subject: The Characteristics of Effective CNA's: Competence [print this page] The Characteristics of Effective CNA's: Competence
A certified nursing assistant is trained to assist nursing staff in hospitals, old folks' homes, rehabilitation wards and other long-term care centers. Some are also employed to work in doctors' offices. The job entails a lot of contact with patients and as such requires the CNA to have great people handling skills, a real empathy for people, kindness and a quick mind as well. Oftentimes when a patient is in trouble it is the nursing assistant that is the first to notice, they also are usually the ones who will respond when a patient calls for help or assistance.
A nursing assistant job is not the easiest in the health care sector, however many claim that it is one of the more rewarding. CNA's will carry out duties such as regularly taking pulse, temperature and blood pressure readings, helping feed patients who are unable to feed themselves, assisting patients with bathing and changing, lifting patients and helping them in and out of beds and wheelchairs, and cleaning up whenever accidents happen with patients. Detailed tasks such as taking and noting down a patient's vital signs are extremely important tasks. Much can be understood simply by looking at a patient's records. It is imperative that a nursing assistant is highly competent at these tasks and that he or she does not note down incorrect information.
A lot of responsibility is also placed in the hands of the nursing assistant. Bed-bound patients often have to be routinely turned every hour or so, and it is usually the assistant's responsibility to initiate this and make sure that it happens regularly. Nursing assistants are right on the ward with the patients most of the time. They are in a position to see subtle changes in a patient's condition, to know when a patient is not eating very well, and frequently they are the first to hear that a patient is in pain or is experiencing problems of some kind. These things must be reported right away, and accurate observations noted on the patient's records. Thus it is extremely important that CNA's are highly competent and diligent to follow through on all their tasks, as well as to interpret and report any troubling signs they see in their patients to the registered nursing staff.
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
