Taking Care of Patients – Its All about Certified Nursing Aide
The careers of certified nursing assistants is all about taking care of the patients. They become the eyes and ears of the nurses and have to work in close coordination with them. Before you decide to become a nurse aide, you should know the various responsibilities of the nurse aides and which CNA training schools would suit your requirements. I have been a nurse aide for the past two years and I although I wanted to take up this profession, I had no idea about the various challenges I might have to face after taking up this job.
The CNA classes I joined had a one session that gave us a detailed idea about the nursing career we were about to undertake. I came to know that the nurse aides would be responsible to take care of the well-being of the patients on a daily basis. We would have work under the supervision of a nurse and observe the patients regularly. We were also informed that after getting experience as nurse aides, we could take up advanced courses and get specialized.
As nurse aides you would be responsible to provide daily care to the patients. You will have to assist them in brushing, bathing, combing, toileting, walking, exercising etc. If the patients are bedridden, you will help them to tun to prevent bed sores. You will also help some of them to exercise to keep themselves fit. (checkout CNA basic responsibilities)
If patients cannot feed themselves, you would have to assist them to eat. In some cases, you will have to help them feed with a tube. You will have to record their food intake and show it to the nurse in charge. Taking the vital signs like temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate is also another important duty of the nurse aides. After checking the vital signs you will have to document for the nurses.
Apart from the above patient care services, you might be asked to perform minor housekeeping duties like changing the linens of the patients, making their beds etc, to ensure that their environment is clean and safe. If required, you will also be asked to assist the patients to get up from the bed so that they can sit on the wheel chair or stand up, or even ambulate them.
Apart from the above duties, the main concern of the nurse aide should be the well-being of the patients. You should have good interpersonal skills and be a good team player. It may not be easy to become a nurse aide, but I think I like this job as I know that I can make a lot of difference in many lives and get immense job satisfaction doing what I do.
