Top 12 Geriatric Nursing Assistant Skills to Put on Your Resume
In today’s busy care settings, geriatric nursing assistants anchor stability and dignity for older adults. Showcasing skills that match the realities of aging care can lift your resume and prove you’re serious about safe, human, day-to-day support.
Geriatric Nursing Assistant Skills
- Patient Care
- CPR Certified
- Vital Signs
- EMR (Electronic Medical Records)
- Wound Dressing
- Dementia Care
- Mobility Assistance
- Hygiene Assistance
- Medication Administration
- HIPAA Compliance
- ADL Support (Activities of Daily Living)
- Palliative Care
1. Patient Care
Patient care, for a Geriatric Nursing Assistant, means complete support for older adults: assistance with daily living, hygiene, mobility, nutrition, comfort, safety, and steady emotional presence.
Why It's Important
It preserves dignity, protects health, and lessens distress. Older adults face complex needs; attentive care keeps complications down and quality of life up.
How to Improve Patient Care Skills
Focus on the person, not just the task. Listen closely. Document clearly. Prevent falls and skin breakdown. Anticipate needs before they escalate. Coordinate with the team and family. Keep learning—aging care evolves, and so should your practice.
How to Display Patient Care Skills on Your Resume
2. CPR Certified
CPR certification confirms competency in adult CPR and AED use—critical for responding to cardiac or respiratory emergencies among older adults.
Why It's Important
Cardiac events can unfold fast. The right response, right away, can change the outcome.
How to Improve CPR Certified Skills
Renew on schedule. Practice hands-on frequently. Train with realistic simulations. Learn team-based resuscitation roles. Review updates from recognized organizations so your technique stays current.
How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume
3. Vital Signs
Vital signs include temperature, pulse, respirations, blood pressure, and pain. They’re the early warning system for clinical change.
Why It's Important
Small deviations can signal big problems in older adults. Timely detection means timely intervention.
How to Improve Vital Signs Skills
Master technique: proper cuff sizing, orthostatic BP checks, accurate counting, and calibration. Recognize trends, not just numbers. Escalate promptly when readings drift. Encourage hydration, mobility, and adherence to care plans to support stable readings.
How to Display Vital Signs Skills on Your Resume
4. EMR (Electronic Medical Records)
EMRs are the digital record of a patient’s health story—medications, allergies, diagnoses, labs, notes, and plans—used to coordinate care.
Why It's Important
Accurate, up-to-date info prevents errors and keeps everyone on the same page, which is vital when conditions and meds pile up.
How to Improve EMR (Electronic Medical Records) Skills
Enter data precisely and in real time. Use templates and order sets correctly. Protect privacy with strong passwords and secure workflows. Flag changes in condition. Advocate for workflows that fit geriatric needs, including mobile access and alerts.
How to Display EMR (Electronic Medical Records) Skills on Your Resume
5. Wound Dressing
Wound dressing means cleaning, protecting, and supporting healing with the right materials and schedule—especially for fragile skin and chronic wounds.
Why It's Important
It shields against infection, supports moisture balance, and speeds healing. Older skin is thin; complications can spiral quickly.
How to Improve Wound Dressing Skills
Assess carefully: size, depth, exudate, odor, tissue type, and infection signs. Choose dressings that maintain moisture without maceration. Clean gently. Offload pressure areas. Track progress with consistent measurements and photos per policy. Practice sterile technique. Comfort matters—warm solutions, slow movements, good pain control.
How to Display Wound Dressing Skills on Your Resume
6. Dementia Care
Dementia care centers on safety, calm routines, and communication that meets the person where they are—preserving identity and comfort while adapting to changing abilities.
Why It's Important
It reduces distress, prevents avoidable behaviors, and enriches daily life for the person and their family.
How to Improve Dementia Care Skills
Use person-centered routines. Speak simply, validate feelings, and watch nonverbal cues. Reduce noise and clutter. Offer meaningful, ability-matched activities. Prevent triggers; redirect rather than confront. Partner with families for life history insights.
How to Display Dementia Care Skills on Your Resume
7. Mobility Assistance
Mobility assistance covers safer walking, transfers, and repositioning—with or without devices—so elders move more and fall less.
Why It's Important
Movement preserves strength, bowel function, and independence. Proper help prevents injuries for both patient and caregiver.
How to Improve Mobility Assistance Skills
Assess baseline mobility. Use gait belts and the right device (walker, cane, wheelchair). Apply safe transfer techniques and body mechanics. Clear hazards; add grab bars and non-slip footwear. Encourage short, frequent walks. Coordinate with PT/OT for tailored plans.
How to Display Mobility Assistance Skills on Your Resume
8. Hygiene Assistance
Hygiene assistance means supporting bathing, grooming, oral care, toileting, and dressing—respectfully and efficiently—so people feel clean and dignified.
Why It's Important
Prevents infection. Protects skin. Boosts comfort and self-esteem.
How to Improve Hygiene Assistance Skills
Protect privacy and warmth. Use gentle, pH-balanced products and moisturizers. Check skin each shift. Prioritize oral care—daily, not someday. Follow strict hand hygiene and PPE guidance. Leverage adaptive tools (long-handled sponges, shower chairs) to increase independence.
How to Display Hygiene Assistance Skills on Your Resume
9. Medication Administration
Medication administration means safely giving meds as ordered—right patient, drug, dose, time, route—and monitoring effects. Scope varies by state and facility; some roles require additional certification (e.g., medication aide).
Why It's Important
Older adults often take many medications. Accuracy prevents harm and keeps conditions controlled.
How to Improve Medication Administration Skills
Practice the rights of medication safety (and document thoroughly). Use eMAR systems correctly. Reconcile medication lists during transitions. Clarify orders that seem off. Watch for side effects, interactions, and swallowing issues. Report errors or near-misses promptly and learn from them.
How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume
10. HIPAA Compliance
HIPAA compliance means safeguarding protected health information—only sharing what’s necessary with authorized people and securing records at every step.
Why It's Important
It protects privacy, builds trust, and avoids costly breaches.
How to Improve HIPAA Compliance Skills
Complete regular training. Know what counts as PHI. Follow minimum-necessary access. Use secure messaging and verified recipients. Position screens away from public view; lock workstations. Keep a clean desk. Report suspected breaches immediately and follow policy.
How to Display HIPAA Compliance Skills on Your Resume
11. ADL Support (Activities of Daily Living)
ADL support is hands-on help with bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, and mobility—calibrated to promote as much independence as possible.
Why It's Important
Daily function is the backbone of quality of life. Safe support prevents complications and preserves autonomy.
How to Improve ADL Support (Activities of Daily Living) Skills
Individualize care plans to preferences and abilities. Introduce assistive devices (grab bars, dressing aids). Use energy-conservation techniques and cueing. Apply safe body mechanics and transfer methods. Encourage gentle activity to maintain strength and balance. Involve family to reinforce routines.
How to Display ADL Support (Activities of Daily Living) Skills on Your Resume
12. Palliative Care
Palliative care focuses on comfort, symptom control, and aligning care with what matters most to the patient and family—at any stage of serious illness.
Why It's Important
Less suffering. More clarity. Care that honors goals and values—especially vital in geriatric care.
How to Improve Palliative Care Skills
Strengthen communication about goals of care and advance directives. Recognize and report symptoms quickly—pain, dyspnea, anxiety, constipation. Create soothing environments and routines. Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team; organizations such as the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine promote team-based practice. Be culturally sensitive. Practice self-care to sustain compassion.
How to Display Palliative Care Skills on Your Resume
