Certified nursing assistants are an important part of the day-to-day care of patients across the healthcare industry. If you’re looking to get your start in healthcare, you might be wondering how to become a certified nursing assistant?<\/span><\/p>\n

Nursing assistant careers aren’t easy, but they’re extremely rewarding. Read on now to find out what you need to know to gain your certification and begin working today.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Become a CNA<\/b><\/p>\n

While different places have varying requirements, they typically follow the same guidelines. Depending on the area you’re in, the amount of time it takes you to complete the training program can be anywhere from 2 months to 1 year.<\/span><\/p>\n

In these <\/span>nurse aide training<\/span><\/a> programs, you’ll learn things like medical terminology as well as the techniques you’ll use to care for your patients once you’re in the field. After you’ve completed the necessary hours of training, you’ll sign up to take your final test to obtain the certification license that allows you to begin working.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are two portions to the certified nursing assistant exam that test-takers will receive. The first is a sit-down written exam that asks a variety of questions for applicants to answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second part of the exam is known as the clinical skills exam. During the second part of the exam, applicants will perform various skills they learned during training in front of a test proctor.<\/span><\/p>\n

The skills you’re tested on will be given randomly, and you’ve got 30 minutes to perform each skill from beginning to end, proving that you’re competent.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Do CNAs Do?<\/b><\/p>\n

CNA stands for certified nursing assistant; therefore, the basis of a CNA’s job is assisting the nurse when there are things that need to be done. Your job is to tend to patients that are injured, ill, disabled, and aren’t able to care for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your duties are known as daily living activities, but they can differ depending on the healthcare setting you’re working in. For example, if you work in a rehabilitation center, your job would focus on helping patients when they need help doing things like getting dressed or brushing their teeth.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, you will stand by and motivate them to do as much as they can themselves as a part of their rehabilitation treatment. If you’re working with patients in a nursing home, you might find yourself helping them more with bathing or eating because as they’ve gotten older, they aren’t able to do these things as efficiently as they once were.<\/span><\/p>\n

Duties You Might Perform<\/b><\/p>\n

While we gave a summary of the things that you’d be responsible for while working as a CNA, here’s a more in-depth version of what you can expect on a day-to-day basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

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• Repositioning patients that are bedridden to prevent bedsores<\/span><\/li>\n
• Taking vital signs<\/span><\/li>\n
• Gathering supplies that nurses and doctors need to perform specific procedures<\/span><\/li>\n
• Cleaning and dressing wounds<\/span><\/li>\n
• Documenting changing medical and health issues of patients in your care<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  These are just a few of the responsibilities you’ll find yourself tasked with as a working CNA. You will often go through extra training programs provided by your job as a refresher for things you might need to be trained on again.<\/span><\/p>