Illinois CNA study guide
Illinois CNA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Illinois Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) credential is the state recognition that allows a nurse aide to work in long-term care and other regulated health care settings in Illinois. Candidates typically complete an approved nurse aide training program first, then sit for a competency examination; the Illinois Department of Public Health oversees the certification process and maintains the Health Care Worker Registry, where a worker's certification status can be looked up. The Illinois CNA study guide has 8 sections and about 2,655 words.
01Basic Nursing Skills
Basic nursing skills are the measurements and procedures a CNA performs under nurse supervision: temperature, pulse, respirations, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, height and weight, intake and output, specimen collection, and simple treatments such as heat and cold applications and non-sterile dressing changes. Temperature routes differ.
310 words, about 2 min02Personal Care Skills
Personal care includes bathing, oral care, denture care, hair and nail care, shaving, dressing, toileting, perineal care, back massage, and skin inspection. These tasks are also the CNA's best chance to assess skin, so look for redness, breaks, bruising, and rashes every time you provide care and report what you find.
343 words, about 2 min03Mental Health and Social Service Needs
Residents bring lifelong personalities, coping styles, and losses into the facility. Maslow's hierarchy reminds you that physical needs come first, but love, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization matter just as much to well-being.
306 words, about 2 min04Resident Rights
Resident rights come from federal law (OBRA), Illinois' Nursing Home Care Act, and facility policy. Core rights include dignity, privacy, confidentiality, freedom of choice, self-determination, the right to refuse treatment, the right to be informed and to give or withhold consent, freedom from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, freedom from unnecessary physical or chemical restraints, access to visitors and clergy, private phone calls and uncensored mail, management of personal funds, participation in activities, grievance without retaliation, and choice of physician.
347 words, about 2 min05Care of Cognitively Impaired Residents
Dementia is progressive and irreversible, with Alzheimer's disease the most common cause. Short-term memory goes first while long-term memory is preserved, so a resident may recall childhood clearly and forget lunch.
318 words, about 2 min06Basic Restorative Services
Restorative care means helping residents regain and keep function. It includes range of motion, positioning and body alignment, ambulation with a gait belt, use of canes and walkers, splints and braces, bladder and bowel retraining, and re-learning ADLs such as dressing and feeding.
352 words, about 2 min07Infection Control
The chain of infection has six links: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host. Breaking any link prevents spread.
327 words, about 2 min08Safety and Emergency Procedures
Safety starts with knowing each resident's risk. Fall risk rises with medications, weakness, confusion, incontinence, and a history of falling.
352 words, about 2 min