Top 12 CNA Skills to Put on Your Resume

Crafting a standout resume as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) means shining a light on the skills that prove you care, think on your feet, and follow through. This guide highlights 12 must-have skills to feature, so you present as steady, capable, and ready for the floor.

CNA Skills

1. Patient Care
2. Vital Signs
3. CPR Certified
4. HIPAA Compliance
5. Wound Dressing
6. ADL Assistance
7. Charting Software (e.g., Epic)
8. Infection Control
9. Medical Terminology
10. Mobility Assistance
11. Glucose Monitoring
12. Electronic Health Records (EHR)

1. Patient Care

Patient care for a CNA covers the essentials: bathing, grooming, feeding, toileting, repositioning, comfort rounds, and vigilant observation under nursing supervision. It’s the heartbeat of bedside work.

Why It's Important

Good care calms nerves, prevents complications, speeds recovery, and builds trust. Patients feel seen. Teams rely on your observations. Safety rises.

How to Improve Patient Care Skills

Elevate the everyday and your patients notice:

1. Communicate clearly: introduce yourself, explain what you’re doing, check understanding, circle back.

2. Lead with empathy: listen for what’s said—and what isn’t. Respect preferences and modesty.

3. Think safety-first: call lights within reach, bed low and locked, alarms set, non-skid socks on.

4. Standardize comfort: pain checks, warm blankets, repositioning on schedule, oral care that actually happens.

5. Document what matters: intake, output, skin changes, behavior shifts, pain scores—promptly and accurately.

6. Know when to escalate: new confusion, shortness of breath, unrelieved pain, sudden changes—tell the nurse now.

How to Display Patient Care Skills on Your Resume

2. Vital Signs

Vital signs are core measurements—temperature, pulse, respirations, blood pressure, and often oxygen saturation—used to spot trends and flag danger early.

Why It's Important

Tiny shifts can mean big problems. Accurate, timely vitals guide treatment, trigger rapid response, and keep patients safe.

How to Improve Vital Signs Skills

Focus on precision and speed without cutting corners:

1. Master technique: correct cuff size and placement, full minute for irregular pulses or respirations, patient positioned properly and rested when possible.

2. Validate the reading: recheck unexpected values, compare to baseline, confirm equipment is charged and functioning.

3. Time it right: measure before meals, meds, or activity as ordered; keep intervals consistent.

4. Document immediately: no memory lapses—enter in real time, note context (post-ambulation, pain, new oxygen).

5. Escalate promptly: report critical changes or early warning score triggers without delay.

How to Display Vital Signs Skills on Your Resume

3. CPR Certified

CPR certification (often BLS for Healthcare Providers) confirms you can deliver high-quality compressions, ventilations, and AED use during cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Why It's Important

Seconds count. Skillful CPR doubles or triples survival odds while the team mobilizes.

How to Improve CPR Certified Skills

Keep it sharp; make it muscle memory:

1. Refresh often: practice every few months, not just at renewal. Short drills beat long gaps.

2. Perfect the basics: compressions 100–120/min, 2–2.4 inches depth, full recoil, minimal pauses.

3. AED fluency: power on, pads placed fast, follow prompts—no fumbling.

4. Team choreography: practice switching compressors every 2 minutes, clear roles, loud closed-loop communication.

5. Scenario variety: adult, child, infant, choking relief, bag-mask seal—train all formats.

How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume

4. HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA compliance means guarding protected health information—paper, digital, verbal—so privacy stays intact and disclosure follows the rules.

Why It's Important

Trust rests on confidentiality. So do laws, penalties, and your license eligibility. Patients deserve privacy; you deliver it.

How to Improve HIPAA Compliance Skills

1. Minimum necessary: access and share only what your task requires.

2. Protect screens and charts: lock devices, face monitors away from public view, secure paper records.

3. Verify identity: confirm who you’re speaking with before discussing any patient details.

4. Smart conversations: no hallway handoffs, elevators, cafeterias, or social media mentions—ever.

5. Report quickly: lost device, misdirected fax, overheard details—notify per policy immediately.

How to Display HIPAA Compliance Skills on Your Resume

5. Wound Dressing

Wound dressing involves cleaning, protecting, and covering wounds to promote healing and prevent infection. CNAs typically assist within scope and per facility policy, alerting the nurse to changes.

Why It's Important

Good technique shields the wound, reduces contamination, and supports faster, safer healing.

How to Improve Wound Dressing Skills

1. Prep like a pro: gather supplies first—gloves, saline, gauze, dressings, tape, disposal bags.

2. Hand hygiene: clean hands in, clean hands out; new gloves for each wound.

3. Sterile-to-clean mindset: avoid cross-contamination; don’t let clean items touch soiled areas.

4. Observe and report: size, color, drainage, odor, surrounding skin, pain—describe objectively and notify the nurse of red flags (increasing redness, warmth, heavy drainage, fever).

5. Follow orders: cleanse and apply dressings exactly as directed; secure without constricting.

6. Dispose safely: biohazard waste as required; tidy the area; document thoroughly.

How to Display Wound Dressing Skills on Your Resume

6. ADL Assistance

ADL assistance covers bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, grooming, continence, and safe transfers—helping people do the daily things they can’t do alone.

Why It's Important

Dignity lives in the details. Reliable ADL support preserves independence, prevents breakdowns and falls, and lifts quality of life.

How to Improve ADL Assistance Skills

1. Safety and body mechanics: protect your back and theirs; use gait belts, ask for help, use lifts correctly.

2. Respect and privacy: knock, explain, drape, and keep exposure minimal.

3. Promote independence: cue, don’t overtake; adaptive tools when appropriate.

4. Skin and hygiene checks: look for redness, moisture damage, or pressure points during care and report promptly.

5. Routine with flexibility: schedule matters, but adapt to energy levels, pain, and preferences.

6. Hydration and nutrition: set up trays, check swallowing precautions, document intake accurately.

How to Display ADL Assistance Skills on Your Resume

7. Charting Software (e.g., Epic)

Charting software lets CNAs document vitals, I&O, ADLs, mobility, and safety checks in real time so the whole team sees the same picture.

Why It's Important

Clear, timely notes improve handoffs, reduce errors, and keep care coordinated.

How to Improve Charting Software (e.g., Epic) Skills

1. Learn the workflow: practice in a training environment; understand where each data point lives.

2. Use smart tools: templates, favorites, and shortcuts save time and boost consistency.

3. Chart at the bedside: document immediately to avoid omissions and guesswork.

4. Verify patient and time: correct chart, correct timestamp—double-check every entry.

5. Only what you saw: objective, concise, clinically relevant. No copy-paste bloat.

6. Privacy always: log out, don’t share passwords, keep screens guarded.

How to Display Charting Software (e.g., Epic) Skills on Your Resume

8. Infection Control

Infection control bundles hand hygiene, PPE, safe handling of sharps and waste, and meticulous cleaning to stop germs from hopping patient to patient—or to you.

Why It's Important

Prevention is quieter than an outbreak. You break the chain of transmission and protect everyone in the building.

How to Improve Infection Control Skills

1. Hand hygiene that sticks: 20 seconds with soap and water when soiled; alcohol rub for routine use; before and after every patient contact.

2. PPE on, PPE off: know the sequence; change between patients; discard correctly.

3. Transmission-based precautions: contact, droplet, airborne—follow signage, cohorting, and room entry rules exactly.

4. Clean high-touch zones: bed rails, call buttons, pumps, remotes—wipe thoroughly with approved disinfectant.

5. Sharps and waste: never recap; puncture-proof containers; biohazard disposal per policy.

6. Stay home if sick: protect patients and peers; report exposures promptly.

How to Display Infection Control Skills on Your Resume

9. Medical Terminology

Medical terminology is the shared language of healthcare—shorthand that keeps documentation precise and communication crisp.

Why It's Important

When everyone speaks the same clinical dialect, errors shrink and care moves faster.

How to Improve Medical Terminology Skills

1. Break down words: learn common roots, prefixes, and suffixes; the puzzle pieces start to click.

2. Spaced repetition: short, regular review sessions outpace cramming.

3. Read the chart: exposure builds fluency—compare terms to what you’re seeing in the room.

4. Say it out loud: practice pronunciation to improve recall and confidence.

5. Personal glossary: keep a running list of new terms with quick definitions relevant to your unit.

How to Display Medical Terminology Skills on Your Resume

10. Mobility Assistance

Mobility assistance means safe transfers, ambulation, and repositioning—supporting movement without injury.

Why It's Important

Movement preserves strength, prevents clots and sores, and boosts morale. Safety during movement prevents falls—your constant priority.

How to Improve Mobility Assistance Skills

1. Assess risk first: dizziness, lines and tubes, weight-bearing status, cognitive state—plan accordingly.

2. Use the right gear: gait belts, walkers, lifts; lock wheels; non-slip footwear on.

3. Stepwise approach: dangle, sit, stand, pause, then walk; watch for orthostatic changes.

4. Body mechanics: wide base, neutral spine, lift with legs; ask for a second person when needed.

5. Communicate and cue: simple instructions, eye contact, count-offs for coordinated movement.

How to Display Mobility Assistance Skills on Your Resume

11. Glucose Monitoring

Glucose monitoring tracks blood sugar levels via glucometer or, when applicable, continuous glucose monitors. CNAs often perform point-of-care checks, record results, and report concerns per policy.

Why It's Important

Accurate readings guide insulin, meals, and interventions—crucial to preventing hypo- or hyperglycemic crises.

How to Improve Glucose Monitoring Skills

1. Technique matters: warm the hand, clean and dry the site, use the side of the finger, wipe first drop if policy requires, apply steady pressure—no milking.

2. Quality control: ensure strips are not expired, meters are calibrated, and controls are done per schedule.

3. Time it right: follow orders around meals, insulin, and symptoms.

4. Recognize red flags: shakiness, sweating, confusion, extreme thirst, frequent urination—report immediately along with the reading.

5. Document precisely: value, time, context (fasting, post-prandial), and any actions taken.

How to Display Glucose Monitoring Skills on Your Resume

12. Electronic Health Records (EHR)

EHRs are digital charts housing meds, allergies, diagnoses, labs, imaging, and notes—your one-stop source for the latest on a patient.

Why It's Important

Up-to-date information tightens teamwork and slashes errors. Everyone sees the same truth in the same place.

How to Improve Electronic Health Records (EHR) Skills

1. Role-specific training: focus on CNA flowsheets—vitals, I&O, ADLs, safety checks, mobility.

2. Real-time entry: chart as you go; avoid batch documentation.

3. Consistency: use standardized fields and wording so trends are easy to read.

4. Downtime savvy: know paper backup procedures and how to enter late data once systems return.

5. Privacy and accuracy: correct patient, correct encounter, concise objective notes—every time.

How to Display Electronic Health Records (EHR) Skills on Your Resume