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CNA · 8 Essential Terms
CNA skill cues for activities of daily living: perineal care, unconscious mouth care, dressing, the gait belt, repositioning, feeding position, the bath, and promoting independence.
These are licensure study notes, not orders for patient care. Follow your program, your facility policy, and the current test plan.
Study desk
Cleaning the perineum with privacy, from front to back, using a clean area of the washcloth for each stroke. The resident is covered except for the area being washed.
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Every term, definition, memory hook, and exam trap is written out here so you can review the whole set or print it.
Cleaning the perineum with privacy, from front to back, using a clean area of the washcloth for each stroke. The resident is covered except for the area being washed.
Mnemonic. Front to back, clean cloth each stroke, and keep the rest covered.
Exam trap. The trap is back to front, which carries bacteria toward the urethra, or chatting with the door open. Explain the care before you begin, and stop if the resident refuses.
Mouth care for a resident who cannot swallow, done with the resident side-lying so fluids drain out, using a small amount of liquid and suction if the nurse has provided it.
Mnemonic. Turn the head to the side. A flat, face-up resident can aspirate the water.
Exam trap. The trap is pouring water into a mouth that cannot swallow, or skipping mouth care because the resident is not eating. Unconscious residents still need the mouth cleaned, and they need an airway while you do it.
When one side is weak, put clothing on the weak side first and take it off the strong side first. The strong side does the harder reaching.
Mnemonic. On the weak side first. Off the strong side first.
Exam trap. The trap is starting the shirt on the strong arm because it is easier for the aide. That twists the weak arm. Let the resident do every step they can.
A belt around the resident's waist, over clothing, used when the care plan says the resident can bear weight. The aide grasps the belt, not the arms, and moves on the plan's count.
Mnemonic. The belt is for a resident who can bear weight. You hold the belt, not the armpits.
Exam trap. The trap is using a gait belt to lift a resident who cannot stand, or placing it over a fresh abdominal incision or a tube. If the care plan says mechanical lift, the belt is the wrong tool.
Changing a resident's position about every two hours, keeping the body aligned and the bony points off the mattress. A lift sheet moves the resident without dragging the skin.
Mnemonic. Every two hours, and lift, do not drag.
Exam trap. The trap is dragging the resident up in bed, which shears the skin, or leaving someone on a red area because the turn is not due yet. A reddened area that does not blanch is reported, not rubbed.
A resident who eats by mouth sits as upright as the care plan allows, often near 90 degrees, and stays up afterward. The aide reports coughing, a wet voice, or pocketing of food.
Mnemonic. Upright to eat, upright after, and report a wet cough.
Exam trap. The trap is feeding a resident who is reclined because the television is easier to see, or rushing a resident who pockets food in the cheek. Stop and tell the nurse. Do not thicken liquids unless the plan says so.
Water is tested, eyes are washed inner corner to outer corner with no soap, and the resident is covered. The resident does every part of the bath they safely can.
Mnemonic. Warm water you have tested, eyes from the nose outward, and the resident helps.
Exam trap. The trap is hot water tested only by the aide's hand after it has adapted, or soap in the eyes. A complete bed bath is not a reason to expose the whole body at once.
Letting the resident do the parts of care they can do, even when it is slower. The aide sets up, coaches, and finishes only what the resident cannot do safely.
Mnemonic. Setup and time are the help. Doing it for them is not always the help.
Exam trap. The trap is dressing the resident completely because breakfast is in ten minutes. Ask which step they want to do. Report a new inability; do not quietly take over and hide the change.