Member of a Healthcare Team Study Guide for the CNA

Page 1

General Information

The healthcare team is composed of several types of professionals, each with his or her own expertise. Regardless of role, each member of the team works together to come up with and implement a comprehensive care plan that will best serve the resident’s medical, nursing, emotional, psychosocial, and functional needs.

The Healthcare Team

As a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), you must know the role of each member of the team. Be informed of your specific roles and responsibilities and know who to communicate with if any sort of problem with the client arises.

Other healthcare team members include, but are not limited to, the physician who is in charge of treating the illness, the nursing staff (including the licensed nurse, medical aides, and CNAs), the social worker who attends to the emotional and social needs of the client and the client’s family members, the chaplain or spiritual counselor, and the physical therapist.

The setup and size of the team depends on the type of the healthcare system, which could be a hospital, nursing home, hospice, or clinic. The type of healthcare system could also be a factor in any possible additions to your list of duties.

The Role of the CNA

Your role as CNA is different from the licensed nurse in several important ways, but this does not mean that it is not important. You cannot dispense medication, handle IVs, or perform official client assessments. But you may spend the most amount of “hands-on” time with the client, so it is not uncommon for you to notice changes in the client’s condition or demeanor before other members of the healthcare team do.

You are also responsible for providing direct care, ensuring the client’s comfort, safety, and welfare, and helping the client meet various health needs and goals.

Activities of Daily Living

Directly caring for the client largely means attending to his or her Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). ADLs are everyday physical activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, tending to hygiene and toilet activities, positioning, transferring, ambulating, and even communicating if needed.

As a CNA, you are responsible for ensuring that the clients feel at ease physically and emotionally by helping them maintain a positive, neat, and approachable image and an environment reminiscent of home.

Any sign of client discomfort must not be put off for later and must be attended to immediately. For example, if the client call light goes on, you should respond immediately to avoid any serious problem or complication.

Client Safety

As a hands-on member of the healthcare team, you are largely responsible for the client’s safety. Ascertain the resident’s safety by strictly following procedure, being vigilant at all times, and reporting any minor and major changes in the client’s condition to the appropriate source. Avoid situations that may endanger the safety of the client, or for which you may be charged with negligence.

For example, in most facilities, identifying the resident prior to administering any type of individualized care is a standard procedure in order to avoid wrongful treatment, which could be dangerous or even fatal to the client.

Ensure the environment is kept clean and hygienic by practicing proper infection control. Any form of bodily fluid must be assumed contaminated. Because you are in charge of the client’s daily activities and may come into contact with such fluids, wash your hands before and after care and use gloves during any procedure that involves known fluid exposure, such as cleaning a urinary drainage bag.

Assessment and Assisting

Be mindful of the health needs of the clients by reporting any and all changes to their appearance, attitude, disposition, behavior, mood, energy level, and degree of complaining. Use your senses for objective observation such as seeing bruises, hearing moans of pain, or smelling foul odors, and listening for complaints of client discomfort or unhappiness.

Report any changes, complaints, or oddities observed to the nurse in charge. Regularly report the resident’s vitals, such as pulse, temperature, blood pressure, and respiration, as well as client’s weight, food and liquid intake, and elimination habits. This information is very important for the other members of the healthcare team to do their job properly, so make sure to use the proper tools and measurements designated by the facility where you work.

During treatments or procedures in which the licensed nurse will be heading the administration, the nursing aide may be called on to assist. Again, be aware of the legal limitations of the procedures you can perform (which you cannot refuse or neglect) or cannot perform (which you have a right to refuse).

All Study Guides for the CNA are now available as downloadable PDFs