The important role of nursing assistants

Health professionals are often unsung heroes. However, since the arrival of COVID-19, millions of people have had their eyes opened to the crucial role medical providers play in regard to helping patients and their families.

Nursing assistants are tireless health care workers who perform their tasks with professionalism and patience. Certified nursing assistants, or CNAs, help patients with their basic daily care, and may assist with:

• Making beds and changing bedding.

• Helping patients use toilets and tending to catheters.

• Helping patients to get dressed.

• Monitoring vital signs and reporting on patients’ health.

• Handling feeding and helping the patient drink.

• Turning bedridden patients according to schedule.

CNAs work in various settings, notably long-term care facilities, doctors’ offices, hospitals, and rehabilitation clinics. Nursing assistants often are the first responders when a patient calls for help. They traditionally work under the guidance of registered nurses, and the work of CNAs frees up nurses to provide care that requires a greater level of training, such as administering IV medication or alerting doctors to significant changes in health.

Nursing assistants must possess certain qualities, as the job requires caregiving above all. The nursing resource All Nursing Schools says CNAs must be able to listen to patients’ concerns and develop personal relationships. The care CNAs provide requires a certain level of intimacy, and CNAs must have demeanors that help patients feel comfortable. Some tasks may involve lifting or helping to move a patient, so some measure of physical strength also is needed. Most importantly, CNAs often provide companionship and friendship, especially in home care settings. Providing comfort for patients who are scared, lonely or upset also is part of a CNA’s job.

Nursing assistants are important health care professionals and often part of a team of caregivers that help patients enjoy improved quality of life.