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Question:
What exactly is a Certified Nursing Assistant. My son’s daycare just hired two and was making big announcements about it. I know what an RN and LPN are, but I had never heard of CNAs.
Answer:
This is a person who has completed a certified nurse’s aide course, and is then tested and certified by the state to render care. I’m not sure what the role of a cna in a daycare would be, but in the hospital where I work, the cna is responsible for everything from the patient’s personal care and feeding, to the cleaning of the patient’s room and bathroom, to taking a patient’s blood glucose levels, and to taking an ekg on a patient. They’re exactly what their title says. They are valuable employees that assist nurses in many ways. They are also trained to administer CPR.
The CNAs in my hospital cross clamp aortas, develop artificial blood and administer gene therapy as part of their orientation. They really help out!
A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) is a person who has had a certain amount of training (required by the State). They are (usually) the ones who answer your call light, record your vital signs, change your bed linen, help those who need to get up out of bed but cannot without assistance, and generally are an assistant to the Nurse they are working with. They are also (as of this year) required to have a criminal background check. They do many jobs within the hospital/nursing home/homecare setting. For more information, check out the US Government’s Occupation Outlook Handbook. It will tell you more. Better yet, post to c@egroups.com
On a more humorous note, they are the ones who battle the call lights while taking the blame for anything that might be stressful to the patient or the management of the facility.
Seriously, though, they are the frontline of the healthcare industry. The probably have the most contact with the patient within any healthcare facility.
You have given a very generic description of what a CNA does in his/her daily duties. Yes, all these things are true, but let’s not forget all those other things which the CNA must deal with, such as just about anything the patient needs/desires (with the exception of administering meds).
I am NOT trying to start anything here, but I myself have run into Nurses who will just stand there and chat while the heavy work of preparing the residents/patients for their day is going on. I realize that the licensed staff has their share of the work and that they too are usually overworked, but I myself have run into too many times where a licensed staff will pass on just about anything to the CNA and then not even try to help. Sometimes we are even made scapegoats for those family members who are never satisfied as to the quality of care given! Yet, when there are not enough CNA’s working at a particular facility, one of the first things you will hear from the licensed staff if something like ..I wish [they] would hire more CNA’s.
I’m not putting licensed staff down. Not at all, but the CNA is usually the one who must deal with all of those so-called little things which we ALL need on a day-to-day basis (such as eating).
I have also heard I couldn’t have gotten through the day if it weren’t for the CNA’s from more that a few RN’s LPN’s etc. CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant. A CNA usually works under the direction of an RN or LPN. CNA’s are not licensed nurses and cannot perform duties that only an RN or LPN can do. In the hospital setting, they can take vital signs (blood pressure, temp, pulse, respirations), bathe patients, assist them to the bathroom, measure take/output, change beds, and deliver food trays .etc. In the daycare setting, they may assist children with eating and using the restrooms. They also can do CPR if necessary or first aid if they are trained for it.
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