Nurse Assistant / Aide

While many people are familiar with the concept of a registered nurse, the work of Certified Nurse Assistants, or CNAs, is less well-known. CNAs are classified as 'unlicensed assistive personnel,' as opposed to licensed medical care professionals like RNs. Primary care technician, orderly, caregiver, nursing aide and direct care worker are all names for the CNA.

Assistive personnel have become more common within the current structure of the U.S. healthcare system. According to California's Board of Registered Nursing, managed care models of delivery emphasize the role of 'universal caregivers,' "which has unlicensed individuals performing functions which heretofore required a license…in settings such as assisted living, adult day care, and home care."

What do nurse assistants do? On a given day, CNAs will help bathe and dress patients, assist them in the bathroom, mind food and nutrition intake, monitor medicines and measure vital signs. Much of the time, this is 'the dirty work' that nurses don't have time to take care of. Nevertheless, real human beings with sensitive health conditions and dignity to maintain rely on CNAs to monitor their situation and help them get along in a way that promotes health, safety and well-being.

CNAs work in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings, including assisted-living facilities, hospitals and clinics and, sometimes, acute care hospitals. In any setting, they need to be in good physical shape, maintain excellent communication with co-workers and superiors, and be responsive to multiple patients' needs at a time. Keep in mind that good stress management and 'people' skills will go a long way towards preventing burnout in this profession.

About Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)

Registration

Just as a registered nurse, or RN, is "registered" with his or her official state nurse registry, certified nurse assistants are normally on their respective state registries. Every state in the US as well as the District of Columbia has a Nurse Aide Registry. To be clear, CNAs are trained, certified and registered - but not licensed. CNA programs must be accredited in the sense that they should be approved by the concerned state board.

The CNA Registry of a given state lists certified nurse assistants who meet both federal and state benchmarks through classroom training, clinical practice and due competency testing. In most states, prospective nurse assistants will have to undergo a criminal background check and garden-variety drug screening prior to practice. These tests are common and often required by law for healthcare workers.

In real clinical settings, there is often a gray area between unlicensed and licensed professionals' scopes of practice; overlap between the duties of CNAs and RNs is not unusual. Yet certain distinctions are sharply drawn. Only RNs, for instance, can perform and validate assessments, formulate nursing diagnoses, and design nursing plans of care.

If a task could potentially, if something were to go wrong, harm the patient - and that patient is medically fragile - the task is likely outside the scope of practice of a CNA. Where applicable, it is up to supervising RNs to make judgment calls concerning the scope of practice for a given task.

Educational Options for Nursing Assistants

Primary Certifications

Nurse assistants are certified by the states in which they practice. Upon the completion of a qualifying certification program, graduates may take the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program competency exam administered by the state in which they wish to practice. It is this exam that empowers nurse assistants to provide care under the CNA title.

All CNAs must earn a Certificate of Training that serves as proof of satisfactory education before the state board or registry. Community colleges, vocational schools, or even the local Red Cross are good places to start looking for quality, affordable and state-approved CNA courses. Medical facilities frequently offer quality CNA coursework to the public. It's not uncommon for nursing homes and assisted-living settings to offer free CNA training that ends with a job at their facility.

An important part of any CNA program is the clinical practicum wherein trainees learn the ropes of direct patient care from an experienced worker-mentor. Usually this will take the form of supervised training in a state-approved medical setting. Different states have different requirements for the number of classroom hours and hands-on clinical training that must be completed. All states, however, require proof of certified nursing assistant training.

CNA certificate programs typically take between 6 and 12 weeks to complete. A high school diploma is a minimum requirement for both entry and later employment. In these programs, students learn fundamental nursing skills, anatomy and physiology 101, basic nutrition and best practices for infection control.

Associate and Bachelor Degrees

Some students choose to complete a CNA-to-RN career pathway. This track would be useful, for instance, to get to know the field of nursing a little bit better before committing. Those pursuing such a path would normally go on to earn either an associate's degree in nursing (ADN) or a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN).

The CNA-to-RN path is relevant only if a student eventually wants to become a nurse. There is no need to otherwise pursue a bachelor's degree to become a CNA. In most cases, it will not confer any particular advantage.

Secondary Certifications

A common specialization is the CNA-Medication Aide, or CNA-M. Nursing assistants complete coursework in this area to learn to administer certain noninjectable medications to anyone except very young children. Qualifying applicants must be in good standing with their state registries and have at least a year of full-time CNA employment. Many states require the successful completion of a standardized medication course to earn the title.

There are also secondary certifications available which are specific to special populations, such as the elderly. A Geriatric CNA certification would, for example, qualify the holder to work as an assistant in a nursing home for seniors. The coursework for geriatric aides focuses on segment-specific features such as dementia and Alzheimer's, long-term disability and self-care, and issues concerning death and dying.

We found 346 schools offering nursing assistant degree programs in the U.S.

>> See all 346 Nurse Assistant / Aide Colleges in the U.S.

Nursing Assistant Schools By Total Enrollment

1
College of Dupage
Glen Ellyn, IL  |  Total Enrollment: 28862

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's
2
Pima Community College
Tucson, AZ  |  Total Enrollment: 28078

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's
3
Tarrant County College
Fort Worth, TX  |  Total Enrollment: 26868

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's
4
Mesa Community College
Mesa, AZ  |  Total Enrollment: 22821

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's, Two but less than 4 years
5
De Anza College
Cupertino, CA  |  Total Enrollment: 22770

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's, Two but less than 4 years
6
Glendale Community College
Glendale, AZ  |  Total Enrollment: 20091

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's
7
El Paso Community College
El Paso, TX  |  Total Enrollment: 18001

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's, Two but less than 4 years
8
Southwestern College
Chula Vista, CA  |  Total Enrollment: 17994

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's
9
Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute
Albuquerque, NM  |  Total Enrollment: 17265

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's, Two but less than 4 years
10
San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, CA  |  Total Enrollment: 16973

Degrees Offered: Less than one year, One but less than two years, Associate's, Two but less than 4 years

Browse All 346 Colleges With Nursing Assistant Programs


Title City State Enrollment
Alaska Vocational Technical Center Seward AK 210
Alabama Southern Community College Monroeville AL 1261
Bishop State Community College Mobile AL 4058
Douglas Macarthur State Technical College Opp AL 473
Gadsden State Community College Gadsden AL 4787
George C Wallace State Community College - Selma Selma AL 1445
H Councill Trenholm State Technical College Montgomery AL 663
Harry M Ayers State Technical College Anniston AL 1112
Lawson State Community College - Bessemer Campus Bessemer AL 1314
Reid State Technical College Evergreen AL 706
Eastern College of Health Vocations Little Rock AR 292
Great Rivers Vocational Technical School Mcgehee AR 182
Arkansas Career Training Institute Hot Springs AR 139
Arkansas State University - Mountain Home Mountain Home AR 916
Black River Technical College Pocahontas AR 1239
Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas De Queen AR 815
Crowleys Ridge Technical Institute Forrest City AR 141
Ozarka College Melbourne AR 737
Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas Helena AR 2364
South Arkansas Community College El Dorado AR 905
Southeast Arkansas College Pine Bluff AR 1955
Southern Arkansas University Tech Camden AR 790
University of Arkansas Community College - Batesville Batesville AR 1024
University of Arkansas Community College - Hope Hope AR 1176
Pima Medical Institute - Mesa Mesa AZ 71
Tucson College Tucson AZ 175
Central Arizona College Coolidge AZ 4536
Cochise College Douglas AZ 4966
Eastern Arizona College Thatcher AZ 6223
Gateway Community College Phoenix AZ 7895
Glendale Community College Glendale AZ 20091
Mesa Community College Mesa AZ 22821
Northland Pioneer College Holbrook AZ 5096
Phoenix College Phoenix AZ 12386
Pima Community College Tucson AZ 28078
Pima Medical Institute Tucson AZ 364
Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale AZ 10391
Four - D College Colton CA 179
Glendale Career Schools Glendale CA 1128
Marin Regional Occupational Program San Rafael CA 1039
Mt Diablo Adult Education Concord CA 637
Pacific College Costa Mesa CA 180
Valley Career College El Cajon CA No Data
Baldwin Park Adult & Community Education Baldwin Park CA 3295
Cuesta College San Luis Obispo CA 9496
Allan Hancock College Santa Maria CA 12110
East Los Angeles Occupational Center Los Angeles CA 2986
College of the Sequoias Visalia CA 10251
De Anza College Cupertino CA 22770
Educorp Career College Long Beach CA 487
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District - Adult Education City Of Industry CA 2030
Imperial Valley College Imperial CA 6775
Merritt College Oakland CA 5975
Mission College Santa Clara CA 9821
Mt San Jacinto College San Jacinto CA 9045
Palo Verde College Blythe CA 3312
Pomona Unified School District Adult and Career Education Pomona CA 971
San Joaquin Delta College Stockton CA 16973
Simi Valley Adult School and Career Institute Simi Valley CA 5902
West Valley Occupational Center Woodland Hills CA 5240
Southwestern College Chula Vista CA 17994
Aims Community College Greeley CO 6948
Arapahoe Community College Littleton CO 7436
Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Springs CO 7407
Community College of Denver Denver CO 6635
Emily Griffith Opportunity School Denver CO 7377
Morgan Community College Fort Morgan CO 1757
Otero Junior College La Junta CO 1361
Pima Medical Institute Denver CO 288
Trinidad State Junior College Trinidad CO 1921
Stone Academy Waterbury CT 125
Goodwin College East Hartford CT 418
Harrison Center for Career Education Washington DC 74
Dawn Training Centre Wilmington DE 72
Academy for Practical Nursing & Health Occupations West Palm Beach FL 287
Coral Ridge Nurses Assistant Training School Inc Fort Lauderdale FL 40
Hi - Tech School of Miami Miami FL 177
Keiser Career College - Greenacres Greenacres FL 786
National School of Technology Inc Hialeah FL 502
National School of Technology Inc Miami FL 393
Atlantic Technical Center Coconut Creek FL 1570
Charlotte Technical Center Port Charlotte FL 1276
First Coast Technical Institute Saint Augustine FL 1634
Lake Technical Center Eustis FL 669
Lee County High Tech Center Central Fort Myers FL 874
Lee County High Tech Center North Cape Coral FL 120
Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology Naples FL 1607
Manatee Technical Institute Bradenton FL 2721
Mcfatter Technical Center Davie FL 986
Miami Lakes Educational Center Miami Lakes FL 1098
Pinellas Technical Education Center Saint Petersburg FL 1232
Pinellas Technical Education Center - Clearwater Clearwater FL 1417
Radford M Locklin Technical Center Milton FL 322
Robert Morgan Educational Center Miami FL 1075
Sarasota County Technical Institute Sarasota FL 963
Suwannee - Hamilton Technical Center Live Oak FL 88
Taylor Technical Institute Perry FL 441
Tom P Haney Technical Center Panama City FL 443
Traviss Career Center Lakeland FL 4380
Washington - Holmes Technical Center Chipley FL 712
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