Florida CNA common mistakes
Florida CNA · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Washes hands correctly but then turns off the faucet with bare hands, or strips off gloves and leaves the room without washing hands at all.
Candidates rehearse the 20-second scrub and forget the step immediately after it - under test-day nerves the last action in the sequence drops out because it feels like 'the task is over.'
What to do instead
Practise the full chain aloud every time: wet hands, soap, scrub 20 seconds with interlaced fingers and thumbs, rinse fingertips down, dry with paper towels, then use a dry paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the door. Say the last step out loud until it becomes automatic.
During indwelling catheter care, the gloved hand that will touch the catheter touches the bed linen or the resident's thigh first, or the candidate reaches across the perineum instead of working front to back.
Candidates focus on 'getting it clean' and lose track of which hand is clean; reaching across feels faster than repositioning the body.
What to do instead
Before starting, mentally label one hand 'clean only' and keep it above waist height and off the bed. Clean with one downward stroke per swab, discard each swab, and reposition your stance rather than reaching over the area. Re-glove and restart if the clean hand contacts anything else.
Begins a bed-to-chair transfer or bed bath with the bed brakes unlocked, the bed left at chest height, or the far side rail left down while the resident is unattended.
Candidates copy what they saw done quickly in a facility, where staff often work at a comfortable standing height; the safety check is invisible so it gets skipped.
What to do instead
Build a fixed pre-move chant into every transfer: brakes, bed height at hip level or lowest position, side rails as ordered, non-skid footwear, clear path. Perform the check out loud in practise so the evaluator can see it and so it survives the pressure of the test.
Announces 'I'm going to count your breathing now' before counting respirations, or counts for 15 seconds and multiplies by four.
Candidates want to be transparent with the resident, and short-counting saves time; they don't realise announcing it changes the rate.
What to do instead
Count respirations immediately after taking the pulse, keeping fingers on the wrist, and never tell the resident you are counting breaths. Count a full 60 seconds (or 30 seconds and double only if the rhythm is clearly regular), and record rate, rhythm and depth.
Keeps offering the spoon or continues the bath after the resident turns their head away, closes their mouth, or says 'no more.'
Candidates are task-focused and afraid of not finishing the assigned skill; refusal feels like failure rather than a right.
What to do instead
Stop the task the moment refusal is signalled, remove the spoon or cloth, and say something like 'You don't want any more right now - that's fine.' Offer again later, document what was taken, and report the change in intake or the refusal to the nurse.
Discusses a resident's diagnosis, behaviour or continence status in the hallway, elevator, dining room, or with another resident's family member.
Candidates model the casual shop-talk they hear on some units and don't recognise overheard information as a breach; they also want to reassure a worried family member.
What to do instead
Move any resident-specific conversation behind a closed door or to the nurses' station, and redirect family questions with 'I'll get the nurse, who can talk with you.' Practise a scripted redirect so you have an answer ready under pressure.
Performs care while chatting with a coworker over the resident, does not knock or introduce themselves, and does not explain the procedure before starting.
Nerves make candidates rush straight to the task, and they underestimate how much the 'soft skills' opening is scored.
What to do instead
Memorise a three-sentence opener used for every skill: knock, 'Good morning, I'm ___, your nursing assistant,' state the task and why, then ask permission and check for pain or the need to toilet. Close with dignity steps: drape, call light in reach, belongings in reach, tell them when you'll return.
Accepts or volunteers to perform a task outside the nursing assistant scope - changing a sterile dressing, adjusting oxygen flow rate, giving a PRN medication, or flushing a central line.
Candidates want to be helpful and have watched nurses do these tasks; in a busy facility someone may casually ask them to 'just finish it.'
What to do instead
Learn to say a neutral, non-confrontational line: 'That's outside what I'm trained to do - I'll get the nurse.' Then actually report it. If asked on the job, clarify with the charge nurse rather than assuming the request defines your scope.
Notices a change (new confusion, reddened area, refusal to eat, urine output drop) and either says nothing, mentions it hours later, or reports it as a vague impression like 'she seemed off today.'
Candidates fear being wrong or being a bother, and they were never taught how to package an observation.
What to do instead
Report promptly to the licensed nurse using a fixed format: what you observed, when, what is different from baseline, and the vital signs if taken. Write the objective facts in the record without guessing a cause. Rehearse two or three example reports until the format is automatic.
Charts care before performing it, back-charts a task that was skipped, or signs a flow sheet for a coworker's care.
End-of-shift time pressure and the wish to look competent make 'I'll do it in a minute' turn into a record that isn't true; signing for someone else feels like teamwork.
What to do instead
Chart only after the care is done, and chart what actually happened - including refusals and what was not completed. Never sign for another person. If you are behind, tell the nurse rather than filling in the record; a false entry is a much bigger problem than a late one.