A Certified Nursing Assistant, or CNA, provides basic care to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities. There is a demand for CNAs in all 50 states, so the job outlook is good.
Demand for CNAs in All 50 States
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of nursing assistants will grow 11% from 2018 to 2028, faster than the average for all occupations. The median annual salary for CNAs was $28,530 in 2018.
To become a CNA, you must complete an accredited training program and pass a state-approved exam.
CNA Duties and Responsibilities
Job responsibilities of a certified nursing assistant vary depending on the state in which they practice, but general duties commonly performed include:
Helping patients eat, drink and bathe
Changing bed sheets and clothes
Taking patients’ vital signs, such as blood pressure and temperature
Documenting patient medical histories
Assisting with personal care tasks, such as bathing and toileting
Helping patients to ambulate or move around.
CNAs also often provide emotional support to patients and their families, and in some states, CNAs may also administer medication.
They often act as a bridge between the patient and the nurse, relaying information back and forth. Being a CNA can be a demanding job, both physically and emotionally. However, it can also be gratifying to know that you are making a difference in someone’s life.
CNAs typically work shifts that include evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays in various settings, including hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care facilities. Still, they may also work in clinics, doctor’s offices, and home health agencies.
Skills Needed to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant
Becoming a CNA requires formal training and developing specific core skills. Most states require that candidates complete an accredited nursing assistant program in formal training. These programs typically last several months and cover human anatomy, infection control, and emergency procedures.
In addition to formal training, prospective nursing assistants must pass a CNA skills test. These skills include communicating effectively with patients and coworkers, patience, and physical strength. Furthermore, nursing assistants must be able to think on their feet and make quick decisions in stressful situations. Those with these skills and qualities are well-suited to a career in nursing assistance.
Training and Certification
CNA training and certification are essential for those who want to work in the medical field. The training program covers infection control, patient rights, and emergency procedures. The certification exam tests a candidate’s knowledge of these topics. Those who pass the exam can start working as a CNA.
Working as a CNA is a great way to get your foot in the door of the medical field if you are interested in becoming a CNA, research training programs, and certification requirements in your area.
Career Paths
Most CNAs work in hospitals, but there are many other options available. For example, CNAs can find work in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted living communities. Some CNAs also choose to work in home health care, assisting patients who need help with activities of daily living. And there are CNAs who work in hospice care, providing comfort and support to patients during the end-of-life process.
No matter what setting they choose, CNAs play a vital role in providing high-quality patient care. In addition, with the aging population, there is an increasing demand for CNAs, so those interested in a career in nursing have a bright future ahead.
Salary and Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median CNA salary was $28,530 in 2019, with the top 10% earning more than $39,390. The job outlook for CNAs is very positive, with an expected growth rate of 7% from 2019 to 2029. This growth is partly due to the aging Baby Boomer population, who will require more care as they age.
In addition, the growing prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease will continue to drive demand for qualified nursing assistants. As a result, those interested in a healthcare career should consider becoming certified nursing assistants. With a strong job outlook and competitive salaries, it is a great time to enter this growing field.
Nursing has always been an essential, trusted and well-respected career. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and many nurses seeking retirement, nursing education have become an even more critical part of the healthcare system to train new nurses to fulfill this urgent gap in the healthcare system.
Nurses are more than just healthcare workers; they provide care and treatment for sick patients while providing support for patients and family members during challenging times.
As the nursing industry evolves, there has become a greater demand for healthcare services due to an aging population and shifting technologies. With the need for hospitals and other organizations to maintain the best care for patients, nursing has also become a highly sought-after role in an in-demand field.
“From an educational standpoint, nursing has seen a demand for BSN educated nurses as the minimum entry into the professional degree,” said Nick Carte, PhD, AGNP-C, APRN and faculty lead in the nursing program at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). “Nursing continues to be the highest and most respected profession because nurses adapt to change and the environment they need to work in.”
Your first step is to decide your career goals within the nursing field, as different degrees are required for different nursing types. Once you know where your goals lie, you can begin your degree program.
While nursing requirements vary state by state, you will need to complete either an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at a minimum. During your BSN, you will explore healthcare management, ethics in healthcare, leadership, and more.
If you choose to advance your nursing degree from there, you can go on to complete your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).
During your MSN, you can choose to focus your degree on a more specialized career.
There is no one job in the nursing field that is the best, but one position may be the best for you. Many nursing professions extend outside of a traditional hospital experience. For example, many nurses work in family practices or clinics, home healthcare services,
Before beginning your nursing career or nursing education, create goals for yourself and do your research to explore all your options. Ensure you learn about what it’s like to be a nurse in your desired role to know if it is the right fit for you.
Some popular nursing positions include:
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA): A CNA works as a part of the healthcare team under the supervision of a registered nurse. They provide basic care from motoring vitals to cleaning, bathing, and caring for patients. The education requirement is often a state-approved education program with on-the-training required. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports, in 2021 the median salary of a CNA was $30,290, and as a projected job growth of 8% through the year 2030.
Registered Nurse (RN): As an RN, you will assess patients, administer medications and treatments, provide emotional support to patients and their families, and more. The education required to become a nurse is typically an ADN or a BSN from an accredited university. In 2021 the median salary for an RN was $77,600, with a 9% projected job growth from 2020 to 2030, according to BLS.
Nurse Practitioners: A nurse practitioner’s role is to serve as a primary care provider to deliver nursing services to patients. They manage a patient’s health and discuss ways to incorporate a healthier lifestyle where necessary. Most nurse practitioners hold at least a master’s degree in a nursing program. According to BLS, in 2021 nurse practitioners earned a median salary of $120,680 and the field is expected to grow by 52% through 2030, which is a much faster average than most occupations in the field.
Nurse Educators: Nurse educators are mentors and teachers who work in nursing schools and teaching hospitals to prepare the next generation of nurses through their own skills and knowledge. While the pay for a nurse educator can vary depending upon your certification, skills and the number of years in your profession, the average salary for a nurse educator in 2022 is $103,448, according to Salary.com.”As long as we maintain the profession of nursing, we will need highly capable educators to provide new education, as well as ongoing education, to nurses everywhere,” said Kimberly Gibbons, DNP, CNM, RN, CNL, CNE, a clinical faculty member in the nursing program at SNHU.
Many nursing specialties are in high demand as the pandemic created a need for more professional, clinically skilled nurses in hospitals and medical centers.
There are many nursing jobs for you to consider and it’s a field that will always be needed. We saw this more than ever over the past couple of years.
“Nurses stepped up and we cemented our place in healthcare,” said Carte.
Boredom: “not something nurses find…”
A day in the life of a nurse depends upon the type of nursing role you choose to build a career in. Even in your specific role, your days may look different as you work with various patients who have different needs.
“I believe boredom is not something nurses find,” said Gibbons.
For Gibbons, who worked as a nurse-midwife at the beginning of her career, days were filled with taking care of women and families in outpatient offices, along with hospital rounds and round-the-clock care for patients giving birth or with medical concerns.
Her days look much different now. Having spent over three decades in nursing and completing several degrees, Gibbons now works remotely as a nurse educator teaching master’s students.
While Gibbons’ day to day has changed working in her various roles, her days have always looked different from Carte’s, who works as a nurse practitioner at a family practice, providing care for those with acute and chronic illnesses.
A day in the life as a nurse will be different for everyone depending upon your job. Still, no matter your job, your role will include communication, organization, critical thinking, and compassion and provide opportunities to contribute to healthcare and improve the lives of others.
“My day begins with the understanding that I can make a difference in someone’s life and work to keep my passion alive through the rewards of positive health outcomes seen with many of my patients,” said Carte.
Is a Nursing Degree Worth It?
There are several pathways you can take to become a nurse. With different nursing degrees, certifications, and licensures available to you, achieving your nursing degree can benefit you and your career growth.
Earning your bachelor’s degree will help to open new doors for your career. For example, if your goal is to become a labor and delivery nurse, you will need to have achieved your ASN or your BSN to gain the proper knowledge for your career.
Your bachelor’s degree is also essential in advancing your career as it prepares you for your master’s. In addition, a master’s is necessary for certain positions. For example, if you hope to take your career further and become a nurse educator, you will need at least an MSN degree.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), about 41% of employers require at least a BSN for new hires, while over 77% of employers prefer to hire BSN graduates.
The AACN also found during a 2021 survey that 76% of BSN students and 75% of MSN found employment by the time they graduated.
Nursing is a complex field that grows every year. There will never be one path best to become a nurse with many job opportunities for you to explore.
Your nursing degree will provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide the best care for your patients and prepare you for whatever nursing career path you decide is the right fit for you.
“Take the risk to go back to school and learn new skills if the skills you currently have are not leading you to work that is gratifying,” Gibbons said. “No one can ever take your education away, so it is truly the path to gain new opportunities,” said Gibbons.
Patients lean on them every day, and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) contribute so much to the nursing field—yet they rarely seem to receive the credit they truly deserve. Even when writing this story, autocorrect kept changing CNA to CAN [Microsoft Spelling Checker, are you listening? –editor], and this seems an ironic reminder of the way CNAs can be overlooked.
Two years ago, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society started a CNA Training Program. Rochelle Rindels, MSN, RN, QCP, vice president of nursing and clinical services for the Good Samaritan Society, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, took time to answer our questions about the program.
What follows is our interview, edited for length and clarity.
When did Good Samaritan start its CNA Training Program? How many students are enrolled currently?
Since its inception in May of 2020, we’ve enrolled more than 600 students into the Good Samaritan Society CNA Training Program with a 91% success rate for students that sit for the certification exam.
Investing in our own team members is extremely important to us. I started as a CNA and progressed through different nursing licenses and degrees and am grateful for the support I received from my employers. We have experts who contributed to the curriculum build for the CNA program, and we recognized the value in training our CNAs in our buildings, familiarizing them with the residents they will care for throughout their employment.
The health care system has experienced a shortage of trained caregivers for critical roles for some time; nurses and nurse aides are among the fastest growing occupations, but supply is not keeping pace.
Building and strengthening the worker pipeline is essential to support current staffing patterns, paramount to any future staffing enhancements and foundational to drive further improvements in delivery of care and services to residents.
We do not want to lose the heroes who answered the call to serve and continue to step up to care for our nation’s seniors in a time of crisis. We need to retain these caregivers, so they are not facing job loss, and residents in nursing homes are not facing the loss of caregivers who know them and love them.
We have proactive strategies in place to ensure we have the positions we need to continue to provide care as close to home by investing in growing our own frontline nurses, one being our CNA Program.
How does the program work? Do students attend in-person, online, or a combination of both? Do they attend full or part-time? How long does it last?
Our CNA program is a hybrid program. The curriculum consists of online coursework and in-person skills lab and clinicals, which allows the student to apply skills and knowledge in a care setting. Full-time and part-time options are available for employees to complete the 80-hour program.
Students receive training in our locations while they are working for us and earning a paycheck. They are trained in person by preceptors and nursing team members who are also their coworkers. The students also get to know the residents who they will continue serving after they graduate and pass certification.
What does a CNA do in health care, and why is it important for aspiring nurses to train as one?
A CNA is more than the title alludes to–nurse assistant. CNAs are absolutely the eyes and ears of our nurses and assist in completing nursing interventions. They are intimately involved with residents’ day-to-day care and needs, and they build lasting relationships with residents and their families. They complete daily activities of living with residents, perform dressing, bathing, and meal assistance. CNAs assist with restorative interventions to help residents maintain function and document important needs and data points related to the resident’s overall condition. They are a valued and essential part of the care team.
Why is this program important? What does it offer that makes it different from others?
The nurses who work for the Good Samaritan Society tell us they find their jobs incredibly rewarding. It’s hard work, but they believe they are called to do their roles. They build special relationships and friendships with their coworkers, and their residents become family. It’s the experiences like celebrating birthdays and anniversaries as well as the wisdom they gain from their residents that makes being a nurse such a rewarding career.
If someone wanted to get into the program, what would they need to do? What steps would you tell them to take?
Applying to the program is easy! Anyone interested can apply to a nurse aid position and upon hire will automatically be enrolled in the CNA training program. We offer the internal program in six of our states, including South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Florida, and Tennessee. We are currently in the application process in five more states.
Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that is important for our readers to know?
I personally grew up with the Good Samaritan Society. My mother spent nearly 40 years as a nurse at Good Samaritan Society–Luther Manor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I remember performing ballet recitals and Christmas programs for the residents and staff. My mother and I have just one of many Good Samaritan Society stories of family working together. It’s that sense of calling and the family-like connection to residents that makes our culture so unique.
We’ve supported our people with investments to maintain the stability of our workforce and new programs to support employee well-being. These investments have paid off–our turnover rate is below the industry average and we were a Forbes top midsize employer in 2021.
In 2021 alone, we invested $15 million in direct care wages, and we recently announced a $5 million investment in starting wages.
We’re focused on how we can create positions that allow for more work-life balance for our people who are carrying out our mission every day. As a large organization, we have opportunities to solve for some of these things. But at the end of the day, we still need meaningful policies and long-term solutions to support and address our workforce needs now and in the future.
