One of the best ways to become a certified nurse assistant or CNA is to go through the Red Cross CNA training program. Since it is a free training course, students only need to work at any of their institutions or branches for a year.
Even so, the training you will receive from Red Cross is incomparable to what you can learn from other training schools and institutions out there. They can provide the best training and learning background for aspiring nurse assistants.
Is Red Cross CNA Training the Best?
Aside from Red Cross CNA training facilities, there are other health care facilities that offer free nursing aid courses. To find them, you may need to contact various local health care institutions or facilities. Among all other options, it is best to find your way through long-term skilled nursing care institutions & nursing homes.
Similar to Red Cross, they also offer free CNA courses provided you work at their facility for a year. When you think about it – it’s actually a good working relationship. You get to learn while they get more people to help out in their facility.
Red Cross CNA Training is not the Only Option
Students can also opt to take CNA classes online. These programs are for people who are too busy to go to the campus directly. Though there are issues with regards to not having proper on-hand experience (which is very important to pass nursing aid certification), there are nurse aids who graduated from online institutions and who made do with the limited on-hand practice that are doing well in health care now.
Aside from learning the same theoretical concepts being taught at a local CNA school, you can also get the clinical and laboratory practice you need. That is since most online schools still require their students to have clinical and laboratory practice either at a health care facility or at the school laboratory.
This means, students will learn the basics online and at the same time, practice the necessary skills as well as client assessment in the real setting. A registered nurse will be assigned to supervise students throughout the hands-on training. Sure enough, you will need both these skills to pass the nurse aid certification exam, especially since it will comprise of both written and hands-on practice tests.
After finishing your work contract with Red Cross or with another free long-term skilled nursing care institution / nursing home, you can move on to applying at high paying facilities. Whether it’s a rehabilitation center, nursing home or an adult care facility, you can easily find one that offers high compensation and great benefits.
Nurse aids are usually paid by the hour. When it comes to the amount, it would depend on the state you’ll be working at. Of course, if the city you will work in has a higher mandated hourly salary then you can expect a much higher pay. Thus, the usual hourly rate for fresh graduates would range from $8 to $15. For those who have more experience, there’s usually a higher job offer. You can get around $12 to $20 per hour. There are even nursing homes that pay the same rate that hospitals offer. Aside from the salary, they also offer attractive benefits.
Whether you prefer to train for free through the Red Cross CNA training, online, or through other long-term skilled nursing care institutions / nursing homes, you will find that being a certified nursing assistant can definitely offer you a very lucrative and rewarding career in health care.