CNA Job Description – The Duties and Responsibilities of a CNA
If you have ever been hospitalized for any length of time, you know how hectic that environment can be. What you also know is that it may not have been a nurse who answered your calls for help. Chances are, it was a CNA, or a certified nursing assistant. These are the front line medical staff, those caring men and women who bathe, dress, feed and do so much more for the patients in their care. Although that may be the technical Cna job description, for the medical staff and patients, it hardly scratches the surface of what these professionals do each and every day.
Certified Nursing Assistants have completed a multi-week course, depending upon the state, it could be anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks. During these courses, they have studied courses from basic nursing skills, anatomy and physiology, nutrition and infection control. But their training doesn’t stop there. They are also mandated to do a hands-on practicum, a clinical course, putting all of what they have studied into practice with real, live patients.
During the admission period of a patient, the CNA has to make sure the hygiene needs of the patient is taken care of, and has to make sure the surround are is clean and tidy as well. The important responsibilities of a CNA includes, changing beds, feeding the patient, ambulating and checking the vital status of the patients.
Once on the job, a Cna job description will include basic patient care services, such as bathing, dressing, grooming and feeding. Perhaps the most important part of a Cna’s job involves the intimate, day in day out contact which he or she has with the patient or resident. This close connection is an important foundation, particularly in long term care settings. While the nurses and physicians do not have daily contact with patients and residents, the CNA’s are on the front lines, and are often the first to note critical changes in behavior and condition among their patients. Relaying this information to medical staff can be lifesaving.
Aside from the duties and responsibilities of a CNA mentioned above, a nursing assistant has to have a number of skills as well as qualification to be able to perform his/her tasks properly. A valid CNA certification is required before being allowed to work. Nurse aides must have proper communication skills to be able to interact well with patients. Arithmetic skills and a good command of English are also top priority.
The working conditions that a CNA works in can be a little tedious. Heavy lifting is sometimes required to move patients. The CNA may be exposed to harmful chemicals during the course of work. The susceptibility to communicable diseases is also of a higher degree. The work timings may also be a little abnormal for someone expecting a 9 to 5 job. As a nursing assistant the shifts can be at anytime of the day or night. Most medical facilities will not allow a member of the nursing staff to have a fixed time every day. The shifts will keep on changing every week.
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