Nurse Assistant Jobs - Where To Find The Ideal Certified Nurse Assistant Jobs That Pay The Best Salaries



by Daniel Turbin


Nurse assistant jobs can be highly rewarding. Money is certainly not the only reward. You are also about to have some wonderful life experiences taking care of people who depend on you for their activities of daily life. As a professional nurse assistant, it is very likely that soon after taking the test you start working in a nursing home or care center. Although there is nothing wrong with working in these facilities, you can prepare yourself for a much better outcome. After all, most nursing homes and care centers overwork their newer employees in CNA jobs for a salary just a little above minimum wage. But do not get me wrong. Nursing homes and care centers are the best places where you should work once you are certified for certified nurse assistant jobs.

You need that experience prior to applying for the jobs that pay the highest nurse assistant salary. Even before you are a CNA you may find a job as an NA. Usually, they give you up to three months to get certified, and that initial experience is going to be beneficial in the long run. Surely you could take the class and the test first. But it is much easier to pass the exam and things will make much more sense in class when you get hands on learning and experience at the same time.

It essentially puts you one step ahead of the other students. In nursing homes you will learn the hard work. You give people showers, drain their catheters, help them with oral care, feed them, check their vital signs and transfer them. These are things you will do in almost any medical assistant jobs. These are the fundamentals you will have to build on. These are tasks that you will also find in any nurse assistant job details.

Embrace learning new things when you are still working these entrance CNA jobs. Do not turn away from residents that have more complicated issues and need like colostomy care. If during your downtime a nurse asks a volunteer to come help with a dressing change or other wound care, of course stand up and go with her right away. If the physical therapy assistant is looking for help walking someone with a prosthetic leg, raise your hand. That is the type of experience that will eventually land you the better paying jobs. Volunteer although the resident is not part of your own assignment for that shift. If you can make the time for it and not neglect your own residents, do it! The laziness of your co-workers will eventually benefit you.

You will learn new things and the nurses and therapists will love you for going the extra mile. And if you did not take the initiative at the very start of your career, it is also the time to start a list with names of people you can ask for a reference when you are willing to apply for the better paying nurse assistant jobs. And do not panic when the nurses on your list quit and start other jobs. This is to your benefit. They also apply for more rewarding jobs, and their advancement will help yours. Quite often, for these nurses a new job means to advance from a nursing home job to a hospital job. And that ought to be your goal also. Stay in touch if you can or save their contact information for when the time is right.




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