Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) play a vital and versatile role in home care. As a CNA, your main role is to provide care and assistance to patients who might need help in daily activities, such as changing clothes or taking a bath.
As more companies post job openings for CNAs within their organizations, here are four traits they’re looking for:
1. Observation
As a CNA, observing patients is a must. You’ll need to check on patients and observe their mental and physical health throughout the day. This means that as a CNA, you should pay attention to even the slightest changes. If there’s a change in a patient’s health, CNAs will need to be able to pick up on those variations and alert the appropriate medical professionals.
2. Organization
CNAs have many job duties, which is why it’s even more important for them to be organized and manage their time efficiently. Time management is also a key trait because often, CNAs work without supervision.
At the start of the day, a CNA may be helping out a patient. As the day progress, a CNA may switch to filing paperwork while continuing to care for that patient. Without good organization skills, an individual might lose track of important items, or forget to complete a task.
To stay on top of things, CNAs (and those looking to get into the profession) may want to utilize tools, such as calendars and task reminder mobile applications to help them while on the job.
3. Strong Interpersonal Skills
Caring for older patients is unlike any other job. CNAs must be able to display empathy and compassion when working with patients because some days will be easier than others. Even during difficult days, CNAs need to care for the patient, understand their needs and provide the high level of care expected from them.
4. Training and Education
While CNAs don’t have to go to college for a bachelor’s degree, they will still need to undergo some formal training to receive a postsecondary certificate.
Once a CNA obtains the minimal level of training and receives, he or she may still want to continue their education.
Looking for home health jobs that are available? Use the HHCN Job Board to find new opportunities.
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