What is a nurse assistant?
Nurse assistants work in hospitals, nursing care facilities and mental health settings. They help patients with such tasks as eating, dressing and bathing. Nurse assistants working with the elderly are often the primary caregiver and can have more contact with a patient than other health care staff.TypesNurse assistants, also known as nursing aides, work with patients suffering from illness and with the elderly in hospitals and nursing care facilities. Psychiatric aides work with mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients.EducationA nurse assistant is required to have a high school degree or equivalent. Vocational schools, community colleges and some nursing care facilities offer training programs.CertificationThe federal government requires certification for nurse assistants working in nursing facilities. Nurse assistants are required to pass a competency evaluation after completing a minimum of 75 hours of state-approved training. Individual states may have additional requir