Nursing Assistant Duties and Responsibilities

Becoming a nursing assistant means that the student is going to take on a vital role in the care that is provided to patients, on a very personal level. The nursing assistant provides care to the patient physically, but also provides a high level of emotional support to the patient that has been admitted to the hospital or care facility.

Here are some of the duties that are expected of a nursing assistant working in a health care facility:

Emotional Support
 

Emotional support is an essential part of the patient care. It is important that the patient feel their needs are understood, as well as the patient feeling as if they are being cared for throughout the process and course of their treatment. The nursing assistant can provide the patient with the information that they need, and act as a liaison between the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals that are taking part in the treatment.

Medication Delivery
 

Nursing assistants are currently being trained with the information needed to distribute the medication to the patient. The medication is ordered by physicians and distributed by nurses throughout the hospital, allowing the nursing assistant to take part in the care of the patient through the medication that is given as the course of the treatment.

The Collection of Samples
 

The nursing assistant is responsible for the collection of samples from the patient through various mediums, aside from blood that is drawn from the patient. This can include stool and urine samples that are collected as well as samples of hair and other swabs that are completed from wounds or from infection sites of the body. These samples are than delivered to the laboratory after they have been labeled by the nursing assistant.

Bathing Assistance
 

There are many patients in the hospital that are unable to bathe themselves. For this reason, the nursing assistants provide care for these patients through the assistance with bathing and other activities. Through the assistance, the individual is able to have help with regular activities that are completed through the bath or shower, including the washing of the hair and the body, as well as
 

Learning about the various responsibilities of the nursing assistant can provide the student with knowledge that is necessary to determine whether this is the right career for them or whether they are best suited to a different profession that has other duties required through the course of the shift.