Nursing Assistant's Work Objectives

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) come in direct contact with the patients on a daily basis and have to take care of the ailing patients. They have to ensure that the patients are properly taken care of and help them in the recovery process. CNAs also act as an important link between the patients and the senior nurses as well as doctors and have to make sure that they keep track of the patient's health condition. There are some nursing assistant work objectives that the CNAs need to keep in mind while on-the-job.

Following are the nursing assistant's objective for work:

Personal Care 

Nursing assistants have to help the patients perform their daily tasks such as bathing, feeding, moving around, grooming, dressing as well as undressing. They are also responsible for collecting specimens from the patients as well as for administering medicines and certain treatments. The nursing assistants may also at times have to help the patients for recording their weight. Apart from this they have to record the patient's vitals like pulse rate, temperature and so on.

Physical Duties 

Nursing assistants are responsible for changing the linen either in the hospital rooms or the patient's home. They are responsible for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene, and hence have to clean the rooms and other work areas in the health-care facilities. Nursing assistant may require to lift the patients sometimes in order to help them move. They may have to transfer the patients from the wheelchair to the bed and vice versa. They are also responsible for setting up all the patient care equipment.

Nursing assistants are also assigned the duties such as, serving as well as collecting food trays, restraining the sick patients in case it is necessary, repositioning the bedridden patients in order to prevent bedsores, and keeping track of patients' health conditions and reporting the same to the senior nurses or doctors.

Administrative Objectives 

The administrative objectives of nursing assistants consists of answering phone calls and directing visitors to the right patient's room in the health-care facility. They are also responsible for delivering messages, documentation and doing certain clerical tasks. The nursing assistants also can schedule appointments with doctors for the patients.

Promote Positive Patient Care 

CNAs come in direct contact with the patients and they are in regular touch with the patients. The nursing assistant need to ensure that the stay of the patients is comfortable and they have to make the patients feel at ease. The nursing assistants should carry a positive attitude and support the patients who are sick to help them in speedy recovery. The nursing assistants need to be devoted and committed to their work and also towards patient care so that the patients feel relaxed and they recover at a faster pace.

Provide Emotional Support to Ailing Patients 

The nursing assistants come in touch with the ailing patients who are not only suffering physically, but are also mentally and emotionally distressed. It is the duty of the nursing assistant to lend a helping hand and offer the required mental and emotional support to the patients. They have to show empathy towards the patients condition and understand their needs well so that they can help the patients effectively.

Ensure Health as well as Safety of Patients 

The main goal of the nursing assistants is to ensure good patient health. They have to ensure that the patients are safe in the health-care facility and all their needs are met. They have to maintain cleanliness and hygiene to avoid the spreading of infections and diseases. They have to ensure that the health and safety of the patients is their top most priority.

Help in Proper Operation of the Medical Facility 

Medical or health facilities run best when each and every individual or worker in the facility works in coordination with others and cooperates with other coworkers. This implies that it is necessary for the nursing assistants to be good team players and have the ability to work cooperatively. The goals of the team should be more important than individual goals, ultimately for the benefit of the patients and the medical facility.

Share Medical Knowledge 

The nursing assistants have good knowledge about the basic medical treatments and it is a good practice to share this knowledge with the patients and their friends and family members. This will give them hope about the patient's recovery and reduce the mental pressure on them. Nursing assistants need to give quality care to the patients and in this process sharing of knowledge can go a long way in taking good care of the patients.

Other Objectives

It is also the responsibility of the nursing assistants to have good communication and interpersonal skills so that they can convey the messages properly to the patients, family members, doctors, senior nurses and coworkers. They have to plan and prioritize their tasks and manage their time effectively while handling the patients. They have to not only provide emotional support to the patients, but also have to help them in resolving conflicts and handling stressful situations so that it does not affect their health adversely.