Certified Nursing Assistant Skills for a Resume
Nursing assistants are hired for safe, kind and reliable care. Show the daily care you give with confidence, the setting and how many residents or patients you support, and the moments when your eye for change made a difference.
Updated
13 skills at a glance
Hard skills
Hard skills
What the work takes, how a hiring manager judges each skill, and a bullet point that shows it.
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Say how many people you support each shift and with which tasks, and show that you respect their independence.
Example bullet pointSupported nine residents a shift with morning care, encouraging each to do as much for themselves as they safely could.
Vital signs
Mention the measurements you take and, above all, that you report changes quickly.
Example bullet pointTook vital signs on a 20-bed rehabilitation unit and reported a resident's falling blood pressure, which led to a medication change.
Transfers, gait belts and mechanical lifts
Safety is what employers look for. Name the equipment you use and your safety record.
Example bullet pointUsed sit-to-stand and full-body lifts with a partner for heavy-care residents, following the facility's safe handling policy.
Repositioning and skin checks
Show the routine and the result: residents at risk of pressure injuries kept their skin intact.
Example bullet pointChecked the skin of bed-bound residents at every turn and reported early redness, so the nurse could start treatment the same day.
Feeding assistance
Mention special diets, thickened liquids or choking precautions, and patience at mealtimes.
Example bullet pointHelped residents on thickened liquids at meals, following speech therapy instructions to lower the risk of choking.
Intake and output recording
Accuracy is the skill. Say what you record and who relies on it.
Example bullet pointMeasured and logged fluid intake and output for residents on fluid restrictions, giving the nurse accurate totals every shift.
Infection control and isolation precautions
Mention hand hygiene, protective equipment and outbreak routines, which every facility checks.
Example bullet pointFollowed contact and droplet precautions during a norovirus outbreak, helping keep it to one hallway.
Electronic charting
Name the system if you can, such as PointClickCare, and say that you chart care as you give it.
Example bullet pointCharted care, meals and behaviors in PointClickCare before the end of every shift.
Soft skills
Shown through what you did, never claimed as adjectives.
Patience
Show it with residents who need extra time, such as those living with dementia.
Example bullet pointGave unhurried care to residents with advanced dementia, using a calm voice and simple choices to avoid distress.
Reliability
Attendance and shift cover speak for themselves. Mention them when they are strong.
Example bullet pointKept a perfect attendance record for two years and picked up extra shifts during staff shortages.
Observation
Describe a change you noticed and reported that mattered for a resident.
Example bullet pointNoticed a resident was eating less and sleeping more and reported it; the nurse found an infection early.
Respect for dignity
Mention privacy, choice and the way you speak to the people you care for.
Example bullet pointKnocked, introduced myself and offered choices of clothes and timing, so residents kept control of their own routines.
Physical stamina
Show it through the pace and length of your shifts rather than naming it alone.
Example bullet pointWorked 12-hour shifts on a busy hallway while keeping up with every turning and toileting round.
Licenses and certifications
Give them a section of their own, with who issued each one and the year or expiry date.
- Certified Nursing Assistant (state nurse aide registry)
- CPR and First Aid
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Medication aide certificate, where the state offers one
Keywords from certified nursing assistant job postings
Use the ones that are true for you, in your bullet points as well as your skills list.
- residents
- vital signs
- long-term care
- skilled nursing
- transfers
- mechanical lifts
- dementia
- call lights
- Nurse Aide Registry
Each posting has its own words. Our guide to tailoring your resume to a job description shows how to find them and where to put them.
Where to put your skills
- In a skills section: a short list of the hard skills the posting names, in its words.
- In your bullet points: every skill that matters should show up in something you did, with a result. That is where a hiring manager believes it.
- In your summary: two or three of the skills the job asks for most.
More on choosing them in how to choose and prove the skills on your resume.
Questions
What skills does a CNA need on a resume?
Daily care such as bathing, dressing and feeding, vital signs, safe transfers and lifts, skin care, infection control and charting, plus patience, reliability and observation. Your certification and registry status go in a section of their own.
How do I write a CNA resume with no experience?
Lead with your certification and clinical training hours, list the skills you practiced in training, and add any caregiving, volunteering or customer service work that shows reliability and kindness.
Should I say how many residents I cared for?
Yes. A number such as nine or eleven residents a shift tells a hiring manager more about your experience than any adjective.
Put them to work
Start from a certified nursing assistant resume that already uses these skills, for an invented person, and make it yours in the builder.