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In the United States, Certified Nursing Assistants or Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs) 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, 2001:1-33,1-36).
Overview
In today's hospitals and extended care facillities a nurse assistant is an important part of a healthcare team that includes many personnel outside of nurses. In the quest to make a profit from providing care many hospitals in the United States have reduced their nurse to patient ratios, requiring one nurse to take care of as many as twelve or fourteen patients at a time. In order for good care to be provided to those patients a nurse assistant is needed to provide the routine care so that the nurse can focus on tasks only he/she can do, such as care plans, nursing assessments, administering medication, and assist 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 make quick observations of a patient's condition and report that information back to the nurse. Since the nurse cannot spend large amounts of time in the room with the patient, the nurse assistant is known 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.
Educational preparation
The requirements for certification vary from state to state. Among the requirements for becoming a state-certified nurse assistant is the mastery of a set of basic skills. The education required to achieve these skills varies widely, in some states no formal education is required. In other areas of the United States this means a two week class and a basic test, while in others several months of clinical and theory hours may be required. These skills are needed to care for patients in both long-term-care facilities and in home settings. The descriptions below 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 with a focus on making a profit nurse assistants can be inadequate for the type of work that is needed of non-nurse personnel. Some states have implemented, through their Nursing Boards, programs which provide extensive education to nurse assistants in advanced procedures beyond those traditionally assigned to the nurse assistant. These personnel are referred to by different titles: Patient Care Technician, Advanced Unlicensed (referring to non-nurse) Assistant, CNA 2. The important difference between these personnel and traditional nurse assistants is the oversight from a licensing board which allows them to legally perform tasks such as catheter insertion, phlebotomy, tube feedings, and others.
See also
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 0723433070 (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
- Online Nusing Assistant Education guide to career options in long term care
- 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
"Certified Nursing Assistant"