A certified nursing assistant focuses on patient care. Prove your CNA skills by writing a great job description in your resume.
How to Write a CNA Description for a Resume
CNA Job Description for Resume
When you list a previous job as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in your resume, you must have a job description to go along with it. This helps you showcase important skills and experiences. The more you can show off what you’ve done in previous certified nursing assistant jobs, the better. Here’s how to talk about your CNA skills in a job description.
What Is a CNA Job Description?
Underneath a CNA job in your work experience section, you’ll include a CNA job description. Your job description will typically include skills that you utilized in that job, as well as any major achievements you accomplished and qualifications that you used regularly. It may also be an effective way to show that you understand medical terminology and that, as a healthcare professional, you provide effective nursing care.
How to Format Your CNA Job Description
When you write your CNA job description, you must format it appropriately. This helps the hiring manager scan your resume more effectively. Here are the most important formatting tips to lean on:
- Include a job description under every job you list in your work history section.
- Include up to five bullet points for every job. Bullet points are the best way to get your information across.
- Reduce the number of bullet points for less relevant jobs, such as jobs that you held more than five years ago, or jobs where you don’t feature as many CNA-relevant skills or experiences.
More recent jobs will typically have around five bullet points, while your older jobs may have 2-4 bullet points. Additionally, your resume format may impact how many bullet points you use. A functional resume, which focuses more on skills, may not have any job descriptions, or may only have an extremely short one.
Words and Terms To Lean On
The first important element to understand is what words you should be using in your CNA job description. If you look through CNA resume samples, you’ll likely start to see many of the same CNA skills and job duties. Here are some skills to consider for a certified nursing assistant resume:
- Patient care
- Activities of daily living (ambulation, bedpans, personal hygiene, changing linens)
- Personal care plans
- First aid
- Medical equipment and medical records
- Avoiding bedsores
- Assist patients with call lights
- HIPAA
- Interpersonal skills
- Patient comfort
- Teamwork
- Patient well-being
These are all skills that a recruiter will likely be looking for throughout your resume. However, remember that a professional resume isn’t just a list of skills. You also want to talk about those skills appropriately, especially in other resume sections, like your resume objective or your work history section.
This is where action verbs come into play. When you use action words to describe your past job experiences, you create a picture of yourself as an active, involved employee. Here are a few examples of action words you may use in your resume template or cover letter:
- Charting patient’s vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.)
- Talking to family members
- Providing emotional support
- Recording intake information
- Understanding patient conditions
Note how instead of just saying “Family member discussion,” this example emphasizes exactly what was done. You spoke to the family members yourself. This is an important part of putting your experience into perspective for a hiring manager.
