A CNA provides care to patients in a wide variety of settings and situations. These
range from home health care, which is where the aide assists the patient in the privacy of their own home, or
settings such as a hospital, retirement or nursing home. The class to become certified is usually about three
to six months, and once you successfully pass the exam that consists of a written exam and a clinical part, you
are eligible to become certified. Some of the rules are state specific - for instance cna training in Florida might be
different from that of Wyoming. There are many duties of a CNA, and you need proper training to ensure proper
care of the patient.
Here are a few of the CNA skills training requirements you are going to need to know when working with
patients.
Personal Care
This is perhaps the one CNA skills training job that is the most crucial. This can include
many things that the patient may need help with in their day-to-day activities. These things can include
feeding themselves, bathing, using the bathroom, walking, moving from one place to another such as from a
wheelchair to a chair, or making the bed with the patient in it, and you may in some cases need to transport
the patient around wherever they need to go.
Vital Signs
Another important CNA training skills to learn is how to take the
patient’s vital signs. These get reported back the patient’s nurse and doctor and you will need to take them
every shift or sooner, depending on what the patients situation is. They are written down in the patient’s
personal records. There are easy ways to retrieve vitals of a patient, and you will be taught them in your
training classes. It is harder to get in some patients as opposed to others.
Transferring or Lifting the Patient
Another CNA skills training duty required is to help transfer to lift the patient.
There are certain ways to lift a patient to prevent injury to both of you. You may need to transfer your
patient so that you can make their bed, take them to the bathroom or anywhere else. Some patients have
situations that either makes it rather hard to walk or they have had a surgery or some kind of injury that
prevents them from walking.
Keeping the Patient Clean
Keeping your patient clean is another one of the many CNA skills you will be shown. This includes washing
their face after they eat or do any other activity. You also need to make sure that the patient’s area is
always neat and tidy so that they can have access to it easily rather than knocking things over when trying to
get something. You will be trained on how to handle biohazardous materials, such as clothing or sheets soiled
with blood or other body fluids. You should also practice proper hygiene to prevent any type of sickness
between you and the patient.
Keeping Track of Care
Before the end of your shift, you are going to be required to write down or document the care that you gave
the patient. This ensures that the patient received the proper care from you. You may need to document things
such as urine output, the amount of BM's, how much they ate, as well as measurements such as weight and height
and more.