CNA specialist chapter 1 Key terms

Activities of daily living (ADL)

refers to activities a daily living such as bathing, toileting, grooming, and dressing, etc.

Acute

refers to an illness with a sudden onset, severe symptoms and short duration

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

individual who has completed a state approved course and successfully passed the required competency evaluation

Chronic

refers to an illness with a gradual onset and long duration (high BP, diabetes, heart disease)

dependent

refers to a resident who requires staff assistance with ADL

HIPAA

Federal law that requires the security and privacy of health information

Independent

having the ability to meet one’s own needs without assistance

Interdisciplinary care team

professionals from each discipline within the healthcare facility who meet, discussed, and plan the care of the resident

Long-term care (LTC)

level of care for persons needing care on a 24 hour per day basis over an extended period of time

Nonverbal communication

communication without words, i.e. facial expressions, tone of voice, body, language, gestures, posture, touch, etc.

Objective information

factual information obtained through the use of senses i.e. what is seen heard touched or smelled; a direct observation; what the CNA observes

Ombudsman

a resident advocate; one who investigates complaints and helps achieve a resolution; advocate for the rights of residents

palliative care

care that focuses on the comfort and dignity of the person in the terminal stages of an illness; care that prefers comfort rather than than cure

Person centered care

a philosophical approach to nursing home care that honors and respects the opinions and preferences of the elderly, and those working close with them it involves a continuing process of listening, trying new things seeing how they work and changing things in an effort to individualized care and de-institutionalized the nursing home environment

Professionalism

characteristics and behaviors suitable for persons engaged in a profession i.e. maintaining a positive attitude, keeping information, confidential being polite, keeping a meet appearance, etc.

Scope of practice

refers to the tasks required for the job that are part of the CNA training and education, i.e. feeding residence, assisting residence with toileting, making beds, etc.

Skilled care

medically, necessary care given by a physician, nurse or therapist

Subjective information

information that is based on what a person thinks or something that was reported by another person which may or may not be true information, not personally observed; what the patient tells you

Verbal communication

written or spoken messages

Director of nursing (DON)

usually a registered nurse who is responsible for the entire nursing staff and all the activities involved in giving safe nursing care

Role of the CNA

they meet the daily care, comfort health needs hygiene, safety nutrition, exercise, and elimination needs of residents

AIDET

Acknowledge, introduce, duration, explanation, thank you

Confidentiality

A legal and moral obligation of every healthcare worker

beyond CNA’s scope of practice

Procedures that require sterile technique, administer medications, or invasive procedures

Routine reporting

to verbally inform the charge nurse about care that has been given or observations made this is usually done at the end of the shift

Barriers to effective communication

cliché, slang, visually impaired, hearing impaired, emotions

Regression

to return mentally or emotionally to an earlier period of time during which one felt more comfortable or secure

Repression

to hold down or keep back unpleasant or painful thoughts/experiences from the conscious mind

Call lights

the resident’s means of communication which must be on the persons unaffected side and within reach at all times