Under the direction of registered nurses (RN), certified nursing assistants or aides (CNA) attend to the basic needs of patients such as bathing, eating and walking. CNA II is a class specification to denote a nursing aide who has a higher level of experience and expertise. These aides usually have additional certifications and/or at least two to five years experience over other nursing assistants.

Role

CNA IIs supervise groups of nursing aides who are designated as CNA Is. The tasks that CNA Is carry out include dressing, bathing and feeding patients; cleaning patients' rooms and making their beds; and helping patients walk or move. In some cases, CNA IIs may call on CNA Is to assist in tasks such as collecting body fluid specimens, taking vital signs and assisting physicians and nursing personnel with medical procedures.

Specialty

CNA IIs have a number of specialties that determine the kind of patients under their care. For instance, some CNAs take care of mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, thus they are referred to as psychiatric assistants or aides. Home health aides are responsible for patients living in their homes or residential facilities.

Work Environment

Although most CNA IIs can be found in nursing care facilities, their specialty determines the workplace. Home health aides tend to work in patients' homes or community care facilities, and many psychiatric assistants work in psychiatric hospitals. Since patients need care 24 hours a day, some CNA IIs may work for more than the traditional 40 hours a week by clocking in for evening, night and weekend shifts.

Education

People who want to become CNAs must complete a one-year nursing assisting diploma program that can be obtained from community colleges, technical schools or hospitals. After completion, graduates must pass a written competency examination that demonstrates sufficient training. CNA IIs may have additional certification such as a medication aide, restorative aide or medical records designee.

Salary and Job Outlook

Although there are no specific numbers on how much CNA IIs make, salary.com has CNAs in general making around $27,000 (as of March 2010). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has varying job growth rates between 2008 to 2018 for the nursing assisting field according to specialty--from as high as 50 percent for home health aides to 6 percent for psychiatric aides.