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Nursing assistants must be patient, attentive to detail, in good physical condition, and caring towards helpless and infirm people. Nursing assistants, or nursing aides, perform basic hands-on care for patients under the supervision of a nurse. Duties include helping patients eat and bathe, changing bed linens, dressing and undressing patients, and escorting patients. They may also perform basic medical functions such as taking pulses, temperatures, and blood pressure. Most nursing assistants work in nursing care facilities and hospitals.

Nursing Assistant Salary and Job Training

Nursing assistants are among thirty occupations projected for the most employment growth between 2008 and 2018.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean annual nursing assistant salary in the U.S. is $24,980, for an hourly wage of $12.01. Top-paying states for nursing assistants are Alaska, Nevada, New York, Hawaii, and Connecticut, where mean nursing assistant salaries exceed $30,000.

Nursing assistant candidates need at least a high school diploma. After high school, skills are learned through a community college or vocational center training program, via employer training, or on-the-job from an experienced nurse or nursing assistant. Working in a nursing facility requires applicants to be certified nurse assistants (CNA), which means completing a state-approved 75-hour training program and passing an evaluation. Typically, to attain the mean nursing assistant salary or more, a few years of experience is needed.

To earn more than a nursing assistant salary, pursuing more advanced nursing training while working part time is a possible strategy.