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Articles
- Home
- What is a Certified Nursing Assistant?
- Prepare for the Certified Nursing Assistant Exam
- The Pay Scale for Nursing Assistants
- Why Choose to Become a Nurse Assistant
- Precautions Nursing Assistants Should Take
- Ways to Show Appreciation to Nursing Assistants
- Nursing Assistants and the Opportunity to Explore Medical Field
- Patient Rights Nursing Assistants Need to be Aware of
- Home Health Employment with a Nursing Assistant Certification
- Nurse Assistants and Communicable Diseases
- Nursing Assistant College Options
- Nursing Assistant Licensing Requirements
- Nursing Assistant Relationships with Other Staff
- Support Groups for Nursing Assistants
- Patient Abuse by Nursing Assistants
- Duties of a Nursing Assistant
- Background Checks on Nursing Assistants
- Nurse Assistant Training
- Disadvantages of Being a Nursing Assistant
- Become a Nursing Assistant
- Maintaining Confidentiality is a Must for Nursing Assistants
- Consumer Complaints about Nursing Assistants
- Helping Nursing Assistants with Dying and Death
- Nursing Assistant, the start of your career as a Nurse
- Counseling for Nursing Assistants
- The Burnout of a Nursing Assistant
The Pay Scale for Nursing Assistants
The job of a nursing assistant is vital in a medical facility as they take care of the day to day needs of the patients. Generally the patients need the assistance in bathing, feeding and dressing. Apart from these duties the nursing assistants are also expected to provide emotional support to the patients. Often, the nursing assistants also help other medical staffs in their jobs by setting up the equipment and getting the patients ready for surgery and sometimes in diagnostic activities.
During their training, nursing assistants work without being paid for it to get the practical experience they need to enter the medical field. The starting salary of nursing assistants can be very low. After some time, the salary gradually increases proportional to the experience and performance of the nursing assistant. A nursing assistant in United States gets a salary of about $25,000 which works out to a monthly salary of about $2000 on average. The salary also depends on the organization in which one is working. A major benefit of joining a medical institution is that they also provide insurance and retirement plans for their employees.
If you compare this salary with that of a licensed nurse, which is $43,000, you may feel that there is a huge difference between the two. You should understand that a licensed nurse holds greater responsibility and requires a higher level of educational qualification. This difference in salary can sometimes makes nursing assistants feel that they are not paid enough.
Many medical facilities have a policy to decide the salary of its employees on the basis of their performance and the experience they have had in that job. They understand the hard work that goes into being a nursing assistant and are aware of the vital role played by nursing assistants in medical services. So, they try to provide the best facilities they can offer to the nursing assistants. Because of the huge pay difference, some people skip the nursing assistant certificate program and try to directly get a job at a higher post. But for those who can’t afford to pay for their higher education a nursing assistant’s job is a good option as they can earn while studying. It also provides hands on experience in the medical field which can be quite useful for higher level courses.
The job of nursing assistants is tougher as compared to that of nurses. Further, nurses have a relatively higher salary and this can often cause nursing assistants to develop resentment towards the nursing staff. The hospital administration should understand these issues and they should take care of the problems faced by nursing assistants. These days the government is making efforts to increase the rate of pay for nursing assistants. A good pay is not the only thing that nursing assistants want, they also need to be shown the respect and appreciation they deserve for their hard work. These days the number of persons leaving the profession of nursing assistant is greater than that of any other profession, so all of us must give due respect to the hard work that is done by nursing assistants.
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