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Career Exploration

Nursing Assistants

Also called: Certified Nurses Aide (CNA), Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Nursing Assistant, Patient Care Assistant (PCA)

What they do:

Provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff. Perform duties such as monitoring of health status, feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or ambulation of patients in a health or nursing facility. May include medication administration and other health-related tasks. Includes nursing care attendants, nursing aides, and nursing attendants.

On the job, you would:
  • Turn or reposition bedridden patients.
  • Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
  • Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
On the job, you'll need:

Business

  • customer service
  • management

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Health

  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling

Safety and Government

  • public safety and security

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

Social

  • looking for ways to help people
  • understanding people's reactions

Verbal

  • listen and understand what people say
  • communicate by speaking

Endurance

  • exercise for a long time without getting out of breath

Social

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

  • Concern for Others
  • Dependability
  • Self Control
  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Adaptability/Flexibility

Medical software

  • Epic Systems
  • MEDITECH software

Video conferencing software

  • FaceTime

Spreadsheet software

  • Microsoft Excel

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will have large numbers of openings.

Median Annual Salary: $35,760

Education

High school diploma/GED or certificate after high school is usually needed.