Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Work Activities/Work Locations

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) is an entry-level position. Persons interested in health careers often begin as a CNA.
CNAs provide personal care to residents/patients of nursing homes, home care, hospitals, and other health agencies.
They accomplish a number of tasks to assist nursing and medical staff in the care of patients. They are responsible for attending to a patient’s everyday needs which may include turning or repositioning a patient in their bed, bathing or dressing, transporting a patient by gurney or wheelchair, taking blood pressures and temperatures, serving food, feeding, and maintaining patient’s hygiene.

Advantages and Disadvantages

CNAs enjoy helping people.
Their work requires lifting and moving of residents/patients in bed and to and from chairs. They run the risk of injury/back problems.
Their job has a lot of walking and standing.

Education: 120 hours

Patient Interaction: High

Physical Activity: High

Salary: $26,478

Job Growth: High

Related Careers

Registered Nurse (RN)

Medical Assistant (MA)/Certified (CMA)/Registered (RMA)

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPNs)/Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVNs)

Home Health Aide

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

Getting Started

Education and Training

Most technical colleges offer a 120-hour program that requires passing an examination for Certification.
Coursework usually includes 75 hours of lecture/laboratory and 45 hours of supervised hands-on experience with patients in nursing settings.
Students learn personal care skills, such as how to help patients to bathe, eat, and groom themselves.
They must pass a competency evaluation program in order to work in most practice settings as part of their certification.
Those who complete the program are included in the State Directory of Nursing Aides that requires updating every so many years.

Educational Institutions

Blackhawk Technical College
Chippewa Valley Technical College
Fox Valley Technical College
Gateway Technical College
Lakeshore Technical College
Madison Area Technical College
Mid-State Technical College
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Moraine Park Technical College – Beaver Dam
Moraine Park Technical College – Fond du Lac
Moraine Park Technical College – West Bend
Nicolet Area Technical College
Northcentral Technical College
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
University of Wisconsin – Fond du Lac
Waukesha County Technical College
Western Technical College
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College – Ashland
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College – New Richmond
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College – Rice Lake
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College – Superior

Method of Entry

Individuals must have completed the tenth grade and be 16 years of age to take the CNA course.
Employers prefer to hire people who have a high school diploma, age 18.
Students complete a short-term Nursing Assistant program offered at technical colleges. Many high schools now offer CNA training as a class.
Must pass a state examination to be Certified as Nursing Assistants.
Because training is only a 120-hour program, many high school students become Certified as a CNA and then can work part-time during high school or college.

Professional Organizations

American Assisted Living Nurses Association
P.O. Box 10469
Napa, CA, 94581
707/622-5628
www.alnursing.org/

American Health Care Association
1201 L Street NW
Washington, DC, 20005
202/842-4444
www.ahca.org

Coalition of Geriatric Nursing Organizations
Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and New York University College of Nursing
433 First Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY, 10010
212/992 – 9416
hartfordign.org/advocacy/cgno/

Hospice Association of America
228 Seventh St. SE
Washington, DC, 20003
202/546-4759 and 202/547-7424
www.nahc.org/haa/

Leading Age Wisconsin
204 South Hamilton Street
Madison, WI, 53703
608/255-7060
www.wahsa.org

National Association for Home Care and Hospice
228 Seventh St. SE
Washington, DC, 20003
202/546-4759 or 202/547-7424
www.nahc.org

National Association of Health Care Assistants
501 E. 15th St.
Joplin, MO, 64804-0708
417/623-6049
nahcacareforce.org/

National Network of Career Nursing Assistants
3577 Easton Rd.
Norton, OH, 44203-5661
330/825-9342
cna-network.org/

Nursing Assistant Resources
nursingassistants.net/

Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute
400 E. Fordham Rd, 11th Floor
Bronx, NY, 10458
718/402-7766
phinational.org/

Private Duty Homecare Association
228 Seventh St. SE
Washington , DC, 20003
202/547-7424
www.pdhca.org/#

Visiting Nurse Associations of America
2121 Crystal Dr., Suite 750
Arlington, VA, 22202
571/527-1520 or 888/866-8773
vnaa.org

Wisconsin Association for Home Health Care
563 Carter Court, Suite B
Kimberly, WI, 54136
920/560-5632
www.wiahc.org/

Wisconsin Health Care Association/Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living
131 East Wilson Street, Suite 1001
Madison, WI, 53703
608/257-0125
www.whcawical.org/

Wisconsin Nurse Aide Program
Department of Health Services
1 West Wilson St.
Madison, WI, 53703
608/266-8481
www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/caregiver/

Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association
5202 Eastpark Boulevard, Suite 109
Madison, WI, 53718-8337
608/277-7477
www.wphca.org/

World Homecare & Hospice Organization
228 Seventh St. SE
Washington, DC, 20003
202/547-7424
www.whho.org/

Career Outlook

Number Employed in 2012 (Wisconsin): 35,450
Number Employed in 2014 (U.S.): 1,492,100
Expected Employment in 2024 (U.S.): 1,754,100
Percent Employment Growth (2014-2024): 18%
Expected Annual Openings: 59,900
Median Salary in 2014 (Wisconsin): $26,478

Salary information is located at Career One Stop

Wisconsin AHEC Health Careers Information Center provides the most current salary information available from CareerOneStop. CareerOneStop will have a lapse between when the information is gathered and when it is released.

CNAs usually work 40 hours per week.
Shift work can include evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.
They can work full-time or part-time.

Advancement opportunities for nurses’ aides are often limited to pay raises with experience.
Some become ward clerks.
Others work independently and contract their services as Home Health Aides.
At North Central Technical College (NTC) and Mid-State Technical College (MSTC) experienced CNAs currently on the Federal Nursing Assistant Directory, can complete a 100-hour program to become a Medication Assistant allowing them to administer medication to residents of a skilled care nursing facility.
Registered Nurses in Wisconsin are now required to be Certified as a CNA before being admitted into a nurses training program.
Can specialize into specific areas of focus: Geriatric Nursing Assistant, assists in the personal and daily care of elder patients; Psychiatric Nursing Assistant, assists psychologists, psychiatrists and other staff to care for mentally or emotionally challenged patients.