survey are completely different. The difference could be attributed to the number of respondents and other scientific (or not) values and equations used. The bottom line is it is clear that the average salary of a CNA is $27,500 from the first survey and around $35,000 in the second survey. For what it’s worth, the two averages are not bad at all.
A practicing CNA in California reported that the CNAs are paid between $15 and $20 per hour in California. This could actually hold true because the cost of living in California is high just like in New York and Boston. What is sad is that compared to other managerial jobs (office, warehouse, customer service and such) a CNA’s salary is in the bottom rung.
A CNA’s job is never easy. Surely a higher compensation is in order.
