It’s National Nursing Assistants Week, a yearly event organized to honor the critical role nursing assistants play in healthcare facilities. In the United States, CNAs carry out the most important day-to-day activities in medical facilities, such as cleaning, monitoring patients, and offering assistance to healthcare professionals.
They major in essential duties by keeping patients engaged and comfortable with their care and enhancing their safety against falls and bedsores. Unfortunately, nursing assistants rarely get the appreciation they deserve for their effort in the healthcare industry.
Taking major steps to let them know they’re treasured can boost their morale and make them proud of their work. There are ways to celebrate the CNAs working in your medical facility and everywhere else but first, it’s essential to have some background information about the National CNA Week.
How Did the National Nursing Assistants Week Start?
Since 1977, Americans have celebrated nursing assistants for their role in offering unmatched care and support to the sick. Their contributions don’t go unnoticed, and they know their role is critical for healthy and happy Americans.
Nursing assistants assisted in World War I, where they treated US soldiers. Their dedication is appreciated because some of the 8,000 US Army Nurses who cared for the injured and wounded were not registered nurses.
Nursing assistants in the Red Cross program worked in the frontline and other medical facilities. They were focused on keeping soldiers alive and ready to fight for their country. From this contribution, the role of nursing assistants in the country transformed, and they are now important players in long-term care.
Today, nursing assistants are central to providing practical knowledge of caregiving, post-acute healthcare services, and compassion to sick Americans. In such a case, it’s important to support our healthcare workers during National Nursing Assistant Week, and SCI can help train them on the skills needed to pursue a career in healthcare.
How Can You Celebrate National Nursing Assistant Week?
From the information above, nursing assistants are essential to the healthcare system. They help everything run smoothly while supporting those with chronic healthcare problems, acute pain, and those in need of long-term care assistance. You can celebrate CNAs and their contributions to the country using the following strategies.
1. Promote CNA Week in Your Facility
As a leader in a prominent medical facility, being proactive is necessary. You need to make it known it’s National Nursing Assistants Week. Keeping quiet is not the best idea to approach one of the important weeks for your healthcare providers.
Put up signs and other decorating materials celebrating nursing assistants and their role in your medical facility. Indeed, being proactive in celebrating CNAs Week will help CNAs feel valued and encourage employees and patients to feel the need to participate.
Remember, some CNAs are extremely busy and might not know it’s their week. Others might know it, but they’re always attending to patients. Thus, showing you value their work helps them feel energized and recognized for their role in the facility.
2. Say a Simple Thank You
In most cases, simple and creative ideas create more impact than huge and glamorous celebrations. So, the most effective and easiest way to honor nursing assistants during National Nursing Assistants Week is to say thanks.
You can say this personally or say a sincere thank you to the rest of the CNAs in your facility. You can then take it a notch higher through a formal company-wide email or a thank-you greeting card series.
Whichever approach you’ll use, ensure you say thank you to each CAN on your staff. They sacrifice every day to support the facility and your patients. CNA Week is an opportunity to demonstrate CNAs matter, and there’s no better way to show it than by saying a sincere thank you.
3. Share CNA Love on Social Media Platforms During National Nursing Assistants Week
In the modern environment, the majority of the organizations are on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, among other social platforms. It’s common for organizations to use social media platforms to popularize their products and services.
You can use your social media platform this week to appreciate the role of nursing assistants in the country. Remind your followers it’s CNA Week and encourage them to do something for nursing assistants.
Write a compassionate thank you post and share it with other social media followers. Capture some images of CNAs at work and let your followers shower them with praises and congratulatory messages for their role in the healthcare sector.
4. Hold a CNA Week at Your Facility
Holding a CNA Week at your facility emphasizes the importance of nursing assistants in your organization and the community. Let all the workers in your facility contribute some unique ideas that show how much they appreciate nursing assistants.
You can hold some games and other creative events that emphasize the role and importance of nursing assistants. Make the CNA Week vibrant and educational by welcoming your local community. Remember, a majority of the people in your community don’t understand the role of nursing assistants in a healthcare facility.
A simple National Nursing Assistants Week allows you to explain the role of each professional in the healthcare facility while emphasizing the functions of CNAs. You can list the duties of nursing assistants and remind community members of the instances they interact with CNAs.
5. Offer Extra Help to Your CNAs During National Nursing Assistants Week
Nursing assistants are typically on their feet, which means fatigue, tired muscles, and possible burnout. In addition, the fight against COVID-19 has pushed CNAs to their absolute limit, where some of them could not get even two hours of sleep.
Offer extra help to your nursing assistants by setting up a room with a place to rest. Some fifteen minutes of relaxing can help your nursing assistants recover physically and emotionally and continue their duties. In addition, provide refreshments such as coffee and herbal teas to encourage alertness and alleviate stress.
Do You Want to Become a Career Nursing Assistant?
CNA, Certified Nurse Assistant, Texas trade school offers a comprehensive training program to those interested in careers as nursing assistants. We want you to meet the basic requirements of this industry. Our training program focuses on practical, emotional, mental, and theoretical aspects that prepare you for a rewarding lifelong career as a CNA.
Furthering your education as a Career Nursing Assistant is a creative way of celebrating National Nursing Assistants Week. The Southern Careers Institute (SCI) team is ready to usher you into this unique career. Contact us today to seek more information about SCI’s CNA program.
This article was published on: 06/20/22 7:18 AM
* SCI does not guarantee employment or a starting salary upon graduation, completion, or withdrawal from SCI. As an accredited post-secondary institution, SCI has various federal financial assistance programs available for students who qualify and are enrolled in SCI programs. This does not apply to seminar students.
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