What does a CNA do?

When you hear CNA, it might not be the most distinguished job in the hospital or nursing care facility but CNAs are the most important in daily operations for a medical facility. CNAs are in charge of taking care of a patient’s daily needs by providing physical assistance to the patient. A CNA assists the nurse with checking the patient for signs and with medical equipment. Being a CNA, it is important to take into account the patient and the patient’s dignity.

Take note that Certified Nursing Assistant duties may vary on the type of institution that you will be working at. If you will be working at a hospital setting, the duty of a CNA would include monitoring vital signs of a patient and recording them. It would also include being able to help feed, bathe and groom the patient and be able to mobilize them for transport to different departments. It is also one of the duties of a CNA to provide the general monitoring and recording of the patient’s condition.

For CNAs that are working in a nursing home facility, one must be able to take care of the elderly, geriatric and/or disabled patients. The primary care giver for a nursing home would be the nursing assistants. As a CNA in a nursing home, you should always provide a positive and caring attitude towards the patient and have a good relationship with them.

CNA Training Courses

CNA training courses are now widely available. But, before you enroll to any Certified Nursing Assistant courses, you will need to check with your State Department of Health on the requirements of CNA for that state. You will also need to take the certification exam in the state you will be working at.

With technology, you are now able to get the Certified Nursing Assistant courses part of the CNA training by applying online. Once you finish the training course however, you would be required to have the hands on training for the skills part of the certification exam.

You can find practical placement in local institutions, technical colleges, medical facilities/hospitals and from the Red Cross. Length of the training courses may vary from as short as six weeks to as long as three months to complete. The training courses from these facilities should cover both the classroom lecture and the hands-on training.

The hands-on training should include learning the basic mobility of the human body so that the nursing assistant would know how to move the patient, proper care and be able to take care of their basic needs. A CNA should also be able to show respect to the patient.

Classroom training should include all or more of the following: medical terminology, Fundamentals of Nursing, understanding the clinical environment, healthcare topics, basic first aid, responding to emergency situations and more.

The Certified Nursing Assistant courses should cover all the basic concepts of healthcare and should also be able to cover what the certification test would be covering.