National Nursing Assistant Week is June 17-24: Nursing Assistants and The Important Role They Play in Healthcare
By Brenda Kozak, MSN, RN, CNE | June 15, 2021
Nursing assistants are an important part of the healthcare team and play a vital role in providing direct patient care. Choosing a career in healthcare is challenging, but rewarding. The nursing assistant not only provides physical care for their patients or residents, but often provides emotional and spiritual support. This makes a valuable contribution to quality of life and notable difference in many lives.
What are some of the tasks that nursing assistants do on a daily basis?
The role of the nursing assistant may vary by clinical setting and department. Simply put, nursing assistants provide basic care to patients and assist with activities of daily living. In addition to taking vital signs and helping with activities, one of the primary roles of the nursing assistant is to assist in providing hygiene care for the patient or resident. This direct care role necessitates the ability to understand how the human body’s largest organ, the skin, plays a protective role in our body’s defense system. For populations requiring continence management, the nursing assistant is part of the clinical care team, and often provides a large part of routine care.
Our recently updated course, Moisture Associated Skin Damage and Continence Management for Nursing Assistants, provides a comprehensive overview on normal skin condition and how to recognize damage caused by prolonged exposure to moisture. With the goal of healthy skin, this course is sure to be popular with the nursing assistant. The week of June 17-24 has been observed to celebrate, recognize, and show appreciation for the nursing assistant. Many thanks to the nursing assistants for all you do!
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021). Nursing assistants and orderlies. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nursing-assistants.htm
About the author:
Brenda Kozak, MSN, RN, CNE has over 17 years of clinical nursing experience in a variety of healthcare settings. She has a Master’s degree in nursing with a focus on education, and has teaching experience in clinical and academic settings. Brenda currently is a certified nurse educator pursuing her doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) from the Northern Illinois University.