Increasing Demand for Nursing Assistant jobs

Almost as important as doctors or nurses today are nursing assistants without whom a medical procedure cannot be begun, nor ended. Certified nursing assistants are in high demand and are required by almost every nursing home, health facility, hospital and sometimes even by private homes where patients are recuperating.

While the primary duties in nursing assistant jobs include checking and monitoring the patient’s blood pressure, pulse, heart rate and respiratory rate, they are also required to perform a number of other activities like administrating medication, keeping the patients room clean and hygienic, mapping the patient’s condition constantly and reporting same to the nurse and a few other non medical yet highly crucial duties that are imperative to the treatment.

Nursing assistants are also required to bathe, groom, feed, walk and basically help patients recover from illnesses or injuries, or recuperate after a strenuous surgery or long treatment.

With the help of modern technology, more and more lives are being saved and extended. People are living longer but not necessarily in the best of health. Most aged people still need long term care and that is where nursing assistants play a major role.

The demand for Certified Nursing Assistants is increasing steadily and as per the U.S department of Labor’s projections, it is expected to grow at a rate between 22 to 28 % by 2018.

Various factors have lead to an increase in demand for nursing assistant jobs. Some of these include:

·         Growth in the number of residential nursing care homes

·         Increased life expectancy and thus geriatric population

·         Increased number of public and private healthcare facilities and hospitals

·         Increased medical attention required for babies, particularly those born premature.

·         High rate of turnover amongst nursing assistants

·         Vital and indispensable nature of the duties they perform

·         Specialization and branching out of nursing assistants making them experts in niche medical genres

Certified nursing assistants also have a better chance of getting accepted into a nursing school program. Most budding nurses prefer to train as nursing assistants first for a few years before the go on to study at nursing school.

All these and few other factors have significantly contributed to the increase in demand for nursing assistants.