Role of the Nurse Aide
Scope of practice, delegation, and documentation
Role questions test what a nurse aide may do, must report, and must never do. You work under the direction and supervision of a licensed nurse and are accountable for knowing your job description, facility policy, and state law.
Core concepts: you perform delegated tasks such as bathing, feeding, ambulating, and taking vital signs. You do not assess, diagnose, teach formally, perform sterile procedures, or give medications. When a task is beyond your role, say so and refer it to the nurse. Report changes in condition promptly and factually; the nurse decides what to do. You do not call the family or the doctor on your own. The chain of command starts with the charge nurse.
Documentation must be objective, accurate, complete, timely, and confidential. Chart only what you did and observed, quote the resident's own words for complaints, use black ink, and sign and date. Never erase, use correction fluid, or chart before care is given. Confidentiality is legal (HIPAA), so share information only with the care team.
Legal terms appear in questions: negligence (failure to meet a reasonable standard of care), assault (a threat), battery (unwanted touching), false imprisonment (unlawful restraint or preventing a resident from leaving), defamation, invasion of privacy, and misappropriation of property. Abuse, neglect, and exploitation must be reported immediately to your supervisor; the facility then reports to the state, and you are protected from retaliation for good-faith reporting. Federal OBRA rules require at least 12 hours of in-service education per year.
Traps: any option where the aide gives medication, changes a sterile dressing, or documents an opinion ('resident was rude') instead of an observation. Also wrong: charting 'asleep, no care needed' without checking.
Rule of thumb: if a task needs assessment, judgment, teaching, or sterility, it belongs to the licensed nurse. Report it, don't do it.