Automatically apply for jobs with Zippi

Upload your resume to get started.

Certified nurses' aide skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE,

Marina Orobinskaia

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical certified nurses' aide skills. We ranked the top skills for certified nurses' aides based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 17.4% of certified nurses' aide resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a certified nurses' aide needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 certified nurses' aide skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how certified nurses' aides use patients:

Provided assistance for disabled patients through daily living activities to enable the highest level of patient independence
Participated in several company activities with the goal of getting patients active and maintaining socialization.

2. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use vital signs:

Recorded vital signs/information in medical records prepared and administered medications as directed by a physician and nurses.
Provided vital signs independently while documenting and reporting to a Registered Nurse.

3. Care Plan

Here's how certified nurses' aides use care plan:

Follow resident care plans, walking/transfer instructions and restorative program as indicated.
Maintain homelike environment*Follow Care plans made for patient*Assist with feeding*Give showers

4. Blood Pressure

Here's how certified nurses' aides use blood pressure:

Distributed daily vitamins and monitored blood pressure.
Take and record vital signs to include, blood pressure, temperature, weight, and record and measure both intake/output.

5. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use customer service:

Enhanced customer service and improved quality of living by providing a positive experience for every patient.
Provide excellent customer service to residents and family members*Assist Patients with needs of everyday living.

6. Infection Control

Infection control describes the principles and practices used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to control and minimize the spread of infections with the aim of lowering rates of infection. Infection control refers to the process of detecting and controlling pathogens in order to reduce their spread.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use infection control:

Maintained departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality assurance program, safety, environmental and infection control standards.
Reported and/or responded to unsafe environmental conditions and infractions of safety and infection control policies.

Choose from 10+ customizable certified nurses' aide resume templates

Build a professional certified nurses' aide resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your certified nurses' aide resume.

7. Fluid Intake

Here's how certified nurses' aides use fluid intake:

Collect samples for testing, perform routine laboratory tests, feed patients, and record food and fluid intake and output.
Assist nursing staff by obtaining resident vital signs, weights, bandage changes, and monitoring fluid intake and output.

8. Home Health

Here's how certified nurses' aides use home health:

Certified Home Health AidCertified Medication Aid
Home health-Respite, Housekeeping, Transfers, Showers, Transportation to activities, Shopping, Medication reminders, Physical Therapy.

9. Resident Care

Here's how certified nurses' aides use resident care:

Provide daily resident care, patient safety advocate, behavior monitoring, maintain daily private medical documentation.
Provide clerical and communication support related to operations of the facility & resident care.

10. Oral Hygiene

Oral hygiene is the terminology used to describe the state and measurement of cleanliness and health in one's mouth and, sometimes, the surrounding areas. The most basic way of ensuring and improving a good oral hygiene is the regular brushing of one's teeth, but trips to the dentist and other healthcare professionals are a common need, even if it is just for check-ups.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use oral hygiene:

Provided in home care to elderly and bed ridden patients; assisted with bathing, oral hygiene, and hair maintenance.
Assist patients with activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, and oral hygiene.

11. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use cpr:

Certified in BLS (Basic Life Support) including CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and Telemetry monitoring (Heart rhythms).
Experienced in basic treatments such as CPR, removing IV access, and administration of medical creams, or powders.

12. Quality Care

Here's how certified nurses' aides use quality care:

Provided quality care to dementia residents by assisting with orientation and maintaining eye contact with disoriented patients.
Organized travel schedule accordingly, with special attention to timeliness and accountability to quality care.

13. Direct Patient Care

Here's how certified nurses' aides use direct patient care:

Administered direct patient care of geriatric population in the skilled and assisted living environment.
Direct patient care*Weekend Activity Assistant* Shower team* Document care given

14. Food Trays

A food tray is a flat surface for serving foods, snacks, and drinks. Food trays help waiters deliver orders efficiently and on time, and customers in carrying food with ease.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use food trays:

Bathed, dressed and undressed patients, changed catheters, served and collected food trays and fed patients requiring help.
Assisted patients with managing nutritional needs by preparing and checking food trays, feeding and monitoring food intake.

15. ADL

ADL is a clinical shorthand for "activities of daily living." It includes tasks such as feeding, dressing, bathing, and caring for one's self and personal hygiene.

Here's how certified nurses' aides use adl:

Provided designated care for residents including distribution of medication, personal hygiene assistance and ADL care
Assisted residents with bathing, feeding, transferring, oral care, etc., care tracked on vital signs and ADL's

5 Certified Nurses' Aide resume examples

Build a professional certified nurses' aide resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 5+ resume templates to create your certified nurses' aide resume.

Create my resume

Build a professional resume in minutes using this template.

What skills help Certified Nurses' Aides find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What certified nurses' aide skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE

Clinical Associate Professor

As the nursing shortage intensifies, health care facilities are increasing their hourly wages and the supplemental wages of working off-shifts or weekends. They are enticing new graduates with sign-on bonuses that they receive in portions over a specified period of time (like 1-2 years). Many facilities are also offering tuition reimbursements so new graduates can pay off their student loans. I am sure there are other measures but these are the ones I hear most about from our graduates.

What hard/technical skills are most important for certified nurses' aides?

Marina Orobinskaia

Program Coordinator, Bellevue College

There are no more or less important skills. You need to learn all of them to excellence and what is most important - use your critical thinking when you do them.

Do you want to know more?

List of certified nurses' aide skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a certified nurses' aide resume and required skills for a certified nurses' aide to have include:

Patients
Vital Signs
Care Plan
Blood Pressure
Customer Service
Infection Control
Fluid Intake
Home Health
Resident Care
Oral Hygiene
CPR
Quality Care
Direct Patient Care
Food Trays
ADL
Compassion
Signal Lights

Bed Linens
Medication Administration
Motion Exercises
Emotional Support
Long-Term Care Facility
Nail Care
Catheter
Meal Preparation
Medical Procedures
Skin Care
Oral Care
HIPAA
Bedpans
Urinals
Alzheimer
Direct Supervision
Assistive Devices

Hippa
Home Management
Medical Equipment
Patient Care
Physical Therapy
Hoyer
Dentures
Patient Rooms
Bed Pans
Senior Care
Patient Behavior
Catheter Care
Intercom Systems
Gait Belts
Physical Support
Allergies

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare support jobs