A nursing assistant is a medical officer whose work range can vary from watching admitted patient’s physical condition to maintaining their hygiene and feeding schedules. The main duty of the nursing assistant is the daily management of their patients such as taking care of the routine needs of the patients and report about the health of the patient to physicians. Following are the basic job responsibilities of a certified nursing assistant:

1. One of the basic tasks of the nursing assistant includes looking after the day to day personal activities of the patient. This often includes bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, feeding, ambulating and others. The nursing assistant is required to maintain the hygiene of the patient well. Along with the hygiene of the patient, the nursing assistant is also required to take care of the cleanliness of surrounding area like room, furniture, etc.
2. Nursing assistant not only take care of the patient’s hygiene but also keep an eye on the physical condition of the patient. It is their duty to look after vital sign’s of the patient such as measuring blood pressure, pulse, temperature and respiration. They are also required to collect patient’s specimens for laboratory tests.
3. Not only are the nursing assistant required to take care of feeding, toileting, bathing and other schedules of the patients, they are also required to assist the patient with various physical works such as doing light exercise, shifting positions, moving, lifting and transporting. Nursing assistant should help the patient to regain or maintain physical strength and musculoskeletal functions.
4. Nursing assistants are not only expected to assist the patients but are also expected to assist doctors and nurses in various tasks such as applying non-sterile dressings, handling of contaminated objects, reporting and observing environmental situations which might spread infection. They are also expected to maintain required documentations and paper works.
5. Nursing assistants are also expected to provide emotional and social support and comfort to the patients along with the physical support.
6. Nursing assistants are required to have a valid CNA license to work as a CNA. Moreover they are also required to have a good communication skill.
7. Nursing assistants must be willing to work in any time period. Since most medical facilities do not have a fixed schedule every day, nursing assistants should not expect for a 9-5 job. Instead they should be willing to work at any time of the day.