Medical facilities are one of the most important factors for development of a nation. With the increase of medical facilities all over the United States, the need of CNAs has increased to. And as the need for CNA is increasing, the nursing assistant salary ranges are also being uplifted. Certified Nursing Assistant is a secure and one of the fastest growing careers to choose from. Besides the dollar value, that a nursing assistant can bring home, one also gets various other facilities and benefits from this career. But you may be wondering, what is the salary of a nursing assistant? Well, nursing assistant salary depends on a number of factors which are discussed below.

Nursing assistants mostly earn in between $20,000 and $30,000 per year. But sometimes, one can also earn greater than $30,000. What causes such a difference? This is because of the various factors that influence the salary of the nursing assistant.

One of the factors that greatly influence the salary a CNA earns is the experience. Experience greatly counts and so a more experienced nursing assistant earns greater than an inexperienced nursing assistant. A nursing assistant with significant amount of experience has almost as much knowledge as an RN or LPN. Thus, if a nursing assistant is very experienced then he or she may even earn greater than a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

Similarly, location and environmental setting are other significant factors that affect the income of a CNA. CNAs can often be found working in local healthcare facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, within doctor’s office, elderly healthcare facilities and more. Nursing assistants working at different healthcare facilities have different range of income. Similarly, nursing assistants working in urban areas tend to earn greater than nursing assistants working in remote areas. Also, within each healthcare facility, the salary of the nursing assistants can vary depending upon the section they are working, their experience and other similar factors.

Thus, the important factors that affect the nursing assistant salary are:

• Experience
• Location of the healthcare facility(Urban or rural setting)
• Type and size of the facility
• Position within the medical facility
• Education and certification of the CNA

A Certified Nursing Assistant is a medical officer who works in a medical facility and takes into the complete account of a patient. A CNA is a widely respected job and is gaining popularity. If you wish to choose to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, you must get into the right path and meet the CNA certification requirements to be certified.

To work as a CNA, you must be at least 18 years or above. Also you are required to have at least a high school diploma or qualification equivalent to GED. The CNA training course is a 75 to 120 hours course which consists of both theoretical and clinical sessions. After completing the training course, you are eligible to sit for the CNA certification examination.

CNA certification requirements

To sit for the CNA certification examination, a student must have completed both the theoretical and the clinical sessions. Unless and until you don’t complete both the class sessions, you won’t be eligible to appear the certification examination. The CNA certification exam is conducted in order to test the knowledge and skills of the students and to ensure that they have sufficient knowledge to start a career in this field. To sit in the certification examination, all the students are required to pay the Exam fee. Also students should arrive at the exam center well on time.

The certification exam consists of two sections. They are the written section and the practical section. The written part of the exam consists of multiple choice questions. The written part of the exam is aimed at checking the knowledge required to work in the medical field as a Certified Nursing Assistant. The written exam is generally straight forward. The sample questions for the written examination can be found on the internet. However, the format of the written exam may vary from state to state. After the written part of the certification examination is completed, the students are required to give the clinical part.

The clinical part is the test of technical skills aimed at checking the skills of the students to work in healthcare facilities. To take the clinical examination, you may be required to take a volunteer to the examination center. Using the volunteer, you are needed to demonstrate the clinical skill that the examiner asks you. A state examiner is there to examine what you learned and how you apply them in your real life situations. Before you start the practical examination, you are required to wash the hands carefully and follow the procedures appropriately. The examiners examine your performed skills closely, so it is very important to perform well on this part of the examination.

After you successfully pass the CNA certification examination, you are granted the CNA license and you are legally permitted to work as a Certified Nursing Assistant.