Discover High-Paying Local Travel & Per Diem CNA Jobs
Portland, Oregon, is not only a great place to live but a lot of healthcare workers, including certified nursing assistants (CNAs), also love to work in this city. This article will explore the benefits of picking up CNA jobs in Portland and will also review more about what a CNA is and what their work includes.
What Does a CNA Do?
CNAs are certified nursing assistants who provide direct patient care in various settings. Overall, their work includes primary patient care, attending to patients' basic needs, and supporting their daily routines, such as assisting with eating, bathing, moving from one place to another, combing hair, getting dressed, etc.
Portland, Oregon, offers multiple settings for CNAs to work in. Most CNAs work in hospitals or other nursing care facilities, but the types of settings they have to choose from are numerous. To name a few, they may work in long-term care facilities, retirement communities, patients' homes, schools, clinics, hospices, government facilities, and private practices, and even vary from one type of setting to another by working as local travel nursing assistants.
CNAs support registered nurses (RNs) in their daily work, taking care of the responsibilities that require the most dedication and time with the patient. For example, some of their duties include:
- Fetching food for patients or feeding them when they are unable to do so on their own
- Checking vital signs constantly and recording them to inform the rest of the medical team
- Ensuring that patients are comfortable or moving them frequently to avoid bruising or injury
- Helping bathe patients, cleaning their rooms, and helping them dress or comb their hair
- Caring for wounds and changing dressings
These are the primary responsibilities that CNAs must carry out daily. Nevertheless, CNAs may perform some other duties depending on their level of training or the needs of each patient or facility in which they are placed. In some cases, they may be responsible for providing supplies for patient rooms, assisting with cooking in patients' homes, or helping with general housekeeping.
How to Become a CNA?
The process of becoming a CNA is generally described in four steps:
- Obtaining a high school diploma
- Complete the CNA training program, which typically lasts one year
- Complete the clinical training and pass the practical exam
- Pass an exam that grants the license to work as a CNA
It is important to note that it is a simple process involving many clinical practices. Once certified, getting a job is very easy, as the job projection for CNAs is increasing throughout the country.
Local travel CNA jobs are also better-paying jobs, with either a temporary contract or working PRN jobs in Portland and creating their schedule.
Another way to improve hourly earnings for CNAs is to get per diem CNA jobs. Per diem CNA jobs, also called PRN CNA jobs, are temporary jobs where CNAs take shifts to cover a shift that needs certified nursing assistants with some urgency. PRN CNA shifts are available at all types of facilities that employ CNAs and have the advantage that the hourly wage is usually significantly higher than a CNA's salary on a fixed contract, plus CNAs can choose the hours they want to take on each job. Additionally, by using the Nursa app, they can search for jobs in the regions that suit them within the state of Oregon in a city such as Portland or even in Vancouver, Washington. Many people live in Vancouver and travel to Portland to work as local travel CNAs who can move within their state, on a fixed contract, or on PRN shifts. The reason for this is taxes, and Portland is a more expensive city to live in than Vancouver.
Average CNA Salary in Portland, Oregon
The median salary for a CNA in Portland and Vancouver, Oregon, is $38,830 per year, or $18,67 per hour, one of the five top-paying states for certified nursing assistants.
Portland is a city that many people want to move to, and it's because it's considered a city full of diverse spaces, an hour from the mountains and an hour and a half from the ocean. It is a highly livable city with diverse cuisine, great art for all ages, and fun activities for all tastes. Since Portland is an expensive city to live in, many people live in Vancouver, Oregon, and work in Portland, which is an excellent possibility for all CNAs who want to save a little more money.
