Activities	Provide basic patient care under the direction of nursing staff. Perform duties, such as feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, or moving patients and changing linens.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$24,010 per year in May 2010
Work Context & Conditions	Most full-time aides work about 40 hours a week, but because patients need care 24 hours a day, some aides work evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. Many work part-time.
Minimum Education Requirements	General High School Program
Skills	Instructing, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Time Management, Coordination, Speaking
Abilities	Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Oral Comprehension

Job Category		Healthcare Support
Job Description		Nursing aides—also known as nursing assistants, certified nursing assistants, geriatric aides, unlicensed assistive personnel, orderlies, or hospital attendants—perform routine tasks under the supervision of nursing and medical staff. They answer patients’ call lights; deliver messages; serve meals; make beds; and help patients to eat, dress, and bathe. Aides also may provide skin care to patients; take their temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure; and help them to get into and out of bed and walk. They also may escort patients to operating and examining rooms, keep patients’ rooms neat, set up equipment, store and move supplies, and assist with some procedures. Aides observe patients’ physical, mental, and emotional conditions and report any change to the nursing or medical staff. Nursing aides employed in nursing care facilities often are the principal caregivers, having far more contact with residents than do other members of the staff. Because some residents may stay in a nursing care facility for months or even years, aides develop ongoing relationships with them and interact with them in a positive, caring way.
Working Conditions		Most full-time aides work about 40 hours a week, but, because patients need care 24 hours a day, some aides work evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. Aides spend many hours standing and walking, and they often face heavy workloads. Aides must guard against back injury because they may have to move patients into and out of bed or help them to stand or walk. Aides also may face hazards from minor infections and major diseases, such as hepatitis, but can avoid infections by following proper procedures. Aides often have unpleasant duties, such as emptying bedpans and changing soiled bed linens. The patients they care for may be disoriented, irritable, or uncooperative.
Salary Range		The median annual wage for nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants were $24,010 per year in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,790 per year, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $34,580 per hour.

Education Required		In many cases, a high school diploma or equivalent is necessary for a job as a nursing or psychiatric aide. However, a high school diploma generally is not required for jobs as home health aides. Hospitals may require previous experience as a nursing aide or home health aide. Nursing and psychiatric aide training is offered in high schools, vocational-technical centers, some nursing care facilities, and some community colleges. Courses cover body mechanics, nutrition, anatomy and physiology, infection control, communication skills, and resident rights. Personal care skills, such as how to help patients to bathe, eat, and groom themselves, also are taught. Some employers provide classroom instruction for newly hired aides, while others rely exclusively on informal on-the-job instruction by a licensed nurse or an experienced aide. Such training may last from several days to a few months. Aides also may attend lectures, workshops, and in-service training.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Clerical, English, Chemistry
Postsecondary Instructional Programs
Certification and Licensing		Nursing aides and attendants must earn a postsecondary certificate or award, in which they learn the basic principles of nursing and complete supervised clinical work. When they finish their state-required education, nursing aides and attendants take a competency exam. Passing this exam allows them to use state-specific titles. In some states, a nursing aide or attendant is called a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), but titles vary from state to state. Nursing aides and attendants who have passed the exam are placed on a state registry. In many states, nursing aides and attendants must be on the state registry to work in a nursing home. Some states have other requirements as well, such as continuing education and a criminal background check. Students should check with their state's board of nursing or health, for more information. In some states, nursing aides and attendants can get additional credentials beyond a CNA, such as becoming a Certified Medication Assistant (CMA). As a CMA, they can give medications.

Interest Area		Social Involves working and communicating with, helping, and teaching people.
Work Values		Moral Values Never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong. Social Service Do things for other people.
Skills		Instructing Teach others how to do something. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Service Orientation Actively look for ways to help people. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Trainer, Athletic, Aide, Home Health, Assistant, Medical, Therapist, Physical, Aide, Psychiatric, Ambulance Driver, Technician, Emergency Medical, and Paramedic
Job Outlook		Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides held about 1.5 million jobs in 2010, faster than the average for all occupations. This growth is in response to the long-term care needs of an increasing elderly population. Job prospects for nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants with formal training should be excellent, particularly in long-term care facilities. Because of the emotional and physical demands of this occupation, many nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants choose to leave the profession to get more training or another job. This creates opportunities for job seekers who want to become nursing aides.
More Information		National Association for Home Care
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nursing-assistants.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/details/31-1014.00