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CNA Skills & Shift Helper

Skills, a timer, and the shift sheet

CNA skills checklist

Do not enter patient-identifying information. These steps are written for practice. They are not a state skill sheet and they are not affiliated with a testing company. Follow the nurse when the floor does it differently.

Handwashing

  1. Remove jewelry and push your sleeves up.
  2. Wet your hands and apply soap.
  3. Lather all surfaces, including the nails, for at least 20 seconds. — critical
  4. Rinse with your fingertips down.
  5. Dry with a clean towel and use that towel to turn off the faucet. — critical

Vital signs

  1. Explain what you are about to count.
  2. Count the pulse for a full minute when the rhythm is uneven. — critical
  3. Count respirations without announcing the count.
  4. Read the temperature with the device your floor uses.
  5. Write the numbers before you leave the room. — critical

Blood pressure

  1. Ask which arm the nurse said to use.
  2. Place a cuff of the right width on a bare arm. — critical
  3. Support the arm at heart level. — critical
  4. Inflate, then let the air out slowly while you listen.
  5. Record systolic and diastolic and remove the cuff.

Ambulation with a gait belt

  1. Lock the bed or chair before the person stands. — critical
  2. Put the gait belt over clothing, snug enough for a flat hand. — critical
  3. Stand on the weaker side. — critical
  4. Cue the person to push up from the surface, not from you.
  5. Walk a short distance and sit them back with the brakes locked.

Transfer with a gait belt

  1. Explain the move and place shoes on the feet.
  2. Lock both the bed and the wheelchair. — critical
  3. Apply the gait belt over clothing. — critical
  4. Help the person stand, pivot, and feel the chair on the back of the legs.
  5. Lower them down and place the footrests.

Range of motion, perineal care, bedpan, catheter care, feeding, intake and output, positioning, dressing, mouth care, and denture care are in the helper after the $9 purchase. Sign in to time a skill.