Tag: Medical Facility

Nursing Assistant Licensing Requirements

For those interested in pursuing a career in the medical field, obtaining your certification as a Nursing Assistance can be exactly what you are looking for. While the specifications for licensing vary by state, all programs have basic elements. First, you must be able to pass a background check. This is for the safety of all patients and other staff. Some states only look at felony convictions, while others look for reckless behaviors including harassment, domestic violence, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Most programs also require a GED or High School diploma.

Nursing Assistant programs are generally run by healthcare facilities and local colleges. Contact any such facility for a listing of up coming classes in your area. Generally, the courses run from four weeks to twelve weeks in length. You will be required to complete a set amount of hours of classroom time as well as a set amount of hours of clinicals. These clinicals are hands on practice that takes place at a medical facility. You will not be paid for your hours worked during this training program. Federal law requires a minimum of 75 hours in any program, all of which must be supervised by a qualified Registered Nurse.

Upon completing all of your classroom hours and clinical training, you will then be required to take a Certified Nursing Assistant exam. This exam is held periodically throughout each state. Some agencies will allow you to secure employment as a Nursing Assistant during that period of time between completing the program and your scheduled exam. Often, verification of program completion and verification that you are registered to take the test are sufficient.

This comprehensive exam is made up of two parts, written and clinical. The written part of the test is said to be mainly common sense. The clinical portion will require you to perform a number of techniques that you will be using in your job. You Nursing Assistant program instructor will inform you of items you should be well skilled in for the exam. In addition, forming your own study group and taking online practice tests can help you feel confident as the date of the test arrives.

The Nursing Assistant licensing requirements are designed to ensure everyone obtaining a certification from the program is properly trained in policies and procedures. Precautions are taken for the safety of the patients, their families, and other medical staff members. It is important to understand that the program will only help you to learn the basics of the job. The specific job requirements will depend on the facility you are working for. You will receive either orientation or on the job training at each medical facility you begin employment with in the area of Nursing Assistant.

With the demand for Nursing Assistants very high right now, it is an excellent career to pursue. The demand is anticipated to continue growing, with the biggest demands being in facilities caring for the elderly. This is the result of people living longer on average.

If you have any questions about the Nursing Assistant licensing requirements in your state, contact your state Medical Board by phone or online. The interest also provides you will additional information on licensing, classes, and career development in the area of Nursing Assistant.

Home Health Employment with a Nursing Assistant Certification

Many individuals who are certified as a Nursing Assistant become frustrated with the medical facility environment. The often have to work as scheduled including holidays, deal with internal issues among staff, want more pay for the work they are doing, and dont feel appreciated.

Home health care offers a great alternative to Nursing Assistants who want more freedom as well as the opportunity to get to know those they are caring for on a more personal level. Home health care is exactly that, offering basic assistance to those who need it in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Nursing Assistants will be performing many of the same tasks including feeding, bathing, and dressing the patients.

Most Nursing Assistants interested in working for home health seek employment with a home health agency. These agencies contract with the patient or their family to offer them services to be able to remain in their home rather than an assisted living facility. However, Nursing Assistants need to be aware home health care agencies generally offer additional services that they will be required to perform including paying bills, running errands, picking up medications, and taking the patient to scheduled appointments. In addition, there may be cooking and light housekeeping involved.

Many Nursing Assistants love home health care because it allows them to develop a schedule that works for them and they get to know their patients. Home health care generally allows you to make your own schedule. It will be reviewed by your supervisor as well as checked with the patients. Every effort is made to accommodate all involved. It is very likely you can customize the schedule around holidays and other events, giving you those days off.

Getting to know your patients while doing home health care is a perk you dont often get in a medical facility. You sometimes can if you work in a long term care facility, but even then time is often limited and Nursing Assistants have to run to complete the workload they are given. Getting to know the patients in home health care can make the job more enjoyable.

Since home health care takes place in a persons home with very little supervision, the background check is more intense than what is done to work in a medical facility. This is for the complete protection of the patients. You will have complete access to their home as well as be interacting with them one on one. Therefore any time of issue on your background check can keep you from being employed in home health care.

Nursing Assistants are more likely to earn more at a home health agency than in a medical facility. On average $2.25 more per hour. They are also more likely to be treated respectfully by their employer and co-workers. They want employees to be happy as this will help keep them as quality employees. Patients do not like for their assistant to continually change. They dont like having that many new people in and out of their home. The home health care agency has to properly balance keeping the employees and the patients happy.

Explore other Medical Fields as a Nursing Assistant

Employment as a Nursing Assistant offers you a unique opportunity to explore many avenues of the medical field. You will primarily be working with the patients, their families, and the Nursing staff. However, it is not uncommon that you will have interactions with many other areas including physicians, X-Ray, surgery, specialists, and emergency staff.

Since you will be working with so many types of individuals, having quality communication skills is a vital quality to have for being an effective Nursing Assistant. You will be responsible for meeting the basic needs of your patients including feedings, bathing, and dressing. They level of care with vary depending on the individual needs of the patient. In addition, you will be providing them and their family with emotional support.

Your position will involve working closely with the Nursing staff on a daily basis. This will be the medical professionals you deal with the most. From providing vitals for all patients to offering assistance with whatever comes up, the nursing staff needs to know they can rely on you. This means showing up as scheduled, completing your tasks to the best of your ability, paying attention to detail, and being willing to work as part of a time.

Depending on the type of medical facility you work in, physicians of the patients may be stopping in to check on them. They often as questions of the Nursing Assistant. For some, this is intimidating. If a physician is asking you for information on a patient, take it as a compliment. Physicians often recognize Nursing Assistants as having more one on one interactions with the patients. Therefore, things that you observe can help them with treating the patient.

For example, a doctor may prescribe a new medication. You will be able to let the physician know if the appetite of the patient has changed as well as if the patients level of being coherent has changed.

Working in the medical profession, you will be exposed to a variety of other staff from different medical fields. This is because of the changes in the needs of your patients. You may be asked to take patients to X-Rays or to help get them prepared to be moved to the surgery unit. There will be an array of specialists checking on patients, again based on the individual needs of those you are serving.

Working with emergency staff is very important. Their interactions can make all the different in some situations. It is vital that you are trained on when emergency staff should be called. You need to have detailed information of where to call, who to call, and what information to give them. This should all be secured prior to any event actually happening.

In this type of situation, you will need to work with emergency staff to provide information. Anything you can tell them about the events that occurred as well as the events before the incident took place can be of importance.

The role of a Nursing Assistant is one of many hats. You will have the opportunity to provide quality care for patients as well as be exposed to many other arenas of the medical field. The more you are able to effectively communicate with these other professionals, the better service you will be providing to those in your care.

Duties of a Nursing Assistant

Most of us are familiar with Nursing Assistants, but we dont really know all that is required for them to complete their work efficiently and of the best quality. Time restraints can often make it difficult to decide to do a job better or to get more done. Thus, having an outstanding work ethic is of the utmost importance.

Nursing Assistants must also have excellent communication skills. They are required to have interactions with patients, family members, Nurses, and a variety of other medical professionals. It is imperative that they are able to effectively reply and communication that needs to take place with these various types of individuals.

It is widely known that Nursing Assistants provide basic are for patients including feeding, bathing, and dressing. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg when you take a look at all the various duties involved in being an effective Nurse Assistant. While the specific duties will vary according to the medical facility you work for, there are some that are found in most every one.

Bathing is generally either a shower or a bed bath depending on the level of care the patient requires. Personal hygiene including combing hair, brushing teeth, applying makeup, cleaning dentures all needs to be done for each individual patient. Shaving is also to be taken into consideration, and completed as needed.

Taking patients vital signs are a daily requirement of Nursing Assistants. Taking vital signs includes temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure. This information that is recorded on the patients chart, and reviewed by the Nursing staff and other medical professionals.

For patients requiring assistance with eating, the routine can take 20-60 minutes depending on the abilities of the patient and how much food they consume. The Nursing Assistant needs to document the type of food and drink consumed and the quantities of each on the patients chart. Some patients will need to take vitamins and other nutritional supplements, also the duty of the Nursing Assistant to administer.

It is also the duty of the Nursing Assistant in many medical facilities to be responsible for getting those who can feed themselves ready to be taken to the dining area. This may just be having their grooming done or helping to lift them into a wheelchair and take them to the dining area.

Nursing assistants will need to change any bedding or other soiled materials if found on the patient. This is a case by case basis and will vary each day. While interacting with the patient, you will need to document their behaviors. It is important that you notify the Nurse on duty if you see any changes that are unexpected or not generally seen. You will be trained in what to look for.

Keeping a sharp eye for details will assist any Nursing Assistant with successfully performing all duties. Caring for people changes because their needs change as well as those you are caring for changes. How quickly you are caring for new patients depends on the type of medical facility you work for.

In addition to performing all of these essential duties, Nursing Assistants are responsible for providing emotional support to patients and their families. This can be helping patients feel comfortable with their surroundings, hanging a photo on the wall for them, or helping them compose a letter. Family members may want you to certain things for a patient such as braid their hair daily or keep their fingernails short.