What if it Were You? Nursing Assistant Patient Care

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CNA Traits Archives - What if it Were You? Nursing Assistant Patient Care

5 Traits to Avoid as Certified Nursing Assistants

December 30th, 2014

Are you curious about a career as a certified nursing assistant? Do you wish to set yourself apart from your competition? If so, there are many ways to accomplish these goals. While obtaining high-quality training through online CNA certification classes and passing the certification examination are two of the most effective ways to gain attention from employers, avoiding certain traits is equally as valuable. If you’re interested in setting yourself apart from others, while showcasing your strong character traits, strive to avoid these five common pitfalls.

Trait #1 – Unreliable Certified Nursing Assistants

Due to the nature of this work, employers and patients require CNAs to be extremely reliable. A lack of reliability can prove to be detrimental to not only your success, but even to the health of your patients. Therefore, all CNAs should strive to not only be reliable when it comes to showing up for work, but also while at work. Your mantra should be to follow through with what you say you’ll do and even go above-and-beyond what was asked of you. After some time, your reliability will be rewarded by your employer and patients.

Trait #2 – Remaining Inflexible to Workplace Changes

Certified Nursing Assistant careers are among the most dynamic in the medical industry. Not only are you responsible for caring for patients, but you must support the ever-evolving medical techniques and treatments performed by nurses and physicians. If you go into work with a set mentality that you’re only going to do the minimum, you’ll soon find yourself without a job. Strive to create a personality, and reputation, that’s extremely welcoming to change. Only say no to a request if you know that you’re unable to successfully fulfill the request.

Trait #3 – Lack of Teamwork

The heart and soul of the CNA position is teamwork. This profession demands teamwork in order to keep track of patient needs and create a fully functional Care Plan. Avoid belonging to specific cliques or only working alone. Your goal should be to assist in any way possible, which means anticipating the needs of your co-workers and patients. CNAs that avoid true teamwork are not only doing themselves a disservice, but also hindering the true level of care every patient deserves.

Trait #4 – Only Does the Minimum

One of the quickest ways to create displeasure among your employer is to only perform the minimum functions of your position. While you may satisfy the basic needs of your career choice, those who do not proactively work to exceed these expectations will soon find themselves first to be cut should layoffs occur. Due to the dynamic nature of this work environment, the best level of care is only provided by those who strive to avoid only doing the minimum.

Trait #5 – Laziness

We’ve all worked with someone who is endlessly lazy. They finish a task and then retreat to the back room to check their phone or catch a quick nap. If you find yourself more on the lazy side of the road, then this may not be the career choice for you; especially if you work in a high-energy environment such as a hospital. As a CNA your goal should be the opposite of lazy. Even after finishing your “required” duties, there is always something that needs to be done. Use these opportunities to work with more advanced-level nurses to help expand your knowledge of healthcare and various treatments. The best CNAs are those that are eager to learn and help in any fashion.

5 Traits of Successful CNAs

December 30th, 2014

When it comes to succeeding as a certified nursing assistant, there are many traits you must obtain. While some of these are gained during training, others are natural traits that can only be fostered by becoming aware of them. Of course, there are far more traits that are more useful to CNAs than that are listed below; however, the following traits are most common among, not only employed, but also also successful CNAs in a variety of facilities.

Successful CNAs Trait #1 – Proactive by Nature and Habit

One of the most essential traits any certified nursing assistant can obtain is a proactive nature. Throughout your daily duties, you are required to not only set forth established procedures, but to think ahead and proactively manage resources to initiate the highest level of care. The biggest mistake any CNA can make is simply reporting problems and sitting around waiting for another professional to correct them. Be proactive and watch your job opportunities grow.

Successful CNAs Trait #2 – Effective Time Management

Many certified nursing assistants feel that there aren’t enough hours in their shift to accomplish all they need to. While you may have a to-do list that’s a mile long, you can’t forget about the essential component of this job – communing with patients. Therefore, the most successful CNAs are those that know how to balance their time between patients to ensure that all patient needs are met.

Successful CNAs Trait #3 – Powerful Priotiziation

When you’re dealing with a hallway full of patients, it can be frustrating when it comes to determining who to tend to first. The most successful CNAs are those that understand how to prioritize patients based upon actual medical needs when compared to non-emergency needs of patients. While a CNA must tend to all patients with the same level of attention, they must know how to categorize patients based upon the urgency of care and need. By doing so, all patients are tended to in a timely manner.

Successful CNAs Trait #5 – Efficient Listening Skills

One of the most important character traits a CNA may contain is the ability to efficiently listen to patients and their supervisors. There is a major difference between listening and hearing. When you hear a patient/supervisor, you’re simply taking in what they’re saying; however, when you actually LISTEN you’re gathering information and formulating your responses and actions to best suit what you’ve heard. The most successful CNAs are those that utilize effective communication techniques to ensure there’s no confusion in what’s being said.