Nursing Assistants
Health ScienceO*NET 31-1131.00United States
Provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff. Perform duties such as monitoring of health status, feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or ambulation of patients in a health or nursing facility.
- Median annual earnings
- $42,096
- Projected change
- +5.4%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 1.52M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
41.4% of the workforce
Growing to 1.6M by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What nursing assistants do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Turn or reposition bedridden patients.
- Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
- Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
- Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff.
- Document or otherwise report observations of patient behavior, complaints, or physical symptoms to nurses.
- Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.
- Remind patients to take medications or nutritional supplements.
- Observe or examine patients to detect symptoms that may require medical attention, such as bruises, open wounds, or blood in urine.
- Review patients' dietary restrictions, food allergies, and preferences to ensure patient receives appropriate diet.
- Undress, wash, and dress patients who are unable to do so for themselves.
- Communicate with patients to ascertain feelings or need for assistance or social and emotional support.
- Record vital signs, such as temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration rate, as directed by medical or nursing staff.
- Supply, collect, or empty bedpans.
- Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
- Gather information from caregivers, nurses, or physicians about patient condition, treatment plans, or appropriate activities.
- Prepare or serve food trays.
- Wash, groom, shave, or drape patients to prepare them for surgery, treatment, or examination.
- Change bed linens or make beds.
- Exercise patients who are comatose, paralyzed, or have restricted mobility.
- Restock patient rooms with personal hygiene items, such as towels, washcloths, soap, or toilet paper.
- Assist nurses or physicians in the operation of medical equipment or provision of patient care.
- Clean and sanitize patient rooms, bathrooms, examination rooms, or other patient areas.
- Record height or weight of patients.
- Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.
- Collect specimens, such as urine, feces, or sputum.
- Provide information, such as directions, visiting hours, or patient status information to visitors or callers.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $33,576
- 25th percentile
- $37,005
- 50th percentile
- $42,096
- 75th percentile
- $47,218
- 90th percentile
- $52,326
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $42,096 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+5.4%average or slower
20251,521,688 jobs
2035 projected1,603,535 jobs
81,847 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 41.4%
- Certificate
- 24%
- Some college
- 12.2%
- Associate degree
- 9.8%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 6.6%
- Bachelor's degree
- 6.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Certified Nursing Assistants56,037 postings
- 02Certified Nursing Assistants/Home Health Aides8,716 postings
- 03Nursing Assistants7,636 postings
- 04Medication Technicians5,551 postings
- 05Certified Medication Aides5,023 postings
- 06Certified Nurse Aides4,852 postings
- 07Hospice Aides/Certified Nursing Assistants4,473 postings
- 08Medical Technicians3,694 postings
- 09Caregivers/Certified Nursing Assistants3,367 postings
- 10Medication Aides3,268 postings
- 11Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists3,075 postings
- 12Certified Nurse Aides/Certified Nursing Assistants2,843 postings
- 13State Tested Nursing Assistants2,704 postings
- 14Patient Care Assistants/Certified Nursing Assistants2,666 postings
- 15Caregivers/Certified Nursing Assistants/Home Health Aides2,611 postings
- 16Medical Surgical Certified Nursing Assistants2,577 postings
- 17Long Term Care Certified Nursing Assistants2,397 postings
- 18Nurse Aides2,304 postings
- 19Hospice Certified Nursing Assistants2,291 postings
- 20In Home Caregivers/Certified Nursing Assistants2,286 postings
Top employers
- 01Good Samaritan Society9,576 postings
- 02Brookdale Senior Living2,078 postings
- 03IntelyCare1,397 postings
- 04Weatherby Healthcare1,020 postings
- 05BAYADA Home Health Care982 postings
- 06Providence981 postings
- 07Aya Healthcare900 postings
- 08Genesis Administrative Services875 postings
- 09Trilogy Health Services864 postings
- 10BrightStar Care818 postings
- 11CHRISTUS Health774 postings
- 12Benchmark Senior Living770 postings
- 13Advocate Aurora Health717 postings
- 14Hayman Daugherty Associates715 postings
- 15Titan Medical706 postings
- 16Amergis702 postings
- 17Life Care Centers of America692 postings
- 18American Senior Communities689 postings
- 19Brightview Senior Living676 postings
- 20Synergy Homecare Franchising648 postings
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