Duties of a Certified Nursing Assistant CNA

The duties of a certified nursing assistant (CNA) include a wide range of responsibilities depending where you work and in which state you reside. These tasks vary with the job and facility and also vary somewhat from state to state. There are many laws of responsibility and liability that cover the exact duties of a CNA.

As you go through your formal education and training you will learn more about the law of your state and how it applies to your role as a certified nursing assistant. Your first obligation will be the client or the patient. You will often be responsible for the daily management and routine of your patient. This is especially true for the care of elderly people in nursing home and extended care facilities.

Most likely your second obligation will be to carry out the mission, goals, and objectives of the facility where you are working. Many places today offer intense training and an orientation program to carefully go over the expectation of their workers.

Your third obligation will be to carry out the duties of a certified nursing assistant as you were trained and educated to do and perform. This becomes your major obligation and you will find it very rewarding and satisfying.

One of the specific responsibility of a CNA include making sure the rights of the patient are always protected. This includes the right of privacy, the right to be informed of their health care program and treatment, their right to accept or reject treatment, and the right to be included in their health care plan information.

Because nurses do not spend a lot of time in direct contact with the patient the certified nursing assistant becomes the "eyes and the ears" of the nurse. Your duties will include to keep close watch over your patient or client and be familiar with emergency responses in case of need. In most situations the duties of a certified nursing assistant also include the monitoring of vital signs for your client or patient.

Of course this will involve you taking temperature, respiration, pulse, blood pressure, and level of pain. These are common duties that you will perform everyday on all of your patients. Most likely your responsibilities will also include helping with the feeding process to ensure that patients are eating. You may also be assigned the task of bed-making, hair care, and bed-bath responsibilities.

There are many duties of a certified nursing assistant and the responsibility is enormous and challenging. The reward will also be exciting and very satisfying.

Louis Zhang, Certifiednursingassistantonline dot com