CNA Class Report 1: CNA’S At High Risk for Work-Related Injuries As a CNA, it is their role to take care and help patients or residents that are in need of it; all while doing so under their scope of practice. Scope of practice refers to the things that a CNA was trained to do, is certified to do and able to perform. CNA tasks will vary depending on the facility and patient, but for some CNA’s unfortunately, the task could come with an injury.
The article “Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes at High Risk of Work-Related Injuries” (written by Joshua Wiener and Wayne Anderson) talks about the high risk that nursing assistants face on a daily basis while working at nursing homes. A study done in 2004 by National Nursing Assistant Survey and National Nursing Home Survey, found that 60. 2 percent of all CNA’s reported being injured the year prior while 24 percent of those being unable to work because of the injury (Anderson and Wiener).
Though lifting the residents was the most common form of injury, aggression from residents, cuts, and back problems were not far behind (Anderson and Wiener). It was also found that new nursing assistants along with having to work mandatory overtime, and those that felt they didn’t have enough time to provide more personal care were more prone to injury; while assistants who were well prepared, and felt valued and respected were less likely to suffer one.
The three main important points that Anderson and Wiener state to reduce injury are improvements in the work environment, including providing more comprehensive initial training for CNAs, reducing mandatory overtime, providing support to newly hired CNAs and making efforts to reduce job turnover (Anderson and Wiener). This article review hopefully affects the practice of future nursing assistants by helping them understand that being prepared as a CNA is very important; along with doing the work safely.
Practicing good work techniques when doing physical activity like, bending at the hips and knees, using a gait belt and lowering the bed to a good working height are just a few tips that should be taken to reduce injury. Along with always practicing good hygiene! Not only are we helping ourselves safe, but also our patient. Works Cited Wiener, Joshua, and Wayne Anderson. “Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes at High Risk of Work-Related Injuries. ” NewsWise. RTI International, 3 May 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. <http://www. newswise. com/articles/certified-nursing-assistants-in-nursing-homes-at-high-risk-of-work-related-injuries>.
