Learning Library

Essential CNA training covering waste disposal, including procedures, safety considerations, documentation requirements, and best practices for providing quality patient care.

Essential CNA training covering weight-bearing status, including procedures, safety considerations, documentation requirements, and best practices for providing quality patient care.

Essential CNA training covering wheelchair safety, including procedures, safety considerations, documentation requirements, and best practices for providing quality patient care.

Essential CNA training covering wheelchair safety checks, including procedures, safety considerations, documentation requirements, and best practices for providing quality patient care.

Effective communication enhances the quality of care and resident satisfaction. This lesson covers therapeutic communication techniques, active listening skills, communicating with residents who have hearing or vision impairments, strategies for communicating with residents with cognitive impairment, handling difficult conversations, cultural sensitivity in communication, communicating with family members and visitors, and maintaining professional boundaries while building rapport.

Infection prevention is every healthcare worker's responsibility. This lesson covers hand hygiene best practices, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet, airborne), proper PPE use and removal, environmental cleaning in resident rooms, linen handling procedures, sharps safety, biohazard waste disposal, and the CNA's role in the facility infection prevention program. Includes practical demonstrations and common infection control mistakes to avoid.

Mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders are common among long-term care residents. This lesson covers recognizing signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions in the elderly; the impact of loss, grief, and institutionalization on mental health; suicide risk awareness; therapeutic communication techniques; the CNA's role in supporting residents' emotional well-being; and when and how to report mental health concerns.

Proper nutrition and hydration are essential for resident health and well-being. This lesson covers assisting residents with meals, adaptive feeding equipment, positioning for safe eating, recognizing signs of dysphagia, aspiration precautions, measuring and documenting food and fluid intake, calorie count procedures, between-meal snack programs, hydration monitoring and encouragement, and recognizing and reporting changes in appetite or eating ability.

CNAs spend the most time with residents and are critical observers of changes in condition. This lesson covers what to observe and report, recognizing changes in physical and mental status, skin observation during daily care, monitoring intake and output, bowel and bladder monitoring, pain observation in verbal and non-verbal residents, emotional and behavioral changes, the reporting chain of command, and documentation of observations. Emphasizes the CNA's vital role in early detection of problems.

Assisting residents with personal care while maintaining dignity and promoting independence is fundamental to the CNA role. This lesson covers bathing techniques (bed bath, shower, tub), oral care including denture care, hair care and grooming, nail care within CNA scope, shaving assistance, dressing and undressing techniques, perineal care, and managing residents who resist personal care. Emphasizes infection control, privacy, and resident preferences.

Range of motion exercises help maintain joint flexibility and prevent contractures in long-term care residents. This lesson covers the types of range of motion (active, passive, active-assistive), major joint movements, proper body positioning during exercises, contraindications and precautions, recognizing pain and resistance, documentation of range of motion activities, and incorporating ROM exercises into daily care routines. Includes demonstrations for all major joint groups.

CNAs play a key role in implementing restorative nursing programs that help residents maintain or improve function. This lesson covers the philosophy and goals of restorative nursing, ambulation programs, self-care training techniques, bladder and bowel retraining programs, splint and brace care, communication restoration programs, establishing individualized restorative goals, documenting restorative activities and outcomes, and the regulatory requirements for restorative nursing programs.