Certified Nursing Assistant
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In the United States, Certified Nursing Assistants, Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs), or Nursing Assistants-Registered (NA/Rs), assist residents or patients with activities of daily living (ADLs) and provide bedside care—including basic nursing procedures—all under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) (Meyer).
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Overview
In today's hospitals and extended care facilities a nurse assistant is an important part of a healthcare team that includes many personnel outside of nurses. Nurse assistants are needed to provide routine care so that nurses can provide care that only he/she can perform, as outlined by each state's Nurse Practice Acts, such as formulating care plans, nursing assessments, administering medication, and assisting in surgery room preparation. The nurse assistant must not only be very skilled in the actual procedures being performed but must also be able to observe a patient's condition and report that information back to the nurse. Due to other responsibilities, the nurse cannot spend large amounts of time in the room with the patient so the nurse assistant is often referred to as the nurse's "eyes and ears".
A nurse assistant must also have a strong grasp of emergency procedures and be able to stay calm in stressful situations. They must be able to initiate a Code Blue and be well-drilled in CPR.
In March, 2007 the National Center for Health Statistics published the results of a survey. The 62 page document is titled, "An Introduction to the National Nursing Assistant Survey." http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_01/sr01_044.pdf
Educational preparation
Federal nurse aide training regulations are mandated in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA 1987). State-approved training programs must be a minimum of 120 hours and include 16 hours of supervised clinical training. Aides who complete the program are known as certified nurse assistants (CNAs) and are placed on the State registry of nursing aides. To maintain certification, all nurse aides must complete 12 hours of continuing education annually.
Among the requirements for becoming a state-certified nurse assistant is the mastery of a set of basic skills. These skills are needed to care for patients in both long-term-care facilities and in home settings. The Nursing assistant skills descriptions refer mostly to the care of elderly patients, but most of them would apply to any nursing assistant situation.
Legal regulation
In recent years there has been a movement to bring nurse assistants under some type of regulatory control. In today's acute care settings, nurse assistants can be trained to perform additional tasks. These personnel, are often referred to by different titles, such as Patient Care Technician or CNA 2.
See also
Certified nursing assistants are able to perform basic tasks and are not the same as Patient Care Technicians (PCT).
References
- E. June Meyer, R.N., M.A. (2001). Nurse Assistant in a Long-Term Care Facility. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri-Columbia
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000). An Ounce of Prevention Keeps the Germs Away. Retrieved December 4, 2005.
- Maggie Nicol, Carol Bavin, Shelagh Bedford-Turner, Patricia Cronin, Karen Rawlings-Anderson, Carol Bevin (2002). Essential Nursing Skills, 210-212. Google Print. ISBN 0-7234-3307-0 (accessed December 4, 2005). Also available in print from MOSBY.
- Occupational Information Network (2004). Summary Report: Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants. Retrieved December 4, 2005.
External links
- American Health Care Association guide to career options in long term care
- Information on Oklahoma's Advanced Unlicensed Assistant Program
- National Network of Career Nursing Assistants Official website of the National Career Nurse Assistants. Provides information on training, employment, and the National Nursing Assistants Week
- http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos165.htm#training U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
- List of US & Canadian CNA Programs
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
