ROLE OF THE NURSE AIDE IN
LONG-TERM CARE
Settings where the CNA may
work
•Acute or subacute care (Hospitals and surgical
centers)
•Outpatient Care
•Rehabilitation
•Home Care
•Assisted Living
•Hospice Care
CNAs – Where they started
• Remind me…When did the law start
requiring CNAs to be trained?
• Remind me…What did the nurse practice
acts help to define?
CNAs – Where it can lead
APRN
RN-BSN
RN-ADN
LPN/LVN
CNA
ROLE OF THE CNA
Qualities of an effective CNA
•Compassionate
• Caring, concerned, understanding
•Honest
•Conscientious
• Always trying to do your best
•Dependable
•Respectful
•Considerate
• Understanding of the resident’s feelings and privacy
•Nonjudgmental
Professionalism
How you behave when you are on the job:
•How you dress
•Your speech
•What you talk about
•Being on time
•Completing tasks
•Reporting to the nurse
•For the CNA - follow the care plan, being
careful to make observations and always report
accurately
Professional relationships
with residents
•Keeping a positive attitude
•Doing only the tasks assigned and ones you are trained
to do
•Speaking politely and cheerfully to the resident, even if
you are not in a good mood
•Never discussing any of you personal problems
•Calling the resident by the name he/she prefers
•Listening to the resident
•Explaining the care you will provide before you provide
it
•Always following care practices, such as hand washing,
to protect yourself and the resident
Professional relationships
with your employer
•Maintain a positive attitude
•Complete your duties efficiently
•Consistently following all policies and procedures
•Always documenting and reporting carefully and
correctly
•Communicating problems with residents or duties
•Reporting anything that keeps you from
completing duties
•Asking questions when you don’t know or
understand something
Professional relationships
with your employer
•Taking direction or criticism without becoming
upset
•Being clean, neatly dressed and on time
•Notifying your employer if unable to report for work
•Following the chain of command
•Participating in educational programs
•Being a positive role model for your facility at all
times
So, what is the role of the
CNA?
•The CNA performs delegated or assigned
nursing tasks, such as taking a resident’s
temperature.
•A CNA also provides personal care.
•May also be called a nursing assistant,
nurse aide, or certified nursing assistant
CNA duties
•Feeding residents
•Helping residents with toileting and elimination needs
•Assisting residents to move safely around the facility
•Keeping residents’ living areas neat and clean
•Encouraging residents to eat and drink
•Caring for supplies and equipment
•Helping dress residents
•Making beds
•Giving back massages
•Assisting residents with mouth care
What am I NOT supposed to do?
•Give medications
•Insert/remove tubes
•Change sterile dressings
•Give tube feedings
CNA
•CNAs spend more time with residents than
anyone else on the health care team
•YOU are the “eyes and ears” of the health
care team
•OBSERVATION is key!
•Always REPORT abnormal findings
•Writing important information down is a must
and very helpful (documentation/charting)
Chain of Command
•The CNA carries out instructions given to
him/her by a nurse
•The Nurse acts on instructions from the
physician
•Guarantees residents get proper care and
protects the CNA and their employer from
liability
Liability
•Liability - a person may be held responsible
for harming someone else
•If you accidentally harm a resident while
caring for him and the task you were
performing was within the care plan, you aren’t
responsible.
•However, if you harm a resident performing a
task not within the care plan, you are
responsible.
Liability
•CNAs must understand what they can and
cannot do so that they don’t harm a resident or
cause a lawsuit.
•Scope of practice - defines the tasks a
licensed individual is allowed to do and how to
perform tasks correctly
Policies and Procedures
•Policy - a course of action that should be taken
every time a certain situation occurs
• Ex: a patient’s plan of care must be followed
•Procedure - a particular method or way of doing
something.
• There is a procedure for reporting information
about your residents
•All employers will have policies and procedures
for every resident care situation
• You are responsible for knowing all policies and
procedures!
• Are posted on the unit or on the internet
Residents Express Thanks
A CNA should not accept gifts or money from
the resident or their family.