Certified Nursing Assistant Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of a Certified Nursing Assistant, or CNA, are many and varied. Much of what you’re required to do depends on what state you live in, and what sort of health care facility you work in. You’ll find that there are many laws that govern exactly what a CNA does on a day to day basis.
Your formal training and education will teach you about the laws of your particular state and how they apply to your job as a CNA. However, no matter where you live, your first responsibility is to your patient. Many times you’ll be in charge of the patient’s daily routine. This is found more in nursing and retirement homes where you’ll be caring for elderly people.
Typically, your second set of duties requires you to carry out the goals, mission and objectives of the facility you work in. Many of these facilities provide intense training along with an orientation program that carefully explains what’s expected of their CNAs. This can be just as important as the care you give to your patients.
Your third responsibility is performing your duties as a CNA correctly. This will become your most important duty. It’s also the one you’ll find most rewarding and fulfilling, and is the main reason you became a CNA.
A specific responsibility of a Certified Nursing Assistant is to ensure the rights of a patient are always protected. These include their right to privacy, the right to be kept informed of their treatment and health care program , their right to decide if they want treatment or not, and the right to be a part of their health care plan. Since nurses don’t have a lot of time to spend directly with patients, CNAs become the patient advocate.
You’ll watch over your patients and be ready to administer emergency help, if needed. Other duties include taking the vital signs and monitoring them. This means taking blood pressure, body temperature, pulse, respiration and whether or not the patient is in any pain. Personal care will include assistance in feeding, bathing and routine hygiene.
You can see that CNAs must be highly caring and motivated people. If this sounds like you, there’s not a more rewarding career.
For more tips on how to become a Certified nurse assistant, how to obtain a Certified nurse license visit TrainingForCNACertification.com.
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