Complete Facts on a CNA

Nursing aides are valuable members of a medical team and once certified they are called “Certified Nursing Assistant” and referred by different such as caregivers, nursing assistants, geriatrics nurse aides, direct patient care workers and others. Even, their job description labels them with different names, such as hospital attendants for nurse aides working in a hospital, school nursing aides for offering nursing cares in school, home health aides or private duty CNA for providing home based care, restorative/rehabilitative nurse aide for care of geriatrics residents at their homes. In the same way, CNAs visiting and performing in facilities located in distant places are known as a travel nurse aides.

Nurse aides being direct patient care workers, they execute their direct care skills and knowledge in hospitals, nursing homes, old age homes, rehabilitative centres, mental health care units, old age homes and hospice. They work in a supervised environment and execute CNA Job duties such as activities of daily living and routine cares for residents, meet psychological, social, emotional and spiritual needs of residents, and assist in surgical rooms and delivery rooms. Because a CNA is trained in direct patient care, they spend more time with patients than any other medical personnel. Their long relations with patient also allow them form a close bonding with the residents, and they are also the first to notice any changes in the health condition of the resident, which also make them “the eyes and ears” of a facility.

In addition, they also offer counselling and moral support to residents and their family members, and a link between the nursing staffs and family members.

CNAs gain necessary knowledge and skills for nursing care through federal OBRA-87, and state government approved training program of 75 hours that include minimum 16 hours clinical hands-on experience. CNA classes must be at least, 75 hours or more as demanded by a state because each state is allowed to schedule their own training program that may be OBRA required 75 hours, or more. The successful completion of the training makes nurse aides eligible to appear in the competency evaluation exam, and passing the same will award a Certification and registration with the state Nurse Aide Registry. Certified nursing assistant also gets legal permission for working in varied health care settings, and health clinics including Medicare and Medicaid funded and regulated facilities.

The theoretical classroom training of nurse aides consists of instructions on Personal and Basic Nursing skills, Mental Health Care Skills, Social Service Skills, Restorative Care Skills, Cognitively Impaired Residents care and Residents Right and Independence.

The Clinical hands-on experience requires demonstrating knowledge in a health care setting, under the supervision of a RN or LPN, possessing at least 2 years health care experience, of which one year must be in a long term care setting.

The federal OBRA regulation also mandates a nurse aide must constantly update his/her knowledge with the new happenings in the medical fields, technologies and equipments. Nursing homes are also directed to conduct performance appraisal of nurse aides every 12 months, and identify their shortcomings and provide them regular in-service education training on the field of need. The CE must be at least 12 hours per year. The states may decide their own CE education for working nursing assistants.

The license of certified nurse aides expires in two years, and before the expiry date they must get it renewed for continue working. CNAs must also work for certain hours in lieu of payments to gain license renewal eligibility.

Nurse Aides planning to move to another state, other than their home state for nursing assistant jobs must enquire reciprocity and state requirements. If the nurse aide’s home state and destination state has the reciprocity arrangement then the nursing assistant can move to another state and start working after completing certain state requirements, , but if the states do not have this arrangement, CNA might have to re-complete training and examination requirements for working eligibility. Nurse Aide must also remember that her records on the Nurse Aide Registry must be free from any administrative findings of misappropriations, neglect and misuse of the residents’ property. In addition, he/she also must not have any convictions that may disqualify them from working.