Working as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) is a very noble career choice; you care for people that are at their most vulnerable and help make difficult times in their lives bearable. But are you being compensated enough for your hard work? Doing meaningful work and feeling fulfilled by your job does not justify earning less than what you need to live. Care for yourself and yours as you care for your patients and find work that allows you to live well.
If you are a CNA living in Denver, we will help you find jobs that recognize your worth and pay you accordingly.
CNA Pay in Denver, CO
Although healthcare facilities in Colorado pay CNAs significantly more than the national annual average ($30,290) offering an average annual salary of $35,210, this income is still not enough to cover the needs of the average single adult – not to mention an adult caring for dependents. In fact, even in Denver, where CNAs earn $36,300 – more than the state average – a CNA’s salary doesn’t reach the estimated $38,573 needed for a single adult to get by in that city.
How Can CNAs Supplement Their Income?
Faced with this bleak reality, CNAs in Denver need to find a way to supplement their income with extra shifts or – even better – find work that pays more. Both of these solutions can be found through PRN or per diem work. The term PRN comes from the Latin "pro re nata", which means "as needed", and the Latin term "per diem", which means "per day". In healthcare, these terms refer to temporary work that CNAs, nurses, and allied health workers can pick up on demand. Through PRN work, CNAs can pick up extra shifts whenever they have time and/or need some extra income. Alternatively, a CNA can choose PRN jobs as a career path, working per diem full-time.
What Are the Advantages of PRN CNA Jobs in Denver?
In addition to offering greater flexibility and the chance to choose work you truly enjoy, PRN work offers you the monetary compensation you were looking for. Healthcare facilities post PRN jobs when their permanent staff can’t cover the facilities’ staffing needs, in other words when they require staff urgently to cover immediate demands. In turn, this means that healthcare facilities that post PRN openings are desperate and can’t risk offering unattractive compensation, which boils down to healthcare facilities paying significantly more per hour for PRN shifts than they do for long-term positions.
How Can I Know if I Will Be Able to Find Work?
Of course, it is normal to feel a little nervous about not having a steady income, but with the location quotient for CNAs in Colorado being 0.84 and 0.78 in Denver specifically, CNAs can be confident that they will always be in demand. In case you are wondering what location quotient means, it indicates the ratio of employment in a given industry and in a specific location in comparison to the same ratio in the whole country. A score of one for CNAs in a given city, for example, would indicate that there is the same concentration of CNAs as in the rest of the country, but a score of less than one – as is the case with Denver – indicates that the city has less CNAs than the country’s average and is therefore in need of more.
How Can I Find PRN Work?
If you are a CNA considering PRN jobs in Denver – in the hospital setting or another – you will need an easy, fast, and reliable way to pick up shifts. With the Nursa™ healthcare staffing app, your next job is just a click away. All you have to do is sign up and upload your certification for verification. Then, you can begin browsing all the available PRN shifts in your area and pick up as many shifts as you like. Pick up a PRN shift today and see how you like it; soon you might even decide to transition to PRN work full-time.
