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What does a registered nursing assistant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a registered nursing assistant do

The main role of a certified nurse assistant is to provide basic care to patients and help them with daily activities they might have trouble doing on their own, such as bathing and getting dressed. Their responsibilities include taking vital signs, providing food to patients and helping them eat, and lifting and moving patients who cannot move by themselves. Cleaning patients and maintaining a clean and sanitized environment is also important in this role.

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Registered nursing assistant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real registered nursing assistant resumes:

  • Train in Phlebotomy, CPR, EKG, blood draws and train new staff.
  • Provide ACLS care to patients.
  • Learned how to use a Hoyer lift, sit-to-stand, and automatic blood pressure machine.
  • Select to train new staff in resident care, resulting in more team cohesion/increas collaboration and compassion for residents.
  • Maintain strict monitoring, diagnosis, and troubleshooting of specialize hemodialysis equipment to ensure patient safety.
  • Provide one-on-one rehabilitative physical therapy care to geriatric, orthopedic, and neurological cases in a home healthcare setting.
  • Monitor patients during and after surgical procedures, maintain homeostasis, and discuss post-operative instructions with patients and family members.
  • Provide direct quality care with adult patients, collaborating with physicians on patient conditions while implementing orders and providing patient education.
  • Skil at providing BLS and ACLS.
  • Provide BLS to employees within the company.
  • Travele to various locations to provide PRN PTA services
  • Code blue team; initiating life saving measures and CPR
  • Change residents clothing as needed throughout shift to ensure that cleanliness and dignity is preserved.
  • Coordinate surgery schedule with surgeons, anesthesiologist and staff.
  • Inform doctors and anesthesiologists of any pertinent information pertaining to patient and surgery to be perform.

Registered nursing assistant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 20% of Registered Nursing Assistants are proficient in Patients, BLS, and Surgery. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Patience.

We break down the percentage of Registered Nursing Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 20%

    Assisted patients with their post-operation recovery; applied sterile dressings and maintained drainage devices

  • BLS, 12%

    Provided BLS to employees within the company.

  • Surgery, 7%

    Informed doctors and anesthesiologists of any pertinent information pertaining to patient and surgery to be performed.

  • Quality Care, 5%

    Performed nursing assessment and delivered quality care for residents, including medication administration/monitoring and wound care.

  • Home Health, 4%

    Provided superior home health care to people with varying ailments and needs in both home settings and long-term care facilities.

  • CPR, 4%

    Nurse delegation courses CPR First Aid Mental Health

"patients," "bls," and "surgery" are among the most common skills that registered nursing assistants use at work. You can find even more registered nursing assistant responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a registered nursing assistant to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "nursing assistants and orderlies must communicate effectively to address patients’ or residents’ concerns." Registered nursing assistants often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assisted in providing direct patient care while refining skills in communication and critical thinking"

Compassion. Many registered nursing assistant duties rely on compassion. "nursing assistants and orderlies assist and care for the sick, injured, and elderly," so a registered nursing assistant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways registered nursing assistant responsibilities rely on compassion: "emphasized on compassion and recognizing change in residents' condition and implementing the care to resolve any changes as indicated. "

Patience. This is an important skill for registered nursing assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how registered nursing assistant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "the routine tasks of cleaning, feeding, and bathing patients or residents can be stressful." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a registered nursing assistant: "exemplified patience and compassion to patients in rehabilitation center, who were eager to improve and regain independence. ".

Physical stamina. For certain registered nursing assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "physical stamina." The day-to-day duties of a registered nursing assistant rely on this skill, as "nursing assistants and orderlies spend much of their time on their feet." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what registered nursing assistants do: "conduct physical assessments on patients entering fda clinical trial, collect laboratory samples, perform ekg testing. "

All registered nursing assistant skills

The three companies that hire the most registered nursing assistants are:

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Compare different registered nursing assistants

Registered nursing assistant vs. Prn

A PRN or a "pro re nata" employee is responsible for covering a shift or a specific situation, especially during short-staffing or the need to complete a particular task. The PRNs often work for a medical industry without a regular or full-time commitment, having the freedom to manage their time and take multiple assignments from different organizations. A PRN must have excellent communication and organization skills, providing quality healthcare services to the patients and the organization.

The annual salary of prns is $11,002 lower than the average salary of registered nursing assistants.Even though registered nursing assistants and prns are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, surgery, and quality care in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between registered nursing assistants and prn. For instance, registered nursing assistant responsibilities require skills such as "bls," "rnfa," "infection control," and "surgical procedures." Whereas a prn is skilled in "healthcare," "occupational therapy," "acute care," and "acls." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Prns tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $49,871. In contrast, registered nursing assistants make the biggest average salary, $38,970, in the health care industry.prns tend to reach higher levels of education than registered nursing assistants. In fact, prns are 5.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Registered nursing assistant vs. Patients transporter

A patients transporter is responsible for transporting patients from one place to assigned healthcare facilities to receive medical care and treatment. Patients transporters assist with moving the patients, such as on wheelchairs and beds, depending on their conditions. They also deliver laboratory tests, medical equipment, specimens, and other medical-related records to different institutions advised by healthcare management. A patients transporter must always adhere to the regulatory procedures to maintain safe and secure operations, especially on ensuring patients' comfort during transportation.

Patients transporter positions earn lower pay than registered nursing assistant roles. They earn a $21,168 lower salary than registered nursing assistants per year.A few skills overlap for registered nursing assistants and patients transporters. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "patients," "home health," and "cpr. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real registered nursing assistant resumes. While registered nursing assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "bls," "surgery," "quality care," and "rnfa," patients transporters use skills like "stretchers," "jcaho," "oxygen tanks," and "transport equipment."

In general, patients transporters achieve similar levels of education than registered nursing assistants. They're 3.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Registered nursing assistant vs. Medication aide

A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them. They follow written or verbal instructions from physicians on how to manage their patients' medications. Medication aides are also required to observe their patients and document changes in their conditions.

An average medication aide eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of registered nursing assistants. The difference in salaries amounts to medication aides earning a $9,845 lower average salary than registered nursing assistants.Using the responsibilities included on registered nursing assistants and medication aides resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "patients," "quality care," and "home health.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a registered nursing assistant is likely to be skilled in "bls," "surgery," "rnfa," and "surgical procedures," while a typical medication aide is skilled in "resident care," "state regulations," "incident reports," and "memory care."

Medication aides make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $39,103. On the other hand, registered nursing assistants are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $38,970.Most medication aides achieve a similar degree level compared to registered nursing assistants. For example, they're 2.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Registered nursing assistant vs. Licensed practical nurse

Licensed practical nurses are considered leading front liners in the clinic or hospital setting. They assist nurses and doctors in conducting various activities related to sick or injured patients. Licensed practical nurses are primarily expected to provide routine care for patients and assist registered nurses in creating care plans. They maintain and update medical records, prepare patients for medical examinations, help patients dress, bath, or eat, take vital signs, administer and monitor medicine intake, monitor patients and update nurses and doctors on patient status, and assist during medical examinations.

Licensed practical nurses average a higher salary than the annual salary of registered nursing assistants. The difference is about $2,268 per year.While their salaries may vary, registered nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "patients," "quality care," and "home health. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between registered nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a registered nursing assistant might have more use for skills like "bls," "surgery," "rnfa," and "surgical procedures." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of licensed practical nurses require skills like "resident care," "wound care," "triage," and "work ethic. "

The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for licensed practical nurses, with average annual pay of $51,702. Comparatively, the highest registered nursing assistant annual salary comes from the health care industry.licensed practical nurses reach similar levels of education compared to registered nursing assistants, in general. The difference is that they're 3.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of registered nursing assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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