If you’re looking for a career path that is rewarding, challenging, and has opportunities for advancement, a certified nurse aide (or CNA) career is a great option. But because it requires working with patients as they recover from injury or deal with health challenges, there are some key qualities of a CNA that you need to learn (or develop) before you get started.
Working as a CNA requires good stamina and the ability to manage several tasks at once. CNAs spend a lot of their day on their feet as they help patients dress, move around, and heal. They monitor and record patient conditions and treatments. CNAs work on a patient’s care team and report to licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RNs). Because of this, they must be able to communicate effectively. They also work to spread awareness of good hygiene and healthcare practices to patients and their families. As you can see, there are a lot of job duties and skills required to work as a nurse aide!
No two days are the same as a CNA, but in a general sense, most of these skills of a CNA can be narrowed down into two areas of focus:
- Technical skills
- Soft skills
If this kind of work sounds like an exciting challenge to you, read on to learn more about how to gain these skills and start your CNA career.
Learn essential CNA skills in a nurse aide program!
Essential Technical Skills for CNAs
Technical skills are a big part of the work of a CNA. This is true no matter whether you work at a hospital, an assisted living facility, or in a home healthcare setting. It’s important to take the time to learn these skills through a quality nurse aide training program. As a CNA, at a minimum, you should expect to know how to:
- Provide basic patient care
- Monitor vital signs
- Prevent the spread of infection and disease
Basic Patient Care Skills
One of the first things you may learn in a CNA training program is basic patient care. This type of care will vary depending on the type of patient you’re working with. For example, if you’re helping a stroke patient recover, you may need to assist them with personal hygiene and help them re-train their brain on how to provide this care for themselves. If you’re helping a paraplegic, this type of care will look a lot different. It’s important to note there is no one-size-fits-all approach to basic patient care as a CNA. But there are some key skills you might find in many situations.
What can basic patient care look like and what nurse aide skills will you need to learn to provide that care?
- Helping a patient shower, bathe, dress, and brush their teeth
- Recording treatments and medical info to share with nurses and doctors
- Changing bed linens to keep patient beds clean and comfortable
- Helping a patient eat and recording food intake
- Transferring a patient from a bed to wheelchair, chair, or toilet safely
- Learning how to use mobility aides and helping a patient learn how to use them
Vital Signs Monitoring
Another important part in the work of a CNA is monitoring vital signs. You’ll monitor these important measurements under the supervision of a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse. You can learn these skills in a CNA training program, and it’s something you’ll be tested on if you want to become certified. Monitoring vital signs includes learning how to:
- Take a patient’s blood pressure
- Monitor their pulse and respiratory rate
- Take their temperature
- Recognize normal readings versus abnormal ones, and know how to respond
Gathering this key information is a vital skill of a CNA. Working with LPNs and RNs to accurately track these numbers can make a difference in diagnosing and treating a patient, improving their health outcomes.
Infection Control Practices
As a CNA, you may work with a variety of patients. Proper sanitation and infection control measures are not optional! Otherwise, the chance of spreading disease and infection rises. Technical skills you can learn as a CNA include:
- How to use personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Sterilization techniques
- Hand hygiene
Things like washing your hands may seem like mindless skills, but they are not. In fact, infection control is one of the most important CNA skills you could learn in a nurse aide training program. After all, preventing the spread of disease is important!
Soft Skills for CNAs
Working as a CNA is an opportunity to make a difference every day. Now that you know more about the technical skills required, it’s important to keep in mind that soft skills are also part of the job.
CNAs can sometimes spend hours with patients. These patients are recovering from surgery, illness, or injury, or they’re dealing with lifelong health challenges. Being kind and positive are key qualities of a CNA. A positive mindset can go a long way, so as a CNA, it’s important to be that example to the people you’re helping.
Some of the other soft skills a CNA needs include:
- Strong communication skills
- Empathy and compassion
- Teamwork and collaboration
Communication Skills
The communication skills of a CNA include both written and oral communication. On any workday, you may be asked to:
- Write down notes from your shift to share with the next caretaker
- Share a patient’s vital signs or medication schedule with doctors, LPNs, or RNs
- Talk with a patient and their families about proper hygiene and treatment
- Write down important notes regarding changes in a patient’s care
- Coordinate with other CNAs or nurses on patient cases
Another important quality of a CNA is active listening. Taking in what a patient says to you, especially regarding any pain or discomfort they’re experiencing, is something you’ll need to practice each day at work.
Empathy and Compassion
One thing active listening will teach you is empathy and compassion. When you really take in what a patient needs or what they are going through, it helps you provide more compassionate care. You can have empathy for what a patient is going through and what they might need to feel better.
However, it’s also important to maintain firm boundaries. This includes learning ways to “unplug” when you’re off the clock and having coping strategies in place for patients who pass away. Without these things, a CNA can find themselves dealing with burnout. Having empathy is a good thing, but taking care of yourself and having compassion for yourself is also part of this process.
Teamwork and Collaboration
As we mentioned, a major part of being a CNA involves working on a patient care team. This team might include doctors, surgeons, nurses, therapists, assistants, and others. Collaborating or working together is crucial to patient outcomes. This involves:
- Accurately sharing patient information
- Following directions
- Providing suggestions and observations when needed
- Being a team player in stressful situations
You can get a good idea of how to brush up on these skills in your nurse aide training program. Depending on the program you take, you’ll have the opportunity to work in a clinical or real-life setting. Here, you can see good teamwork in action and learn from actual CNAs, RNs, and doctors helping real patients. This is a big reason why hands-on training is so important. It gives you the experience of interacting with people that you need to make a difference in the lives of your patients.
Education and Training for CNAs
If you don’t have all the technical knowledge or soft skills needed to become a CNA, that’s okay! There are lots of quality CNA training programs out there that can teach you what you need to know. In fact, many states in the US require you to take CNA training of some kind before you can apply for CNA jobs.1
Some of the topics you may cover or courses you might take in your CNA program include:
- Basic Nursing Skills
- Safety and Emergency Procedures
- Vital Signs Monitoring
- Infection Control and Safety
- Anatomy and Physiology
Most programs take a few weeks up to a few months to complete. You can learn the CNA skills you need, gain your certification, and be on your way to a career you love in less than a year!
Certification
It’s important to research your state’s certification requirements as you start to make your CNA career plans. Once you know what you need to get started, you can research different CNA training programs to make sure they teach you the skills and qualities of a CNA that you need to pass your certification exam.
For example, to become a certified nurse assistant in Connecticut, you need to:
- Attend and complete a state-approved nurse aide training program
- Complete the Connecticut Certified Nurse Aide Registry application
- Take and pass your certified nurse aide competency exams
Getting started with Training Direct!
For people interested in a CNA career in Connecticut, Training Direct offers a nurse aide program in Bridgeport, CT. With immersive coursework and clinicals, you can learn the skills and qualities you need to become a CNA and be on your way to a career you love in as little as 3-4 weeks!
*Training Direct has determined that its Nurse Aide program curriculum is sufficient to fulfill educational requirements for certification in the State of Connecticut only. No educational determinations have been made for any other state, district or US territory in regards to certification requirements.
- Nursing Assistants and Orderlies : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S.” Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nursing-assistants.htm. Accessed 5 August 2024.
