By
Lanee’ Blunt
Once
a nursing assistant becomes certified there is some flexibility in the job and
how you can use your certificate. You will provide care for people in nursing
homes, patients in hospitals and clients at home. The nursing staff delegate’s
duties to them and they provide basic nursing care for patients. A nursing aide
and home health aide must be certified to work in a long term care facility and
a home health care agency.
Home Health Aide
Job responsibilities of a Home Health Aide
Their
duties are helping clients meet their daily needs so that they can stay in
their homes without this service many people would have to be
institutionalized. They provide daily living skills activities and assist their
patients with personal hygiene, bathing, hair care, grooming and dressing. They
help clients to and from the bathroom, assists with bedpans, and bladder and
bowel requirements. A home health aide performs light housekeeping services and
may perform some heavy housekeeping duties as well. Their patients can’t get
out of the house so they must grocery shop, prepare shopping list and prepare
meals. They must drive and escort individuals to medical, doctor’s visits, and
church, recreational, vocational and run errands. They perform medical
procedures such as, taking blood pressure, temperature, give whirlpools, and
collect specimen’s they must keep accurate details and document all the
services that they have provided for the client that is under their care. They
help patients with prescribed exercises, and giving medications. Occasionally,
they help with artificial limbs and braces.
HHA Work Place
A
home health aide often works for a certified home health or hospice agency.
These agencies receive government funding and they must comply with strict
regulations. You will be working with a medical staff and under supervision of
registered nurses and must report any changes or concerns to them.
Job Requirements
If
you want to apply for a position there are certain criteria’s that you must
meet before you can be considered. You must have a valid driver’s license and a
good driving record. You will need to prove that you have automobile insurance.
You must have your CNA certificate.
Certified nursing assistant
Job responsibilities of a Certified Nursing Assistant
The
job duties consist of patient treatment and daily living care and attention. CNA's assist patients in and out of wheelchairs
and transfer them in and out of bed.
They bathe residents, dress them, and brush their hair. These
individuals are the principle care givers in nursing homes. They have a lot of
contact with the patients and often develop close caring relationships with the
patients.
Aiding Nurses
The
job additionally requires assisting nurses by measuring patient's vital signs,
blood pressure and temperature. They will serve meals, set up their food tray
and assist patients by feeding the ones that can't feed themselves. They aid
patients in walking, and transferring them between beds and wheelchairs. Then
they observe the health of patients and make records of the changes and report changes
to a supervising nurse.
CNA’s Work Place
They
work in nursing home, long-term care facilities, and mental health facilities. A
great deal work in hospitals, and hospices.
Training required becoming a CNA
You
can complete the nursing assistant training in a relatively short period of
time some programs are 6 to 12 weeks. The Red Cross’s program is 171 hours and
teaches you how to provide quality care to residents in nursing homes.
Community colleges also offer CNA certificate programs. The training that you
will receive will include counting and recording a patient’s pulse, taking and
recording the patient’s blood pressure and temperature, assisting with the
activities of bathing, using the toilet, and hygiene; correct techniques to use
to move and position, and the recording of information on charts and forms.
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