The Good

At Allied Health Career Training, we are out at numerous clinical sites every month and see dozens of CMAs at work. Some of what we see warm our hearts and make us proud of the excellent and professional work they do. Here are some highlights from this past year of observing some of the greatest CMAs out there. Are you one? 

The best CMAs we see understand that what they do is critical to the well being of the residents. I often like a CMA to the beef patty in a hamburger. The Nurse is the top bun, knowing the medications, diseases, family, physician, but does the nurse really know the little things about the resident? The nurse does not see or spend much time with the resident to be able to see subtle changes that might be happening. The C.N.A is the bottom bun, they know all the little things about the resident but they do not know the medications or the diagnosis. The only one that has both the frequent interaction with the resident and the knowledge of the diseases and the medications is the CMA. This is why it is imperative that the CMA knows the side effects of the drugs they give so that early toxicity, adverse reactions, and unwanted side effects can be identified and medications adjust before it becomes a serious health crisis. 

  For me, the things that really makes a stand out CMA is someone that is a great communicator. A great example of this was when I saw a CMA that after seeing the dose of a residents metoprolol (an antihypertensive beta blocker) was increased, this CMA went to the C.N.As on that unit and simply stated that the resident had a medication change that might make her a little tired and dizzy especially when she stands up, so be aware and maybe sit her on the side of the bed a little longer before ambulating. This is astounding! Just that quick heads up may have prevented a fall and if you were a C.N.A working with this resident wouldn't you appreciate a heads up? I am sure the resident would appreciate it as well. 

I love when I see a CMA hold a team together. They communicate with the nurse. An example I saw recently was a resident that really struggled to swallow her meds to the point she no longer could swallow her larger tablets and capsule. The CMA went to the nurse and explained this, the nurse checked and had an order to crush meds if necessary, the CMA did not just say great and go and crush all her medications, instead she took time to look and found a medication to treat hypertension, was a long acting form. This CMA then asked the nurse if she wanted to call the provider for a form that was not long acting or what the best way to handle the issue. If this CMA had not been proactive, and the long acting antihypertensive medication were crushed this resident most likely would have had a hypotensive episode which very well may have resulted in a serious fall or even worse! 

A great CMA is professional and does not get involved in the petty politics, they stay focused and do not cut corners when passing meds; they truly care and always put the resident first. These CMAs are worth their weight in gold!