A Certified Nursing Assistant – It Could Be Your Way To A Successful And Rewarding Career In Health

By Author: Bimol Bee
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You might be very much surprised and not really believe it but still it is true – in our difficult time of recession and overall economy problems, still there is at least one segment of national economy which has not been affected by the aftermaths of such a distressful collapse – this segment is the health care in general and the professional specialization of nursing in particular. And this is perfectly explainable – even under the recession conditions people still need medical services, and nursing happens to be among them too. So, the growing demand for professionals in nursing field has made this line of professional specialization rather popular among people looking for a path to a fulfilling and financially rewarding career, which can bring into their lives considerable social stability, as well as personal and professional satisfaction.

You should be informed that in many respects the nursing profession is not different from other fields of professional specialization. The field of general practitioner nurses of the past has by now differentiated into a considerable number of different types of nurses, with ...
... professional responsibilities and duties which differ noticeably. As the result, nurses of different levels and specializations are also trained differently.

In general, if we are speaking about basic types of nursing specializations, there three types of them. Nurses of different specializations do have different responsibilities and duties, they may happen to be related to different types of patients and disabled individuals, they also can have different ranks in the hierarchy of the big family of nurses inside the health care industry.

The three basic types of nurses include a Certified Nursing Assistant (abbreviated, as a rule, to CNA), a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and a Registered Nurse (RN). As far as the rank at the professional ladder of nurses is concerned, the certified nursing assistants occupy the lowest position; at the same time they do the most of the work directly connected with a patient and interaction with a patient. The major part of the everyday duties that keep a typical CAN busy are related to assisting patients with their routine tasks, as well as careful and very close monitoring of the patients conditions.

The one step higher position on the professional hierarchy ladder in nursing specialization belongs to a so called LPN, which is an abbreviation for a Licensed Practical Nurse. This type of nurses is generally considered to be higher in rank than the CAN. LPN are usually occupied with checking, measuring and keeping a record with various vital signs of a patient, such as, for instance, the patient's blood pressure or body temperature or blood sugar and others. Daily duties of a Licensed Practical Nurse also include preparation and administering of injections, giving medicine to the patient and so on.

A Registered Nurse (or RN, in short) is considered to be the highest rank inside the nursing professional specialization. A Registered Nurse is, as a rule, assigned to supervise and manage the operations of other nurses of lower rank; RNs are also involved in such things as explanation of the administered treatment to the patient and his family. RNs should also be able to render sympathy and moral support to the patients and the family, since it is included into RN’s professional duties. As you see, you will need a suitable type of personality to become an excellent Registered Nurse.

Different duties and responsibilities, which are, normally, assigned to different types of nurses, determine the differences in the training they receive.

For instance, let us assume that you have decided to become a CAN. This is the simplest and shortest type of nursing training. It will take you just three months to complete the training course and become almost a Certified Nursing Assistant (since you need certification in the end). To be eligible for CNA training only a high school diploma is required for admission. But it is sufficient to complete the course to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. Any would-be-CAN needs to pass a certification exam, this is mandatory. The certification exam is divided into two stages or sections. Section one is designed to check your theoretical knowledge. At the second stage you will have to demonstrate your professional skills, which you have, supposedly, acquired during your CAN training.

With becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse the situation is quite different. In the first place you need to complete a one-year diploma training course or get an associate’s degree and that usually takes up to two years of studies. Upon that you will become eligible for taking a special licensing exam, known as NCLEX-PN exam. And, after having passed the exam satisfactorily, you can be proud of becoming a fully-legitimate Licensed Practical Nurse.

In order to become a Registered Nurse you need to have a degree, either a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree. And, the same way as with CAN and LPN, you will be asked to take a National Licensing Exam (NLE). But there is a different way to become a RN – if you happen to be a Certified Assisting Nurse, then you have a good chance to be promoted to RN for your distinguished expertise and experience.

Apart from the above-described main types of nursing training there are a lot of others, with more prominent specialization, but all of them require having at least a Certified Nursing Assistant certificate, many require even higher rank – LPN or even RN.

Still, the choice that opens for you is miscellaneous and varied. In each case the additional training will make a specialized nurse of you. For instance, you may choose to be a Midwife Nurse – that is, you will be involved with taking care of pregnant ladies and birth-labors.

Another type of a specialized nurse is a School Nurse and you will be responsible for the health and well-being of children at school.

A Travel Nurse works in various medical camps; through becoming a travel nurse you will get a chance to see different places and countries – and the financial reward of traveling nurse is usually much higher than in other nursing specializations.

Other specialized types of nurses include a Public Health Nurse (PHN), a Nurse Practitioner, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), a Home Health Nurse (HNH) as well as Occupational Health Nurse (OHN). It can happen so that you may get interested in becoming a Forensic Nurse (FN). Just think about it, what could be more exciting then becoming a part of a criminal investigation, collecting valuable evidence, which very often plays critical role in solving the crime? Who could ask for more?

What are the advantages of becoming a specialized nurse? The advantages are quite obvious. In the firs place, specialized nurses are in greater demand on the part of the possible employers, so you will feel much more valuable. Secondly, the specialization also enables you to obtain a much more appealing salary than if you were a general nurse. Consider these attractive possibilities; they are quite worth the time you may spend on decision-making. And do not forget that fact that the way to a specialized nurse career goes through getting a Registered Nurse rank, after all.

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