Certified Nursing Assistant Jobs in Atlanta, GA
Certified nursing assistants in Atlanta work the floors of Grady, Emory, Piedmont and Northside, where the job often carries the title patient care tech or clinical care associate. Metro CNAs earn a median near $19 an hour. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and how to get on the Georgia registry.
Current certified nursing assistant Openings in Atlanta, GA
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Certified Nursing Assistant Work in Atlanta
Atlanta's CNA jobs cluster where the big hospitals do: Grady Memorial in Downtown, Emory University Hospital Midtown on Peachtree Street, Piedmont Atlanta on the Peachtree Road corridor in south Buckhead, and Pill Hill in Sandy Springs, where Northside Hospital Atlanta and Emory Saint Joseph's sit near the Medical Center MARTA station at GA-400 and I-285. Hospitals here often post the role under other titles. Grady calls the role nursing support technician, Northside calls it clinical care associate or patient care tech, and Emory and Piedmont use patient care tech, so search all of those names.
Demand is steady because Atlanta's hospital systems are among the metro's largest employers, and the 2022 closure of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center pushed more trauma and safety-net volume onto Grady, the city's only Level I trauma center. Metro pay runs a little above the state median.
Top Atlanta Employers Hiring Certified Nursing Assistants
These Atlanta hospitals and health systems hire CNAs and patient care techs for inpatient, emergency and specialty units:
- Grady Health System - the Downtown safety-net hospital on Jesse Hill Jr Drive hires CNA and PCT nursing support technicians as a first step in its nursing career pathway.
- Northside Hospital - the Pill Hill hospital on Johnson Ferry Road hires clinical care associates and patient care techs who hold a CNA on the Georgia registry.
- Emory Healthcare - Emory Saint Joseph's on Pill Hill hires patient care techs, with a Georgia CNA as one route in.
- Piedmont Atlanta Hospital - the Peachtree Road hospital hires full-time patient care techs and prefers a CNA certificate.
- Atlanta VA Health Care System - the Joseph M. Cleland VA Medical Center on Clairmont Road in Decatur hires federal nursing assistants through USAJOBS.
Certified Nursing Assistant Salaries in Atlanta
- Entry level: about $16 to $18 per hour for new CNAs in nursing homes and hospitals.
- Experienced: roughly $19 to $22 per hour for hospital patient care techs with a year or more on the floor.
- Senior / specialty: about $23 per hour and up for ED, ICU and night-shift techs; federal nursing assistants at the Atlanta VA have been posted at $45,458 to $59,096 a year at GS-5.
These are estimates built from BLS 2025 wage data for the Atlanta metro and pay posted by local employers, such as $23 an hour for a PRN patient care tech at Emory Saint Joseph's. Night and weekend differentials, hospital versus nursing-home work, and extra skills like phlebotomy or EKG move pay the most.
How to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant in Atlanta
In Georgia you finish a state-approved nurse aide training program, then pass a written exam and a skills evaluation to be placed on the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry, which Alliant Health Solutions maintains under contract with the Georgia Department of Community Health. Credentia handles exam registration, and UGA runs the proctored virtual skills evaluation. Gwinnett Technical College's Lawrenceville campus offers a one-semester Nurse Aide Fast Track program, and several Atlanta hospitals also accept patient care tech or medical assistant certification, or current nursing school enrollment, for their tech roles. Most hospitals also require American Heart Association BLS at hire.
What the Job Involves
CNAs and patient care techs handle the hands-on basics of patient care: taking vital signs, bathing and dressing patients, helping them eat, walk and turn, changing linens, recording intake and output, and reporting changes in condition to the nurse. In hospital tech roles you may also draw blood, run EKGs, collect specimens and help with admissions and discharges.
Skills Employers Look For
- Active CNA on the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry
- American Heart Association BLS certification
- Accurate vital signs and charting in an electronic health record
- Safe patient lifting, transfers and fall prevention
- Phlebotomy or EKG skills for hospital tech roles
- Calm communication with patients, families and nurses
- Reliability on nights, weekends and 12-hour shifts
Career Path and Advancement
Many Atlanta CNAs start in a nursing home or on a hospital med-surg floor, then move to higher-acuity tech roles in the ED, ICU or trauma units at Grady, Emory or Northside. The CNA is also the usual first step toward nursing: a practical nursing certificate leads to the LPN, and an associate or bachelor's degree from schools such as Atlanta Technical College or Georgia State's Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing leads to the RN, with hospital residencies waiting on the other side.
Related Careers in Atlanta
If CNA work interests you, these related Atlanta roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get on the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry?
Complete a state-approved nurse aide training program, then pass both the written exam and the skills evaluation. Your results go to Alliant Health Solutions, which places you on the registry once your name, date of birth and other details match across the testing vendors' records.
How much do CNAs make in Atlanta?
BLS 2025 data puts the Atlanta metro median for nursing assistants near $18.92 an hour, with the top tenth earning above $23. Hospital tech roles, nights and specialty units pay toward the top of that range.
Do Atlanta hospitals hire CNAs under a different title?
Yes. Grady posts nursing support technician roles, Northside posts clinical care associate and patient care tech roles, and Emory and Piedmont post patient care tech roles. A Georgia CNA qualifies you for many of them.
Can I work as a patient care tech without a CNA in Atlanta?
Some employers allow it. Piedmont lists the CNA as preferred rather than required, and Emory Saint Joseph's accepts patient care experience, a nurse aide course or nursing school enrollment as alternatives. Northside asks for a CNA on the Georgia registry or a national medical assistant certification.
How long does it take to become a CNA in Georgia?
Technical college nurse aide programs in the metro run about one semester; Gwinnett Technical College's Nurse Aide Fast Track takes one semester after its prerequisites. You then schedule and pass the written exam and skills evaluation before you are listed on the registry.
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