CNA/Nursing Assistant Scope of Practice

Nursing assistants must possess a firm understanding of their scope of practice to deliver the safest care. In the simplest terms, scope of practice means staying in one’s lane without deviation, or sticking to the tasks one is permitted to do. In more official phrasing, scope of practice dictates the tasks and workplace duties that a trained healthcare worker is deemed competent to perform and allowed to engage in, under the terms of his or her professional license and/or certification.

Why is the concept of scope of practice something that nursing assistants must know about? Scope of practice legally determines what types of procedures nursing assistants can and cannot do. Scope of practice is the fine line between what nursing assistants are permitted to do versus the tasks that are not legally permissible for them to do. Each state’s nurse aide certification registry and/or board of nursing has documentation with activities that fall into the scope of practice for nursing assistants. 

Therefore, nursing assistants who complete tasks that are not included on the documented range of acceptable activities may be held liable for poor outcomes to patients and/or lose their state-issued certifications. This is because they did not follow the predetermined scope of practice for the state in which they work. In other words, nursing assistants who do not stay in their lane and work outside their scope may suffer the consequences of their decisions.

A nursing assistant helps the nursing team within a limited scope of care duties and responsibilities under a licensed nurse’s supervision (PracticalNursing.Org, 2020). As a multifaceted allied healthcare worker, a nursing assistant is allowed to perform a variety of tasks and duties. Most nursing assistants secure employment in positions that involve direct care tasks at the patient’s bedside. A nursing assistant’s workplace responsibilities may include (PracticalNursing.Org):

• Answering patient call lights
• Serving and feeding patient meals
• Transporting patients
• Making beds
• Cleaning up patient rooms
• Reporting changes in condition to nursing staff
• Assisting with elimination, also known as toileting
• Turning and positioning patients
• Assisting with ambulation (walking)
• Measuring and recording vital signs
• Activities of daily living such as bathing and dressing
• Following the patient’s predetermined care plan
• Performing personal care such as foot care and back rubs

REFERENCES

PracticalNursing.Org. (2020). Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Vs. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Retrieved December 17, 2020 from https://www.practicalnursing.org/lpn-vs-cna