Jonnah Grove Certified Nursing Assistant The choice of career is one of the most important decisions anyone can ever make. Unlike your job, a career is something you will have to practice for a very long part of your life, if not your entire life. Unfortunately, choosing a career is something that can be very confusing, especially if you are quite young. Many have chosen careers only to realize quite late that it is hardly what your heart beats for. You do not want to find yourself in such a situation, as things can be very frustrating. If you have an interest in the medical world, there are many reasons you should consider working as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Before you rush to the reasons that make this a great career, it is important that you appreciate what it’s all about in the first place. In the United States, a Certified Nursing Assistant simply referred to as a CNA, and it is a healthcare professional who works in a hospital or nursing home. The most common task of a CNA is to cater for the needs of the chronically sick, disabled, elderly or help in the rehabilitation of patients who can hardly take care of themselves. There are many careers one can choose to pursue, especially in the extremely diverse United States of America. CNA is pursuing a caring career with the satisfaction of saving life and giving hope to the hopeless. It is considered a noble career. Currently, there are many hospitals and healthcare centers in the United States that offer free training for prospective nurses. In exchange, you have to promise a certain period of working, which only secures you a job in advance. In many careers, it’s all about work after employment. However, the CNA career will open plenty of doors for you to improve your skills in the nursing field. The majority of the population being over fifty years, there will be plenty of elderly people who will need close medical attention from CNAs in the next few years. On average, a Certified Nursing Assistant takes home a generous $ 20,000 to $ 30,000 every year. Compared to the cost and period of training, this is one of the best rewarding careers you can find. The CNA career provides a very flexible training schedule that will hardly interfere with your current plans. With online training on the increase, it hardly gets more convenient than this. Apart from good salaries, many organizations offer medical, educational and retirement benefits to CNAs. In many careers, shifting from state to state calls for many re-evaluations and new certifications. However, the CNA career provides desirable transferability across many states in the country. Contrary to common belief, a CNA is not just confined to a hospital. You can work in homes or with private organizations that extend care to the needy. If you are interested in pursuing the nursing career to the highest level, starting as a CNA can be a great stepping stone. For me, medicine is a perfect blend of two important things that I value and that inspire me on a daily basis: science and compassion. As a certified nursing assistant, I would get the best of both worlds. I would get to continually learn new things while caring for those who are often at a vulnerable time in life. While my interest lies mainly in primary care, I am someone who is interested in all aspects of medicine and being a CNA gives me the flexibility to work in other specialties. I value independence and autonomy. Back in my county, I used to work as an operator for a Japanese company who makes parts for cellphones and computers, and it was a big change for me when I decided to go back to school for nursing. I moved in USA four years ago, and I met another Filipino who introduced me to medical field. At first, I was hesitant if it will be a right career to consider. I did some research and eventually made up my mind to try and see if I will like it. I took the certification over the summer which was a fast phase and only lasted for 8 weeks. I been a CNA for over two years, and I absolutely love the job. A CNA's job description consists of performing resident/patient care activities and related services necessary in caring for the needs, safety, and comfort of the resident/patient. Patient care activities which includes taking vital signs, assisting with bathing and dressing, changing bed pans, and assistance with exercise and mobility. A CNA needs to be able to work well in a high stress environment, needs to be a well- organized and efficient individual, have accurate charting ability, ability to learn new tasks quickly, and the ability to lift and transfer resident/patient proficiently with using lifting devices. CNAs also assist with feeding residents/patients on a daily basis. Indeed, this job description seems a little strenuous but, amongst those that love this profession, its second hand nature.