Duties To Be Performed By A Nurse Assistant
Every one is familiar with the term nurse assistant but most of them are unaware about the real meaning of it. People do not know about the real work that they do and the time constraints upon their work. As companies cut back on staff to save money, more duties are piled on nurse assistants and it becomes difficult for them to complete all their duties in the shift time allowed.
One of the major qualities for the nurse assistant is good communication skill which is considered to be vital. The assistant is to have interaction with various staff, family members, patients, nurses and others related to the medical profession. Some of the major duties of a nurse assistant are to aid in bathing, feeding, grooming and dressing the patients. These works are considered to be simple but when considering the huge work load and the time constraints put on them, even these simple tasks can be overwhelming.
Bathing usually includes a shower bath which depends on the care that is to be done with the patient. Other skills including grooming by combing hair, brushing teeth, applying make up, and cleaning dentures and shaving.. All these tasks must be completed for each and every patient.
One of the daily requirements includes taking note of the vital signs and also asking about their well being and development. Other than this there are several jobs done by them which includes taking notes of the temperature, respiration, pulse and even blood pressure. This is considered the major record which the other nurses and doctors review to determine the wellness of the patient.
In case of feeding, it might take almost 20 to sixty minutes and would largely depend on the quantity of food and also the capability of the person. This task should also be recorded on the specific charts and they also needs to administer the needs of the patients to take in vitamins or nutritional supplements as some of them need it and some may not.
There are those who can take food by themselves and for those it is necessary to guide them to the dining place. It might include grooming and lifting them up from the wheel chair and such things. For ensuring hygiene the nursing assistants should change any soiled dressings or beddings of the patients. For various people the approach is quite different.
Other than all these tasks, it is very important to support the patient emotionally and mentally so that he can better improve on his health. Therefore a major role is played by the nursing assistants alone. The nursing assistant provides a vital role in health care and the recovery of each individual patient.
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