Careers
Certified Nursing Assistant
As a certified nursing assistant, you'll be on the front lines of patient care. Certified nursing assistants (CNAs), also known as nurses' aides, orderlies, patient care technicians, and home health aides, work under the supervision of a nurse to provide assistance to patients with daily living tasks. Working closely with patients, CNAs are responsible for basic care services such as bathing, grooming, feeding patients and meal preparation, light housekeeping and checking patient vital signs. CNAs give patients important social and emotional support and also provide vital information on patient conditions to nurses.
In addition to a high school diploma or GED, you'll need to complete a 6-to-12 week CNA certificate program at a community college or medical facility. Classroom instruction in a certified nursing assistant program generally includes basic nursing skills, anatomy and physiology, nutrition and infection control. Students also gain plenty of hands-on-experience during clinical activities.
Personal Home Care Aide
Personal Care Aides work for home care agencies to provide personal care services in the care recipients' home. Personal Home Care Aides enable individuals to remain at or return home from nursing facility or hospital and/or provide temporary relief to primary caregivers. Duties may include assisting with grooming, routine maintenance and care of external catheters, dressing/undressing, assisting with walking and changing position, toilet needs, feeding, and medications, as well as reporting temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.