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Nursing Assistant

Nursing assistants help patients of all ages perform the most basic daily tasks. They work under a nurse’s supervision, and since they have extensive daily contact with each patient, they play a key role in the lives of their patients and in keeping the nurse up to date on vital information about the patients’ conditions.Nursing assistants provide assistance with such tasks as:
  • Dressing
  • Bathing and skin care
  • Feeding
  • Mouth and hair care
  • Making beds
  • Toileting assistance and catheter care
  • Bowel and bladder care
  • Taking vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, etc)
  • Helping patients walk
  • Assistant with range-of-motion exercises
  • Helping wheelchair-bound patients using safe patient handling devices
  • Turning and positioning bedridden patients regularly
  • Reporting all changes to the nurse
  • Safety awareness
  • Observing, reporting and documentation
  • Post-mortem care
 
* According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job openings for nursing assistants were projected to grow 21% during the 2012-2022 decade, which is faster than the national average. These professionals earned median hourly wages of $11.97 or annual salaries of $24,890 as of May 2013, per the BLS.