Top 12 Nurse Assistant Skills to Put on Your Resume

In a crowded healthcare job market, a nurse assistant’s resume has to hum with competence and care. Technical know-how. Calm bedside presence. Clear communication. Pack it all in with examples that show how you help patients feel safe, supported, and seen—while keeping clinical tasks crisp and accurate.

Nurse Assistant Skills

1. CPR Certified
2. Vital Signs
3. Patient Care
4. EHR (Electronic Health Records)
5. HIPAA Compliance
6. Wound Care
7. Infection Control
8. Phlebotomy
9. ADL Assistance
10. Medication Administration
11. CNA Certification
12. EMR (Electronic Medical Records)

1. CPR Certified

CPR certification confirms training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the ability to respond to breathing and cardiac emergencies with recognized, standardized techniques.

Why It's Important

When a heart stops, seconds matter. Certification ensures you know the steps, can act fast, and help stabilize a patient until advanced care arrives.

How to Improve CPR Certified Skills

Keep your CPR sharp and ready:

1. Refresh often: Take renewal courses as required, and don’t wait until the last month.
2. Practice on manikins: Compression depth, recoil, cadence—muscle memory matters.
3. Drill with your team: Mock codes build confidence and coordination.
4. Stay current: Review updated guidelines and algorithm changes.
5. Seek feedback: Let instructors fine-tune your technique; small tweaks, big gains.

How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume

2. Vital Signs

Vital signs capture core body functions—temperature, pulse, respiration rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation. They tell the story of stability, change, or trouble.

Why It's Important

Trends speak. Early changes pop up in vitals before symptoms explode, guiding timely action and smart escalation.

How to Improve Vital Signs Skills

Measure better, chart cleaner, think in patterns:

1. Master technique: Right cuff size, patient positioning, quiet rest before measuring, and accurate probe placement.
2. Validate equipment: Check device calibration and battery status; know how to troubleshoot faulty readings.
3. Repeat to confirm: Recheck outliers and compare to baseline or prior readings.
4. Document precisely: Include position (sitting/standing), device used, and any noteworthy patient factors.
5. Recognize red flags: Know thresholds that require immediate reporting per facility policy.

How to Display Vital Signs Skills on Your Resume

3. Patient Care

Patient care means hands-on support with daily needs—bathing, grooming, dressing, feeding, positioning, mobility—and a steady presence that respects dignity and comfort.

Why It's Important

Good care prevents complications. Better care fosters trust, calms anxiety, and keeps recovery on track.

How to Improve Patient Care Skills

Small habits raise the bar:

1. Communicate simply: Explain what you’re doing. Check understanding. Listen for unspoken concerns.
2. Protect skin and mobility: Reposition on schedule, pad bony areas, use proper transfer techniques.
3. Prioritize hygiene: Hand hygiene, clean equipment, fresh linens—consistently.
4. Time it wisely: Cluster tasks to reduce fatigue, but never rush safety checks.
5. Document changes: Appetite shifts, new pain, mood swings—flag and report promptly.

How to Display Patient Care Skills on Your Resume

4. EHR (Electronic Health Records)

EHRs are real-time, digital patient records that support coordinated care across settings. For nurse assistants, that often means reviewing tasks, documenting care, and verifying orders within approved access.

Why It's Important

Clean data drives safe care. Fast retrieval speeds up decisions. Fewer transcription errors, fewer headaches.

How to Improve EHR (Electronic Health Records) Skills

Work smarter inside the chart:

1. Learn workflows: Know the exact screens for vitals, I&O, and care tasks; use templates as intended.
2. Document in the moment: Real-time entries beat memory. Timestamp accurately.
3. Use shortcuts: Master smart phrases, favorites, and task queues to save time.
4. Verify before saving: Patient, date, units—check them all. Typos travel.
5. Respect permissions: Stay within role-based access and privacy rules at all times.

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

5. HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA compliance means safeguarding protected health information in every form—spoken, written, or electronic—and following privacy and security rules without exception.

Why It's Important

Trust is fragile. Compliance protects patients, organizations, and your license to do the work you love.

How to Improve HIPAA Compliance Skills

Build habits that never slip:

1. Lock screens: Step away, secure immediately.
2. Mind your voice: Discuss patient details privately, need-to-know only.
3. Control paperwork: Store, transport, and dispose of documents as policy dictates.
4. Verify identity: Confirm who you’re speaking with before sharing information.
5. Report fast: If something goes wrong, escalate promptly so it’s contained.

How to Display HIPAA Compliance Skills on Your Resume

6. Wound Care

Wound care involves supporting healing by keeping wounds clean, protected, and observed. Nurse assistants typically assist with positioning, comfort, supplies, and careful monitoring—escalating concerns promptly.

Why It's Important

Good wound care prevents infections, reduces pain, and speeds healing. Miss a change, and complications can snowball.

How to Improve Wound Care Skills

Focus on consistency and vigilance:

1. Practice clean technique: Hand hygiene, gloves, and a tidy field—every time.
2. Know the dressing plan: Gather the correct supplies and follow timing precisely.
3. Watch for changes: Redness, odor, drainage, swelling, heat—document and report.
4. Protect skin: Offload pressure, keep skin dry, and use barrier products as directed.
5. Teach simply: Reinforce home-care steps in plain language when appropriate.

How to Display Wound Care Skills on Your Resume

7. Infection Control

Infection control is the daily discipline that keeps pathogens from traveling—hand hygiene, PPE, safe handling of equipment, and environmental cleaning built into every interaction.

Why It's Important

One missed step can start a chain. Strong habits protect patients, coworkers, and you.

How to Improve Infection Control Skills

Make it automatic:

1. Hand hygiene first and last: Before and after patient contact, after glove removal, after touching surfaces.
2. Use PPE correctly: Don and doff in the right order; replace when soiled or damaged.
3. Clean as you go: Wipe high-touch items, label and segregate clean vs. dirty, follow contact and droplet precautions precisely.
4. Handle sharps safely: Never recap; use approved containers immediately.
5. Stay policy-savvy: Know isolation protocols and where to find updates on your unit.

How to Display Infection Control Skills on Your Resume

8. Phlebotomy

Phlebotomy is venipuncture for blood collection. Scope varies by state and certification; nurse assistants may assist or, if trained and permitted, perform the draw.

Why It's Important

Accurate specimens power accurate diagnostics. Clean sticks, correct tubes, proper labeling—no shortcuts.

How to Improve Phlebotomy Skills

If it’s within your role and training:

1. Know anatomy cold: Vein selection, angles, and depth for different patients.
2. Prep meticulously: Verify identity, order of draw, tourniquet time, site cleansing.
3. Communicate calmly: Set expectations, coach breathing, reduce anxiety.
4. Protect specimens: Label at bedside, invert as required, track timing.
5. Practice under supervision: Build skill with feedback until your technique is steady and gentle.

How to Display Phlebotomy Skills on Your Resume

9. ADL Assistance

ADL assistance covers the essentials of daily living—eating, toileting, bathing, grooming, dressing, transfers, and mobility—delivered with patience and respect.

Why It's Important

Independence where possible. Safety where needed. The balance preserves dignity and prevents downstream risks like falls, skin breakdown, or malnutrition.

How to Improve ADL Assistance Skills

Lift the quality of every routine:

1. Personalize the approach: Preferences matter—clothing, routines, pacing.
2. Cue, don’t commandeer: Encourage what patients can do; step in when they can’t.
3. Use tools correctly: Gait belts, walkers, lift devices—inspect and apply per training.
4. Guard safety: Clear clutter, lock wheels, check footwear, set alarms if ordered.
5. Observe and relay: Changes in appetite, continence, strength, or mood—document and report.

How to Display ADL Assistance Skills on Your Resume

10. Medication Administration

Medication administration involves supporting accurate delivery of prescribed drugs—right patient, drug, dose, route, time—within scope and under appropriate supervision. In many settings, CNAs do not administer medications unless specially credentialed; duties may focus on reminders, documentation support, and observation/reporting.

Why It's Important

Medication errors harm. Clear processes and alert eyes prevent them.

How to Improve Medication Administration Skills

Operate safely and within policy:

1. Know your scope: Understand exactly what tasks you are permitted to perform in your state and facility.
2. Verify relentlessly: Patient identity, allergies, timing, and any parameters (vitals, holds).
3. Document cleanly: Record immediately, legibly, and in the correct place. No guesses.
4. Monitor and report: Watch for side effects, adverse reactions, or refusals; escalate promptly.
5. Pursue credentials if needed: Consider medication aide training where available and appropriate.

How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume

11. CNA Certification

CNA certification validates competency in foundational patient care under the supervision of licensed nurses and confirms completion of state-approved training and examination.

Why It's Important

It’s the entry ticket. Employers trust the standard; patients benefit from consistency and safety.

How to Improve CNA Certification Skills

Strengthen your credentials and practice:

1. Stay current: Track renewal dates, continuing education, and any changing state requirements.
2. Polish core skills: Transfers, vital signs, infection control, documentation—practice to fluency.
3. Add focused training: Dementia care, hospice support, restorative nursing, or rehab skills.
4. Seek feedback: Ask nurses and preceptors for specific, actionable pointers.
5. Build experience: Float to different units, volunteer for complex assignments with guidance.

How to Display CNA Certification Skills on Your Resume

12. EMR (Electronic Medical Records)

EMRs are digital versions of a single practice’s patient chart. While often discussed alongside EHRs, the day-to-day skills overlap: clean documentation, fast retrieval, and careful attention to accuracy and privacy.

Why It's Important

Good entries save time and prevent errors. Sloppy entries ripple through care plans.

How to Improve EMR (Electronic Medical Records) Skills

Bring order to the record:

1. Use structured fields: Avoid free text where discrete data is required.
2. Standardize phrasing: Adopt unit-approved phrases for clarity and consistency.
3. Cross-check identifiers: Ensure the right chart, always, especially during busy handoffs.
4. Attach context: Include position, device, or scale used when it affects interpretation.
5. Protect access: Unique logins only, never share passwords, and sign out every time.

How to Display EMR (Electronic Medical Records) Skills on Your Resume