The work environment for a nursing assistant is not necessarily a hospital setting. Some CNAs work in the homes of patients. The CNA job encompasses a range of responsibilities and duties so no single day should feel boring and routine.
All nursing assistants must be capable of providing empathic nursing care and have the patient’s best interest in mind as CNAs may have day to day contact with a variety of patients from a variety of backgrounds so cultural sensitivity is important as well as being compassionate which is an essential nursing quality as a lot of patients are vulnerable, lonely and depressed.
It is vital that nursing assistants demonstrate professionalism in the performance of job tasks at all times which helps to build up trust between nursing staff and the patients.
Whilst the CNA duties will vary from state to state they can include the following:
Checking vital signs such as recording a patient’s temperature; taking a patient’s blood pressure and measuring a patient’s weight.
Bed making and cleanliness- Changing bed linens and ensuring bed sheets and pillow cases are clean and ensuring the patient’s area is clean and tidy.
Mobilisation- Assisting patients in walking to improve mobility, or transporting them on wheelchair or otherwise
Feeding patients- Following the correct procedure in feeding and assisting patients with their meals.
Assisting in the prevention of bedsores- Identifying at-risk individuals so preventive measures can be implemented to prevent bedsores.
These are just a few of the CNA duties that you may be asked to do on a day to day basis as you will not only be assisting patients maintain their daily routine but you will be required to do other tasks aswell such as carrying out administrative work for doctors or nurses, how much of this is delegated will depend on the job role itself.