The Tasks and Responsibilities of a Nursing Assistant

“Code blue room 223!” blares out from the intercom. Medical personnel in an array of colored scrubs rush through the hospital halls at a high speed. They are pushing machines with determination, while stethoscopes around their neck are clanking. Each person has the same goal. To arrive at Room 223 and assist the patient in need. Scenes like this happen every day in most hospitals and it takes a lot of medical personnel to meet the needs of these events. One position that is essential to these medical events is the nursing assistant. A nursing assistant is one who enjoys helping people, is compassionate and serves as a bridge between the patient and the Registered Nurse.

There is a high demand for registered nurses. According to USNew.com a nursing career is ranked number two out of the 100 Best Jobs of 2013 (para.1). Many registered nurses start their career as assistants. So as many of them move up, nursing assistant positions open. Training to be a Certified Nursing Assistant is available through various organizations. The Red Cross often offers classes. As do community colleges and some medical facilities. The length of training required can vary by state. American Red Cross reports, on average, it takes approximately 130 hours of classroom study to get ones certification (para. 2). The education level ranges of people entering the field are “60% of nursing assistants have a high school diploma, 32% some college but no degree, and 7% less than high school diploma” (“31 1014.00.”, para. 9). Although the standards of schooling required are minimal, it is important for nursing assistants to be experienced in certain areas of study.

A person interested in becoming a nursing assistant needs a couple of different elements of knowledge. First, it is required that a person has customer and personal service knowledge. The patients that is cared for is the customer. This means that someone knows how to be respectful and can meet the needs for a customer to be satisfied. Another thing required in becoming a nursing assistant is good language arts. Knowing how to spell and write is very important because it is one way that nurses communicate with the patients they are caring for.

Also, it’s an important skill because they have to report the patient’s status to the Registered Nurse. Psychology is another vital subject; it involves knowledge of human behavior and helps a nurse understand different behavioral disorders. This knowledge will help an aid to know how to deal with patients. And lastly, therapy and counseling is important to have knowledge of. It is “Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance” (“31 1014.00.”, para 3). With this knowledge there are certain tasks included in being a nursing assistant.

There are many different tasks and responsibilities that are involved in a nursing assistant career. They do the smaller tasks to make the job of doctors and nurses easier. Their job is just as important but it just requires different tasks. They must observe the patients symptoms to see if they require medical attention. They will record the temperature, blood pressure, or respiration rates as told to by medical or nursing staff. Sometimes a nursing assistant must answer to the patients’ needs when they call on the intercom system (“31-1014.00.”, para 1). Being able to complete these tasks competently is essential and the skills are in high demand, which is why there is such a need for nursing assistants.

Over the years the need for nursing assistants has increased dramatically. They require skills, experience, and knowledge to care for others. If someone is interested in being in the medical field without going through extensive amount of school, nursing assistant is the career for them. The profession of nursing assistant was ranked the top industry to be in as of 2010 (Shinkle, para. 6). This statistic shows that if one is compassionate and enjoys caring for others, the stability of being a nursing assistant is may be the right choice.