Is Certification Worth It?

I'm interested in becoming a CNA, primarily to learn to nurture / be life-giving to people.

I've read a lot online about CNAs (and direct care), and I've briefly called various health care facilities, but I'd like get the take from some real CNAs. To go into a direct-care field, is it a good idea to go through the CNA classes? If I was hired as a generic care-giver (and given on-the-job training), is that just as good? Would I get to interact with patients as much as a CNA?

I'm only planning to do this for a season -- at most a year -- and I'm not sure the certification is worth the time/money.

Also, what sorts of things do you do in actual practice? I've read the lists: bathing, dressing, cleaning up patients' messes -- are those actual CNA tasks?