Certified nursing assistants, also called a CNA for short, is the very spine of the nursing profession and many times use their skills in the frontline of direct patient care. Certified nursing assistants, sometimes referred to as certified nursing aides, work in the acute care medical support environment in hospitals, inside the sub-acute setting in long term care facilities, in medical clinics of all types and inside private homes. In order to become a CNA, the nursing assistant must meet a set of specific personal and moral criterion, and in addition must formally pass a given set of complex skill competencies to publicly prove they have the needed skills to provide competent patient care in a variety of settings and situations. What is CNA certification?
Certifications are formal examinations that test knowledge, experience and skill sets in a specific occupational field or profession. It is an awarded credential which publicly confirms that the nursing aide has demonstrated a specific level of competency within a specific body of knowledge and skills and thus can deliver acceptable standards of patient care. While it may sound like a piece of cake, earning your certification as a nursing assistant requires dedication, attention to detail and hard work.
Certified nursing assistants earn their certification through a series of educational steps requiring both hands-on practice, and in-class theory or “book learning”. CNA certification is an intensive and highly disciplined educational program offered by community colleges, trade schools, independent certified nursing assistant training programs as well as on the job training, the latter usually offered by hospitals and medical clinics. While there are various levels of CNA certification depending on the state in which you practice, the basic core competencies remain the same. The certified nursing assistant must demonstrate a basic understanding of human anatomy and physiology, body mechanics, activities of daily living, human behavior, nutritional diet standards, and infection control. The basic core certification competencies of CNA training are:
- Basic Human Anatomy and Physiology
To become certified as a nursing assistant the student must hold a correct knowledge of the human body. While the differences between the sexes may seem obvious, because everyone is different and all individuals are unique, the certified nursing assistant has to know what the normal human body looks like, consists of and more importantly, how to identify abnormalities in both structure and function. Because everyone is unique, we all do things just a little differently from one another. This competency also requires the prospective certified nursing aide to know normal specific basic body function measurement values such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and intake and output measurements and values.
- Body Mechanics
The nursing aide certification requires all students to learn how to safely lift and position both themselves, and their patients. Lifting safety and the associated techniques involved are important for everyone involved. Patient safety is paramount, as is care giver safety. Certification includes becoming comfortable making use of the various mechanical devices commonly used by the nursing assistant on a day to day basis to help lift and transfer helpless patients safely.
- Activities of Daily Living
Nursing assistant certification examinations require the candidate to hold the knowledge of exactly what is involved in basic activities of daily living. This skill competency requires hands on practice in the areas of walking, also called ambulation; assistance in toileting and the calculation of all related measurements, keeping their patients healthy and clean as well as learning all about the special needs of health-compromised patients. This includes skills on helping patients safely access and consume their food and drink no matter what their medical condition.
- Human Behavior
Certified nursing assistants deal with people who are either sick or whose health has been compromised in one way or another through illness or disease. Normal people don’t feel good all the time and when a patient feels bad, it is usually due to multiple medical problems or conditions. Nursing aide certification consists of learning why your patients feel bad, and more importantly, strategies on how you as a primary care giver can both make them feel a little better, and cope yourself inside a sometimes stressful environment. In the acute care and long term care settings, patients have specific rights and it is extremely important the certified nursing assistant know exactly what those rights are so they may be respected and honored.
- Nutritional Diet Standards
It sounds simple doesn’t it, but do you know the difference between foods which are high in sugar content, carbohydrates and protein? The certified nursing assistant has to have a strong working body of knowledge to pull from because each patient is different and each patient has unique nutritional needs and requirements. To earn certification as a nursing assistant, the student must be able to understand and identify the specific nutritional needs and requirements of patients with diabetes, kidney disease, congestive heart failure as well as other conditions and ailments. Patients with diabetes must consume a special diet that doesn’t promote unacceptable levels of blood-glucose, while many patients with renal conditions are only able to consume limited amounts of fluid and are on a low-sodium intake diet.
- Infection Control
One of the most important skills a nursing assistant student will learn is infection control. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to infection control. Sure, it’s about learning how not to transfer harmful pathogens like viruses and bacteria between patients, but also about how to keep you as a care giver safe and healthy while working with patients with disease-specific conditions. This important skill is required for nursing aide certification and covers more than simple handwashing.
Occupational opportunities are plentiful for certified nursing assistants in almost every community in the United States. While different states around the nation mandate somewhat varied skill sets to become certified as a nursing assistant, the basic core competencies remain the same. CNA certification is a competency tool which is very important in learning to provide the appropriate standard of care for your patients.