What Does a CNA Do? Duties, Settings, a Typical Shift, and Pay

Most of a CNA's day goes to activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and feeding residents who cannot manage alone. Moving people takes up much of the rest, walking them down a hall, transferring them between bed and wheelchair, and running a mechanical lift when a transfer needs two staff. Making beds and keeping rooms clean and safe falls to the CNA too.

CNAs also collect the numbers the nursing team runs on: temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and intake and output. Bedbound residents get turned and repositioned every two hours to prevent pressure injuries. Anything that looks different, a new bruise, a refused meal, confusion that was not there yesterday, goes to the nurse and into the chart.

A CNA does not give medications, except in states that offer a medication aide add-on certification. Sterile and invasive procedures are out of scope, and so are nursing assessments. Those belong to the LPNs and RNs who supervise the CNA's work. Each state draws the boundary differently, so check your own state's rules rather than a coworker's account of them.

Nursing care facilities are the largest employer of CNAs, with 534,270 jobs at $20.67 an hour, or $43,000 a year. General medical and surgical hospitals come second, with 442,820 jobs at $20.02 an hour, or $41,650. Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities employ 161,150 at $18.99 an hour. Home health care services employ 70,770 at $18.29 an hour.

In a nursing facility, residents stay for months or years, and personal care is heavy and familiar. Hospitals turn patients over fast, which means more vitals rounds and more transport. Home health puts you with one client at a time. Staffing pays the most here: 38,420 CNAs work through temporary help services at $23.25 an hour, and 48,300 through employment services at $22.99. The table below breaks out each setting.

A day-shift assignment in a nursing facility commonly runs 8 to 15 residents, with more on nights, though it varies widely by facility and staffing. Morning care comes first: waking, toileting, bathing, dressing, and getting people to breakfast. Vitals rounds and meal assistance fill the middle, with bedbound residents repositioned on a two-hour schedule. Charting and handoff close the shift.

The job is physical. You stand for most of the shift, lift and transfer people who cannot bear their own weight, and work around bodily fluids. Injury rates for nursing assistants are among the highest of any occupation, per BLS, so safe lifting technique and asking for a second pair of hands matter. Weigh the shift timing as well, since nights and weekends often pay more than days.

The hands-on skills come from training and get checked on the competency exam, which includes a skills demonstration in front of an evaluator. Handwashing and infection control are tested, and they carry into every task on the floor. Safe transfers count just as much: gait belts, correct body mechanics, and mechanical lifts used the way the facility trained you.

The rest of the job is human. You explain what you are about to do before you do it, and you talk with families who want to know how their mother slept. Patience and steady observation do more than anything else for residents who have dementia or other cognitive impairment. Noticing a small change early is often what the nurse needs most.

Typical pay for CNAs is $20.32 an hour, or $42,260 a year, in the latest federal wage data (May 2025). Entry-level work pays around $16.32 an hour, or $33,940 a year. The highest-paid earn about $24.99 an hour, or $51,980 a year. Setting, employer, and location account for most of that spread.

Employment is projected to grow 2.6 percent between 2025 and 2035, with roughly 196,200 openings a year as workers move up or leave the field. Many do move up. LPNs typically earn $64,400 a year, and practical nursing programs run about 12 months. Registered nurses typically earn $97,550; an associate degree in nursing takes about two years and a BSN about four.

Training starts at a federal floor of 75 hours, including 16 practical hours, but each state sets its own total: Wyoming stays at 75, Missouri requires 175, and the typical state lands near 90. That comes to 4 to 12 weeks of full-time study. Next is the state competency exam and listing on your state's nurse aide registry, which employers must check before hiring. A state-by-state guide covers the rest.

A CNA does the hands-on daily care that keeps patients clean, fed, moving, and monitored, under the direction of licensed nurses. Most of the work is in nursing facilities and hospitals, with smaller numbers in assisted living and home health. Typical pay is $42,260 a year, and training runs 4 to 12 weeks in most states. It suits someone who wants direct patient contact and a fast entry into healthcare, and who can handle a physical job.