WHAT IS A C.NA. OR NURSE AIDE

Nurse aide, certified nursing assistant, C.N.A. or NA are all terms you will see that refer to those who have taken a state test, passed and now have a license through their state to assist patients with activities of daily living (ADL’s) Nurse Aides will help patients with dressing, eating, bathing, walking, or any other task that a patient might need help with.

You can find Nurse Aide’s (c.n.a.) in every area of healthcare: hospitals, nursing homes, assistant living facilities, doctor’s offices, labs and more.

NA’s or nurse aides are the primary care givers of patients in hospitals, assistant living facilities and nursing homes. NA’s are with their patients through out the day helping with any request the patient may have in dressing, bathing, grooming, toiling, hygiene, walking and eating.

Nurse Assistants have more contact with the patient then any of the other healthcare providers in a facility. Your job is vitally important to the ongoing health of the patient. It is the Nurse Aide that knows from day to day, hour to hour what their patients are doing, how they are feeling and if there is ANY change in them physically, mentally or emotionally. ANY changes in a patient should be reported to the charge nurse and that is a vital part of the NA’s job.

TRAINING TO BECOME A NURSE AIDE

Each state has their own Board of Nursing. It is this agency that sets the standards and requirements for becoming a nurse aide in their state. Typically there are a number of school hours that must be completed. These classroom hours usually consist of reviewing chapters in an approved textbook, practicing skills that an aide must know to help their patients, and clinical hours. Clinical hours is time spent under the supervision of the instructor in a facility or hospital caring for patients

When deciding where to take your nurse aide training program it is best to call (or go online) the Board of Nursing and ask them for a list of all the APPROVED training programs in your area. If you take the course from an agency that is not approved buy your state’s board of nursing then you will not be eligible to take the nurse aide state test to become licensed or certified to work as a nurse aide in your state.

Be very careful about taking the course online. In many states, if you do not have clinical hours (hands on patient care supervised by an approved nurse aide instructor) you will not be able to take the state test.

After completing your state nurse aide training program and taking a state qualifying test and passing the test you will then be able to work as a nurse aide in your state. If you move to another state you should call the Board of Nursing in that state and tell them that you ARE licensed or certified in another state. Ask them what you need to do to become licensed or certified in their state. In many states you will just have to fill out some paperwork to become licensed or certified in that state.

NOW THAT I AM LICENSED, WHAT DO I DO?

It’s time to get to work.

But where??

Think about this before you apply for a job. Are you a high-energy person? You don’t like sitting around. You like lots of activity with never a dull moment. You should consider working in a hospital or next choice, nursing home. These facilities are ALWAYS busy, you will NEVER be bored.

If you like things to go along at an even pace, not rushing or hurrying (busy but not running full out) you should consider working in an assistant living facility. In these facilities the patients need much less care then in a hospital or nursing home.

Finely, if you like things that move slow and don’t mind times when there is nothing to do you might consider homecare. When you are doing homecare you only have 1 or 2 paints and there will be times when they don’t need anything and you can sit down. For a high-energy person, this could drive them crazy, for a calm (or easily stressed) person, homecare could be perfect.

Really think about the type of work environment you like BEFORE you apply for that job.

LET’S GET TO WORK

As the baby boomers continue to age the need for healthcare workers will only increase. If you are having trouble getting a job it may be that you have poor interviewing skills. A Nurse Aide job is an entry-level position. This means that you could have a lot of competition for that position. You need to stand out to the interviewer. Ask yourself why you should get the job instead of all the other NA’s that are applying. What do you bring to the job that may be different or special? Some ideas: any volunteer work with the elderly, handicapped, or special needs children. A candy striper at a hospital, a camp counselor, did you help your parents or grandparents when they were ill or in the hospital? Just because you did not get paid does not mean that any of the experiences above are not valuable and SHOULD be included on a job application.

Practice your interviewing skills. Your nurse aide textbook may have a chapter on how to get a job. Some of the tips they offer for interviewing are very helpful.

Here are some tips for making a good impression on the interviewer and getting that job:

1. Show up for the interview BEFORE the scheduled time
2. Look professions, wear a pant suit or a skirt and blouse (NO JEANS OR TEE-SHIRTS OR SCRUBS)
3. Take off all of your jewelry except a wedding ring and if you like, a SIMPLE pair of stud earrings.
4. Cover up any tattoo’s if possible
5. Ware light make-up and tie any long hair back in a pony tail or bun
6. Smile and look the interviewer in the eyes when talking to them
7. Have a good firm handshake (not crushing but not limp)
8. Present yourself as excited to work there and ready to start working TODAY!
9. When asked if you have any questions DO NOT start asking: when are your smoking breaks, how long do you have for lunch, when do you get vacations and how much sick leave do you have. These ARE questions that you will want to know the answers too BUT if that is all you are focused on the interviewer will think you are only interested in your time away from the job and not the job. Ask something like: how many patients will you be able to help or what floor will you be working on. These kind of questions make it sound like you already have the job and have started caring for patients.

These are just a few tips for the interviewing process. You can learn more from many places in your community or on the Internet. If you are not prepared for your interview it will show and will decrease your chances of getting that job. If you believe that you should be able to go into an interview and they should just "except me for who I am" or "I should be able to just be myself and if they don’t like it then the heck with them" then don’t expect to get any job offers. Employers are looking for people who know HOW to get along with others, how to be flexible, co-operative and understand that everything will not ALWAYS go your way. If your attitude is anything like the above then just stay home, and don’t complain that no one will hire you.

Lastly, the job of a Nurse Assistant, Nurse Aide or C.N.A. is not about you it is ALL about the patient. If you are not ready to give yourself to others then it would be better to look for work with little or no patient care. For the most part, you are ALL that patient has to look after them. They are counting on you to be the first to help them with their needs and to notice if ANYTHING is wrong and report it to the charge nurse. Your job is THE most important job to your patients. May God bless you for it each and every day. Thank you for being a Nurse Aide.