Successful Nurse Assisting
Successful Nurse Assisting
Taking care of the sick, disabled, or debilitated is indeed physically and emotionally exhausting. The critical tasks a nurse assistant must accomplish cause wear and tear on the body and mind. A certified nurse assistant or CNA is a person trained to do basic nursing tasks and provide direct primary care to the patients in a health care setting under a nurse’s supervision. This means spending more time with the patient than the other caregivers. Therefore, the quality of this care is important to overall healthcare satisfaction.
There are many nurse assistants that do not take their job as seriously as they should. Working as a CNA for four years in a hospital setting, I have seen many that come to work simply to get a free check. There are many that do not take good care of their patients. If this type of care becomes overlooked or increases, this will result in bad quality medical facilities and difficulty in patients getting physically better. To be a successful nurse assistant one must have good organization, time management, communication, observation skills, patience, compassion, and empathy.
Good time management and organization skills are the key ingredients for success in nursing. A good tip is to always keep a clipboard with a list of the patients and information about them. Information would include how they use the bathroom, if they need to be turned or fed, or equipment they may have. A successful nurse assistant should be able to see the unit’s needs as a whole instead of only focusing on your present assignment. Prioritizing the patients will help one stay organized throughout the shift. Taking fifteen minutes at the beginning of the shift to organize the work assigned can certainly make a difference between a smooth shift and a hectic one.
Developing a routine will help with time management. This includes having set tasks that are completed everyday around a certain time. For example, my basic routine starts with
Taking care of the sick, disabled, or debilitated is indeed physically and emotionally exhausting. The critical tasks a nurse assistant must accomplish cause wear and tear on the body and mind. A certified nurse assistant or CNA is a person trained to do basic nursing tasks and provide direct primary care to the patients in a health care setting under a nurse’s supervision. This means spending more time with the patient than the other caregivers. Therefore, the quality of this care is important to overall healthcare satisfaction.
There are many nurse assistants that do not take their job as seriously as they should. Working as a CNA for four years in a hospital setting, I have seen many that come to work simply to get a free check. There are many that do not take good care of their patients. If this type of care becomes overlooked or increases, this will result in bad quality medical facilities and difficulty in patients getting physically better. To be a successful nurse assistant one must have good organization, time management, communication, observation skills, patience, compassion, and empathy.
Good time management and organization skills are the key ingredients for success in nursing. A good tip is to always keep a clipboard with a list of the patients and information about them. Information would include how they use the bathroom, if they need to be turned or fed, or equipment they may have. A successful nurse assistant should be able to see the unit’s needs as a whole instead of only focusing on your present assignment. Prioritizing the patients will help one stay organized throughout the shift. Taking fifteen minutes at the beginning of the shift to organize the work assigned can certainly make a difference between a smooth shift and a hectic one.
Developing a routine will help with time management. This includes having set tasks that are completed everyday around a certain time. For example, my basic routine starts with
Cited: Strachan, H. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An International Journal. 18 (2004): 7-10 Moffat, M., Cleland, J., Van der Molen, T., and Price, D. Family Practice 24 (2007): 65-70