CNA Interview Questions and Answers

A CNA stands for certified nursing assistant. It is a person who has received training to help patients under the close supervision of a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse. He or she acts as the nurses’ eyes and ears in a particular case. They are also required to take care of the most essential needs of their charge, bringing them into close contact with the patients. These nurse aids act as bridges to higher authorities. Nursing assistants are the ones fulfilling the basic needs of the patients, and they are distinguished by their patience and dedication to the job.

A CNA can work at following places,

• Hospitals
• Medical Clinics
• Doctor Offices/Practice Groups
• Nursing Homes
• Home Health Care Agencies
• Assisted Living Facilities
• Staffing Agencies
• Hospices
• Day Care Centers and Schools
• Urgent Care Centers
• By federal law, CNA are mandatory at Nursing Homes.

Intradermal is a method where the CNA injects the drug into the patient’s body through the dermis or the upper layer of the skin. In intravenous, the drug or medicine is injected directly into the blood stream through the veins.

Billing software, medical device software, charting software, vital sign software and potentially a few more depending on the environment and which types of technologies it is most up to date with.

There are basically four stages of a pressure sore:

• Stage 1 is where the sore is red and doesn’t turn white when pressed
• Stage 2 is when the pressure sore breaks the upper layer of the skin but doesn’t go all the way inside
• Stage 3 and 4 are pretty serious as the pressure sore turn into ulcers that move down all the way to the muscles and tendons and bones

Automated external defibrillators

Electronic medical thermometers

Heating or cooling pads

compression packs

An occlusive dressing is a non-permeable dressing, which means that no air or moisture can penetrate in or out.

A semi-occlusive (semi-permeable, transparent) dressing allows the wound to “breathe” (air can penetrate in and out) but at the same time, protects the wound from outside liquids. Commonly used dressings in vascular access are semi-occlusive, transparent dressings.  

During contraction, the measurement of the pressure in a patient’s heart is referred as systolic blood pressure.

In CNA practice, Assault is referred to physical violence or threat to use violence against someone. Battery is actually referred for physical violence or wrongful touching against someone.

RN is a registered nurse and is more experienced and responsible than an LVN in terms of taking care of the patient. LVN is a licensed vocational nurse, who is a subordinate of the RN and is responsible for collecting and documenting data.

Job responsibility of a CNA nurse include

• Provides patients personal hygiene like backrubs, shampoos, shaves, bedpans, urinals, baths, assisting travel to the bathroom, and so on.
• Other activities include serving meals, feeding patients, ambulating, turning, and positioning patients, etc.
• CNA should also give medical help like administering enemas, nonsterile dressings, douches, surgical preps, heat treatments, ice packs, sitz and therapeutic baths, applying restraints, etc.
• Restock rooms with necessary supplies and change bed sheets.
• Take patient vital signs- testing urine, weight check, recording intake and output information.
• Transporting patients, answering patients’ call lights and request, reporting observations of the patient to nursing supervisor
• Documentation and maintaining forms, logs, reports, and records
• By following policies and procedures maintains work operations like keeping patient information confidential
• Participate in educational opportunities, maintaining licensure, reading professional publications and so on.
• Serve hospital community by adhering to professional standards, hospital policies and procedures, federal, state, and local requirements, and jcaho
• summon emergency assistance in the hospital

When you see a doctor or nurse not doing their job, you should follow protocol and report the person through the proper channels

To deal with patient who is aggressive and resist for medication my first approach would be, I would make patient calm and administer the drug if that didn’t work then I would make sure that he is safe, and I would ask for help.

Skin graft is a surgery where a fresh layer of skin from patient body is cut and placed it over the damaged skin of the patient.  This method is usually used in treating patient having third-degree burn.

An air embolism is a medical term used when any large air bubble trapped in blood vessel.  At some instant of time, this air bubble could block the artery and cut off the blood supply to a particular part of the body.  Death may occur if large bubble of gas becomes lodged in the heart.

The duties of nursing assistance include

• Dressing
• Feeding
• Skin care and bathing
• Mouth and Hair care
• Making beds
• Helping patient to walk who can’t
• Toileting assistance and catheter care
• Assisting with range of motion exercise
• Positioning bedridden patients regularly
• Safety awareness
• Reporting all changes to the nurse
• Observing, reporting and documentation
• Post-mortem care

An LVN nurse are not allowed to pronounce patient’s death in hospital, however there are different laws for different states, and few facilities allow two RNs to pronounce patient death with a set protocol.

A goal of hospice care is to provide comfort to terminally ill patients and their families.

Heimlich maneuver is a technique used when a person’s airway gets chocked. In this technique you

Reach around the victim from behind. Circle your hands around the victim’s stomach

Make a fist with your dominant hand. The thumb of the fist should point into the stomach (just above the victim’s navel)

Wrap your other hand firmly around this fist and give a good inward push by pressing the victim’s abdomen

These thrusts should be repeated until either the item is removed, or the resident loses consciousness.

Use less force if the victim is a child.