Picture this: A dedicated healthcare professional helping an elderly patient start their day with dignity – assisting with morning hygiene, ensuring comfort, and monitoring vital signs while maintaining a compassionate connection.
Think about being the essential bridge between patients and nurses, the person who spends the most direct time with patients, noticing subtle changes in their condition and providing crucial updates to the healthcare team.
Nursing Assistants provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff. They perform duties such as monitoring of health status, feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or ambulation of patients in a health or nursing facility.
These professionals include nursing care attendants, nursing aides, and nursing attendants. They represent the frontline of patient care, combining technical skills with emotional support to ensure patient comfort and well-being.
Total Employment: 1,351,760 (2023)
Common Names for Nursing Assistants
- Certified Medication Aide (CMA)
- Certified Nurse Aide (CNA)
- Certified Nurse’s Aide (CNA)
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA)
- Nurses’ Aide
- Nursing Aide
- Nursing Assistant
- Patient Care Assistant (PCA)
- State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA)
What Nursing Assistants Do
Nursing Assistants provide fundamental patient care and support, working under licensed nursing staff. Core responsibilities include:
- Patient Care Support: Assist patients with daily living activities including bathing, dressing, grooming, and eating to maintain their dignity and physical wellbeing.
- Vital Signs Monitoring: Record patients’ vital signs including temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and breathing rates to track health status and alert nurses to any changes.
- Mobility Assistance: Help patients move safely between beds, wheelchairs, and walking, following proper body mechanics to prevent falls and injuries.
- Basic Medical Support: Provide basic care such as changing bandages, applying heat/cold treatments, and collecting specimens under nurse supervision to support treatment plans.
- Patient Observation: Monitor and document changes in patients’ physical or emotional conditions to ensure early detection of health issues and maintain accurate medical records.
- Environmental Safety: Maintain clean, sanitary patient rooms and medical equipment to prevent infections and ensure a safe healing environment.
- Communication Bridge: Serve as a key communication link between patients, families, and healthcare team members to ensure effective care coordination and patient comfort.
- Emergency Response: Recognize and report emergency situations immediately to appropriate medical staff to ensure rapid response to critical situations.
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