The primary role of a nursing assistant or home health aide is to provide essential aid to people who are unable to perform their daily activities of life. A home health aide generally provides assistance to such people while executing tasks like personal care, getting dressed, eating and help them move around their home. Nursing assistants offer aid to seniors who are unable to independently carry out everyday activities.
Generally, different people require nursing assistance services:
- Senior citizens
- Disabled people
- People who are homebound
- Seniors affected by dementia
Certified nursing assistants provide aid to people in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and patients’ homes. Certified nursing assistants mainly work under the supervision of licensed staff like registered or practical nurses.
Main Tasks of Certified Nursing Assistants:
A home health aide can perform various tasks and make older adults’ lives easier in their home. The nursing assistants are professionally trained people and their main motive in providing home care is to improve the quality of life of certain people who find difficulties while doing basic domestic chores or activities. The typical responsibilities of nursing assistants generally include:
Lifting And Moving Patients:
Home health aides are professionally trained to lift and move seniors who are unable to move on their own. Home health aides also provide repositioning of bedridden patients for their convenience and comfort.
Take Vital Signs:
The nursing assistant monitors the vital signs of their clients including blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, or blood sugar. By monitoring vital signs, the nursing assistants help the patients towards improved health. Their healthcare professionals also take action according to the monitored vital signs.
Provide The Patient With A Clean And Sanitized Environment:
Hygiene plays an essential role in the recovery process. One of the main tasks of the nursing assistants is to provide the patients with a clean and sanitized environment. This includes daily changing of sheets or bedpans and sanitizing the equipment to minimize the spread of germs and diseases.
Serve Regular Meals To The Patients:
Appropriate nutrition can speed up the recovery process. That’s why it is really necessary for patients to receive healthy meals on time. The nursing assistants provide patients with regular meals . This can include tasks like grocery shopping or meal prepping.
Give Medication Reminders:
The intake of medicines on time is a major component of the recovery process. Certified nursing assistants give daily reminders to the patients to take their medications. Nursing assistants also drive patients to regular medical appointments if needed.
Inform The Family In Case of An Emergency:
Home health aides immediately inform other family members or seek medical help in case of any mishap or emergency situation to avoid severe consequences.
Provide Companionship Or Friendship:
The patients are completely dependent on nursing assistants and sometimes also seek emotional help and spiritual support from them. So, nursing assistants provide empathy and comfort to patients in their homes while performing their regular tasks. Nursing assistant and patients form bonds of companionship, trust, and friendship.
Provide Regular Grooming To The Patients:
Nursing assistants often provide help in the grooming tasks of patients like brushing teeth, combing hair, and shaving when the patient is unable to do so.
When To Think About In-Home Care Assistance?
Various signs determine that you might be in a need of in-home care assistance.
- When an individual finds trouble while getting dressed.
- Complications in toileting and bathing.
- Unable to prepare regular meals or need assistance while cooking.
- The nutritional needs are not fulfilled due to problems in consuming food.
- Medications are sometimes missed or forgotten.
- Walking requires assistance, or frequent falls occur.
- Ignorance of household chores like cleaning or cooking.
- There are frequent confusion or memory issues, and items are regularly lost.
Qualities To Consider While Choosing Nursing Assistants:
Home care assistants spend a lot of time with people and assist with their every in-home task, so while considering a nursing assistant, many things should be kept in mind.
1. Good Communication Skills:
Nursing assistants should have good communication skills to easily communicate with the patient and understand their needs or requirements. In addition to communicating with patients, the home care assistants also communicate with the healthcare professionals, other family members of patients, and nurses. Home care assistants should adjust their tones and terminologies when contacting different people to improve their understanding.
2. Patience:
One of the top qualities of nursing assistants is patience. Home care assistants mostly deal with older adults who might have cognitive deficits or mood disorders The assistant needs to be tolerant and patient while helping the patients. Some patients can become aggressive due to Alzheimer’s disease and other related diseases. So, the assistants are supposed to aid these patients with tolerance.
3. Emotional Stability:
Another important quality of nursing assistants is emotional stability. The task to take care of elderly or disabled people can be exhausting sometimes. In such cases, emotionally stable people do not exhibit strong reactions and are more successful and proactive in stressful situations. The emotionally stable nursing assistants remain calm and composed while tackling nerve-racking or tough situations.
4. Observance:
It is very necessary for home health aides to be observant and pay attention to every small detail. The home care assistants should check on minor changes in patients’ eating or sleeping patterns because even small changes can cause serious health problems so, every tiny detail should be evaluated.
5. Empathy And Compassion:
Empathy simply means having the ability to assume oneself in the patient’s situation and feel their pain. Empathetic and compassionate nursing assistants can understand people’s thoughts, viewpoints, or feelings without any judgment and try to be there with them in their suffering and agony to provide emotional and spiritual support.
6. Flexibility:
Home care assistants need to be more adaptable and flexible while taking care of patients. Sometimes the elderly or disabled people need more than the committed time or require extra help. The nursing assistants should be flexible enough in their schedules and help the patients in every possible way. The qualities of flexibility and resilience play a very significant role in the nursing profession.