Stay competitive in health care hiring: Key skills of a CNA for the resume
Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) provide basic care to patients, checking their vital signs, assisting with hygiene tasks, serving meals, and lifting or moving patients. CNAs also assist nurses by stocking medical supplies, maintaining a sanitary environment, and communicating patients' conditions and needs. This is a great entry-level position for individuals with a passion for helping others. CNAs can find employment in nursing homes, home health care services, and hospitals. Prime yourself for success in your job search by featuring a compelling CNA skills list on your resume.
What are certified nursing assistant skills?
CNA job skills are the essential capabilities and qualifications that make you a good fit for a role in an entry-level health care career. Many CNAs get started in this career and later decide to go on to work as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse. Your CNA skills will serve you well throughout your health care career. Including the right strengths and abilities on your CNA resume lets potential employers know that you're well-equipped for the unique responsibilities of this job.
Essential CNA skills and qualifications
Build a strong resume that's designed to land you an entry-level career in health care by considering your skill set carefully. The following CNA resume skills list includes essential areas employers are looking at when hiring for this position. Once your resume is polished, upload it so you're ready to apply for prime job openings with the click of a button.
Communication
As a CNA, you'll need both written and verbal communication skills. Detail your ability to communicate with patients and family members using layman's terms that they'll be comfortable with while using the proper medical terminology when communicating with nurses and other health care professionals. If you have experience communicating properly with dementia patients, this is a valuable skill to highlight. If you're applying to work for a nursing home or home health care agency, you'll likely encounter patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, where this skill is crucial.
Attention to detail
There's no room for sloppiness or oversights in the health care industry. You must practice keen attention to detail in all your activities. Explain your strategies for ensuring that essential steps are never overlooked, such as using checklists and smartphone reminders. Provide examples of how you've demonstrated your attention to detail in the past, such as analyzing data, proofreading for errors, or double-checking documents for accuracy.
Medical terminology
As a CNA, you'll need to understand common medical terminology, such as anterior, lateral, proximal, and posterior. If you've previously worked in health care, you may have opportunities to use proper medical terminology when listing your previous job duties, such as assisting with exercises to prevent atrophy, feeding patients with dysphagia, or caring for prostheses. You can also list your familiarity with medical terminology as its own separate skill.
Dependability and timeliness
CNAs must be prompt and reliable in their responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of their patients. Medication reminders must occur at the appropriate time to ensure their effectiveness. Early arrival at doctor's appointments ensures that the patient never misses an important visit. In addition, properly timed vitals provide nurses and physicians with the right information to make medical decisions. Provide examples of your keen timeliness in past jobs to assure employers that you're equipped for such responsibilities.
Physical fitness
CNAs often need to help patients as they transfer to or from a wheelchair, toilet, or shower seat. Physical fitness is a key skill for this profession. If you participate in activities that promote and maintain fitness, include these on your resume as relevant points that verify this capability.
Compassion
Though CNAs don't perform medical procedures like LPNs or RNs might, they still serve an important purpose in patients' daily lives. One of the most valuable services a CNA provides is emotional care and companionship. Older adults can become isolated and depressed. Loneliness isn't just bad for mental and emotional health, it's also devastating to physical health, having been linked to higher incidences of heart disease, obesity, anxiety, high blood pressure, and cognitive decline. Include any job or volunteer activity that demonstrates your compassion when building your CNA resume.
Safety
CNAs typically spend significant time in their patients' living environments. Whether this is the individual's home, a nursing home suite, or a hospital room, the CNA must evaluate the area daily for proper safety measures. Include your safety skills on your resume, and detail specific abilities, such as a keen eye for tripping hazards or knowledge of measures that prevent wandering in patients with dementia. Infection control skills also promote the safety of your patients.
Interpersonal skills
As a CNA, you'll interact with a diverse range of people, including patients and their family members. Knowing how to artfully navigate these relationships is a key skill that distinguishes a good CNA from a great one. You may find yourself working with a patient with a terminal illness where comforting the family is a key part of supporting them. Explain any situations that demonstrate your strong interpersonal skills on your resume.
CNA education and certification
"Most CNA training programs can be completed in as little as four to 16 weeks."
The skills of a nurse assistant and CNA are the same, so you can use the above resume tips for either position. However, you'll need specialized education to qualify as a CNA. You don't have to have a college degree to enroll in a CNA program, though you'll need either a high school diploma or the equivalent. Most CNA training programs can be completed in as little as four to 16 weeks. These programs include education and training on:
- Anatomy
- Workplace safety
- Basic nursing care
- Infection control
- Personal hygiene
- Vital signs
- Charting techniques
- Patient rights
The CNA program typically concludes with clinical training, a CNA exam, and CNA certification. Every state has different CNA requirements for certification and recertification, so you'll need to check with the state or states where you're applying to work. For example, Maine mandates 180 hours of CNA training, Arizona requires a minimum of 120 training hours, and Alabama requires just 75 hours.
The difference between a resume for a state-tested nurse aide and a CNA
A state-tested nurse aide is the same as a CNA in terms of job duties and required skills. The only difference is the state-mandated designation. In Ohio, CNAs are referred to as "STNAs". Nursing assistants who want to work in Ohio must obtain the STNA licensure specific to the state. In other states, the term "CNA" is used, though exact training and licensure requirements still vary.
You'll use the same STNA skills for a resume that you would use for a CNA resume. Simply specify your STNA training and certification as opposed to CNA certification to qualify for a job in the state of Ohio.
Including these key CNA skills on your resume can help make your application stand out. Use specific responsibilities, accomplishments, and examples related to these skills as much as possible to highlight how you're the best-equipped applicant for the job.
More tips for getting a job in health care
Consider why you want a career in nursing and convey that passion and enthusiasm in your cover letter, resume, and interview.
Craft a resume that addresses some of the common questions asked in a nursing interview to let employers know you're the right fit for the job.
Explore other jobs in health care, such as technology careers, to make sure that nursing is the best fit for your skillset.
Take a deep dive into the health care industry and consider alternative careers, such as diagnostic medical sonography, which provides significant patient contact with a short educational program.
