Nurse Aide

Number of Jobs

312, 200

Median Salary

$24, 890

Unemployment Rate

7.8 percent

Nursing aides might not perform heart transplants like the surgeons on “Grey’s Anatomy, ” but they still hold patients’ lives in their hands each day – literally. From bathing, spoon-feeding and toileting patients in hospitals to providing them with oral care and moving them from one operating room to the next, nursing aides, attendants and orderlies are actively involved in helping the frail and the elderly make it through the day. That’s why patience and endurance benefit those interested in pursuing a career in this field. “It’s a very labor-intensive and time-consumptive process, ” says Lisa Cantrell, a registered nurse and co-founder and chief clinical officer of the National Association of Health Care Assistants. Nursing aides commonly work in nursing care facilities and hospitals, but some are employed by community care facilities for the elderly and home health care services. Unlike orderlies, who primarily transport patients to and from hospital operating rooms and sterilize medical equipment and facilities, nursing aides take note of a patient’s health problems and often take their blood pressure and temperature.

Between 2012 and 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment of nursing assistants to grow about 21 percent, or increase by 312, 200 positions, which is faster than average for all occupations. This is largely due to the aging baby boomer population, which will increase demand for patient care.

According to the BLS, nursing aides earned a median of $24, 890 in 2013, or approximately $11.97 per hour. The best-paid earned about $35, 780, while the lowest-paid earned about $18, 600. Metropolitan areas in California, including San Francisco, Oakland and Vallejo compensate nursing aides especially well.

Training

Most nursing aide and attendant jobs require a postsecondary certificate or award that allows them to both learn the nuts and bolts of nursing and complete supervised clinical work. Prospective nursing aides and attendants don’t have to attend four-year universities or colleges to obtain this training. They can learn the necessary skills at community colleges, vocational and technical schools and in hospitals and nursing homes. Even some high schools offer nursing aide programs. For prospective orderlies, the training process is less rigorous: They only need a high school diploma, and those who aren’t actively involved in patient care may even be trained on the job.

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