Role of the Nurse Aide
Core concepts
Role questions test scope of practice, delegation, reporting, and documentation. You perform tasks you were trained and legally permitted to do: hygiene, positioning, transfers, ambulation, vital signs, intake and output, non-sterile specimen collection, and observation. You do not assess, teach, make nursing judgments, administer medications, insert catheters, or perform sterile procedures. Follow the chain of command: aide to charge nurse, then RN, then director of nursing.
Delegation trap: an RN may delegate tasks, but you may accept only those within your training and legal scope. If asked to do something outside it, say you are not permitted, explain, and report to your supervisor.
Report changes in condition immediately - new confusion, refusal to eat, skin breakdown, pain, abnormal vital signs. You observe and report; the nurse assesses.
Documentation must be objective, factual, timely, and in your own words: chart what you did and saw, not opinions or guesses. Never chart care you did not give, and never chart for another person. Correct errors per facility policy - never erase or use correction fluid. Incident reports are factual, describe what happened, and are not placed in the chart.
Mandatory reporting: suspected abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property must be reported immediately to the charge nurse and per Louisiana law and facility policy. Do not investigate on your own. Protect confidentiality under HIPAA at all times.
Trap: "The nurse asks you to..." answers are often to decline politely and report.
Rule of thumb: if it involves assessment, teaching, judgment, or a sterile or invasive procedure, it is not yours - report it instead.