Certified Nursing Aides (CNA) in New Jersey
A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) is also called a nurse aide or personal care assistant but there are differences between these professional titles. One needs about six weeks of specialized education combined with hands on practice to obtain a certificate of practice as a certified nursing assistant. In order to be allowed to work in a long term care facility or assisted living facility as a New Jersey nurse aide you must successfully complete the New Jersey curriculum for Nurse Aide in Long Term Care Facilities Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP) or the New Jersey Curriculum for Personal Care Assistants (PCA).
The CNA training course consists of 50 classroom hours and 40 clinical practice hours in a New Jersey licensed long-term care facility. The Personal Care Assistant training course consists of 69 hours of classroom instruction and 16 hours of clinical practice in a New Jersey licensed assisted living facility, assisted living program or comprehensive personal care home. Under current New Jersey law, the nursing assistant certification expires every two years. As part of the renewal process, you need to verify that you have been employed during the two-year renewal period for pay and for at least seven hours in a nursing-related capacity or nursing-related services in a licensed health care facility.
Once certified, a CNA can obtain employment in a hospital, long term care facility, rehabilitation center, or home care. Hospitals and long-term care facilities such as nursing homes in New Jersey employ a large number of certified nursing aides. The State of New Jersey does not require nurse aides to be certified to work in an acute care hospital but if a hospital has a licensed long term care unit or a licensed sub-acute unit, Certified Nurse Aides must staff those units. Home health care is becoming another arena in which the need for CNA professionals is growing rapidly.
As a CNA in New Jersey you will be responsible for a variety of tasks many of which will be carried out under the guidance and supervision of an LPN or RN. The certified nurse aide works in a team with an LPN or a RN, reports on patient status, and interacts extensively with the patient and family. After working as a CNA for a number of years, one may decide to move upwards in their career and become an LPN or RN. Hospitals in New Jersey may help a CNA become a nurse through loan forgiveness programs or other financial means. Health care facilities recognize the importance of a skilled, certified nursing aide and continue to improve the salary and benefits to attract such individuals.
A nurse aide in New Jersey is primarily responsible for tasks related to direct patient care. Some of these tasks include responding to patient's requests, helping with activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, and dressing, obtaining vital signs, helping with moving and repositioning, and keeping a safe and clean environment. Hospitals and long term care facilities in New Jersey may have the LPN or RN train a certified nurse aide on how to measure blood sugar levels, how to obtain specific samples for lab cultures, and how to assist with more advanced medical equipment such as ventilators.
Due to the considerable amount of time spent with a patient, a nurse aide becomes aware of changes in a patient's affect or physical status and reports those changes to the LPN or RN. In many cases these changes are very important in making decisions towards the patient recovery and treatment course. Therefore the CNA is not only performing a limited set of skills but it represents a vital link in the delivery of optimal care for a patient. Long term care facilities provide care to patients for an extended period of time, sometimes several months or years. During this time a CNA develops and builds professional relationships with the patient as well as with the family. The caring, trustworthy and positive attitude a CNA projects helps many patients cope with illness and move forward towards recovery.
CNA is projected to be the fastest growing occupation through 2016. Numerous job openings and excellent job opportunities are expected. For those interested in a health care career a certified nurse aide position may be just what you're looking for. The CNA education is fast, does not require extensive financial expenses and it guarantees a secure job. You can take the written and oral CNA examination without first completing a nurse aide training course and clinical skills evaluation if you are a graduate nurse, nurse student, or a foreign licensed nurses waiting for licensure, if you provide proof of successful completion of a course in the fundamentals of nursing or if you submit evidence of the successful completion of a course in the Fundamentals of Nursing within the 12 months immediately preceding the application to take the written and oral competency examination.
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