A CNA is still very highly respected by most people. It is also still one of the oldest and most “noble” professions that anyone selfless person can do. In addition, in terms of a CNA jobs salary, it is useful to bear in mind that people work in the health sector primarily because they want to care for sick and disabled people, not because they are chasing a top salary!

You are probably wondering what sort of person becomes a CNA. Can you be a Florence Nightingale and dress unsightly, seeping wounds and wipe blood spouting from someone’s artery in their arm?! So, let’s see …… you will be caring for sick, helpless people mostly in pain, generally not in a good mood, so patience is strongly recommended, together with a strong stomach for attending to various “messy” tasks!  You need to be able to empathize with the patients.  This is a good place to think of Mother Theresa – how did she work and what did she achieve for humanity?  In addition, it goes a long way towards personal job satisfaction to have a cheerful disposition and to be popular with your patients!  In addition, a bit of a natural aptitude for healing people will be useful as that cannot be learned!

Now that you think you can be a CNA, we need to find out who will train you. When you apply to become a CNA, most institutions will carry out a thorough background check – including a criminal record search and various drug tests, so make sure you are squeaky clean! A personal interview is also scheduled so that they can meet you personally and observe your manners and whether you can hold your own in a formal conversation, and of course, they will be taking notes of aspects of your personality that come through naturally as you talk.

Now, the fun action part ……… your turn to find out info! Look at the choices you have to build up a CNA jobs salary and your CNA job career, all the time remembering that this is a very necessary, important, and “healthy” career choice! Go to your local community offices and nursing homes and find out whether they offer free CNA training courses – some of them do.  You can also enquire at your local Red Cross offices.  General hospitals or nursing clinics might offer to train you while you work for them – and then offer to pay for your formal State Certification Test. At whichever institute you train, it will be their responsibility to arrange all the details regarding your Final Examination for you. If you fail this final State Certification Exam the first time, you are allowed to take it again after a couple of months have lapsed. Nobody can become a CNA without passing the State Certified Exam.  In addition to a written test, there is also a practical test, so you have to be really very well prepared and thoroughly au fait with every single  practical aspect of your work.

Now back to serious issues – money! In the healthcare industry, a job as a CNA is seen as a stepping stone to further training and studying to becoming a fully qualified nurse, for example, or for specializing in nursing administration or laboratory work such blood testing and blood research. These extra qualifications are bound to increase a CNA jobs salary to greater heights!

However, more studying or not, either way, you can choose to work in different working environments. Consider private nursing or “companionship” nursing with elderly people where you live in at their home and assist them with their medication and daily tasks such as dressing, bathing, eating and  maybe even reading to them. Other CNA’s will prefer the flexibility of working as a “contract” employee where you join a nursing agency and they send you on different jobs every day, – only downer here – no job security guaranteed. On the other hand, a career at a hospital can offer you more benefits-  like a health care package for yourself should you fall ill, insurances, paid leave and regular CNA job salary increases! Rehabilitation Centers and Retirement Homes are always on the lookout for nursing help so you can investigate those two options as well, depending on which one appeals to you – do you want to work with the eldery or not?

Well, is this the career for you? Have you decided yet? It might be useful to help at your local hospital on the holidays to get a feel for the basic kind of work you will be doing. The hospitals will always be grateful for your assistance and will probably write a letter of recommendation for you to add to your CV one day. You can also watch medical videos and consider the kind of working lifestyle you will be leading.  And lastly, a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant is not everyone’s cup of tea – don’t be fooled by the glamorous life and rich, handsome doctors you see on TV shows – this is not a job for the faint-hearted or for someone who feels nauseous simply by seeing blood on TV.