Certified Nursing Assistant Duties and Responsibilities

Certified Nursing Assistants, CNAs, are important health workers in the nursing profession.

They are needed anywhere a nurse works, such as the hospitals, rehabilitation centers, doctor’s offices, and long-term healthcare centers, to provide support and assistance to the nursing team.

They are well trained through accredited educational programs, and are required by most States to be certified before being allowed to practice.

They work under the supervision of registered nurses, and the educational training they receive enables them to perform basic nursing duties, while the nurses can concentrate on more complex and demanding parts of their responsibilities.

The specific duties and responsibilities performed by a certified nursing assistant will depend on where they are working – doctor’s office, rehabilitation clinics, long-term healthcare facilities, or hospitals.

Below are some of the duties and responsibilities a certified nurse assistant is expected to perform.

Certified Nurse Assistants working in long-term health facilities may perform some or all of the following tasks:

• He/She will provide efficient, quality, and satisfactory customer service to residents and their families, colleagues, and vendors.
• Perform nursing care duties following the laid down resident care policies and practice, ensuring that safety procedures and residents’ well-being are adhered to.
• Ensure timely arrival to work in neat and clean uniform with a noticeable name tag.
• Ensure residents have their bath, and assist in dressing and grooming them, following company’s care plan.
• He/She will serve and collect food trays, and assist in feeding residents that cannot feed themselves.
• Ensure food supplements and clean drinking water are provided to residents.
• Help resident in walking and moving around in wheelchair.
• Ensure residents’ rooms and equipments are clean and tidy.
• Apply equipment in a safe manner when performing resident/patient care duties, and ensure to adhere to infection control methods.
• He/She will monitor and document observed signs and symptoms resulting from changes in patients’ condition.
• Share relevant information with other healthcare workers needed to provide better care to patients.
• Responsible for prioritizing patient activities taking into consideration the patient’s present care requirements.
• He/She will be responsible for keeping and maintaining all documentation according to company policy, as well as State and Federal regulations.
• Ensure to execute all tasks efficiently and safely by wearing relevant safety equipment.
• Ensure to inform the supervisor of breach of company safety policy, accidents, or safety hazards.
• Ensure a clean and tidy environment.
• Adhere to company policies, State and Federal guidelines and health codes regarding foodstuff handling.
• Participate in all important in-service conferences, conventions, and seminars to be abreast of developments in the industry.
• Respect and obey all company’s procedures and policies.

Certified Nurse Assistants working in rehabilitation facilities may perform some of the following duties:

• Under the supervision and direction of the registered nurse, he/she will provide one-on-one nursing care to the patient.
• He/She will perform certain basic nursing duties as instructed by a nurse or physician, including CPR, determining and documenting both the intake and output of fluid, taking and documenting vital signs, carrying out dressings, observing and documenting signs and symptoms of diseases or circumstances that are common, and administering patients’ treatments according to the nurse or physicians order.
• Help patients to carry out personal care activities, such as mouth and skill care, bathing, dressing and grooming, eating and drinking, using the toilet.
• Assist patients in walking, exercising, and moving around.
• He/She will ensure there is adequate supplies of materials used in providing patient care at all times by stocking and maintaining supplies in patients’ rooms and supply points.
• Ensure that patients’ care data is recorded.
• He/She may also be required to perform some clerical duties, such as answering of phones, placing order entry, and processing of charts.
• He/She may be required to perform other duties that may be needed by the supervising registered nurse or physician.

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