Top 12 Patient Care Assistant Skills to Put on Your Resume
In the demanding, deeply human world of healthcare, Patient Care Assistants keep things steady. They lift spirits. They catch problems early. They fill the gaps no one else sees. A resume that spotlights practical skills and calm competence helps you rise above the noise and show you’re ready for real work at the bedside.
Patient Care Assistant Skills
- CPR Certified
- Vital Signs Monitoring
- EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner)
- Patient Bathing
- Mobility Assistance
- Wound Care
- HIPAA Compliance
- Glucose Monitoring
- Medication Administration
- Charting (e.g., Meditech)
- Infection Control
- Phlebotomy Skills
1. CPR Certified
CPR Certified means you’ve completed training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and can act fast to restore breathing and circulation during emergencies. It’s a must-have for anyone working hands-on with patients.
Why It's Important
Because seconds matter. Certification ensures you can deliver immediate, life-saving support when a patient crashes.
How to Improve CPR Certified Skills
Refresh often. Drill the basics. Practice with feedback devices. Consider advanced courses (such as ACLS) when your role requires deeper response skills. Keep up with current guidelines and rehearse team roles so real events feel familiar, not chaotic.
How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume
2. Vital Signs Monitoring
Vital signs monitoring means checking and documenting temperature, pulse, respirations, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure on a regular cadence. Patterns tell stories; trends guide action.
Why It's Important
It’s the earliest warning system. Small changes can flag deterioration long before a crisis erupts.
How to Improve Vital Signs Monitoring Skills
Know the norms and the outliers by age, diagnosis, and baseline for your patient. Context matters.
Use calibrated, well-maintained equipment. Faulty cuffs or probes lead to bad calls.
Standardize technique: correct cuff size, patient positioning, rest time, and consistent measurement timing.
Document promptly and clearly, including patient position and activity if relevant.
Speak up early when values drift from baseline, and escalate per protocol.
Stay current on device features, alarms, and workflow updates in your unit.
How to Display Vital Signs Monitoring Skills on Your Resume
3. EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner)
EHR systems like Epic, Cerner, or Meditech centralize patient data—histories, meds, orders, notes—so the whole team works from one source of truth.
Why It's Important
Fast access. Fewer errors. Cleaner handoffs. Your documentation powers safer care and tighter coordination.
How to Improve EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner) Skills
Customize your workspace: favorite orders, common documentation phrases, smart tools, and quick actions.
Learn keyboard shortcuts and templates to reduce clicks and cut charting time.
Practice accurate, timely entries. If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.
Use role-based training and simulations offered by your facility; ask super users for tips.
Report usability issues; feedback loops help teams fix friction points that slow care.
Enable secure mobile access where permitted to update notes and tasks at the bedside.
How to Display EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner) Skills on Your Resume
4. Patient Bathing
Patient bathing covers partial or full body hygiene support for those who can’t safely bathe alone. Clean skin. Warm towels. Steady hands. Dignity intact.
Why It's Important
It prevents infection, protects skin integrity, and brings comfort. Simple, essential care that lifts well-being.
How to Improve Patient Bathing Skills
Prep thoroughly: gather supplies, test water temperature, arrange non-slip surfaces.
Guard privacy: close doors or curtains; drape thoughtfully to maintain modesty.
Communicate each step and invite participation. Patients who can help, should.
Be gentle but thorough—check skin folds, under devices, and pressure-prone areas.
Prioritize safety: stabilize transfers, dry fully, moisturize dry skin, and prevent chills.
Document skin findings and report redness, breakdown, or rash immediately.
How to Display Patient Bathing Skills on Your Resume
5. Mobility Assistance
Mobility assistance means helping patients move safely—transfers, repositioning, ambulation, and the smart use of assistive devices.
Why It's Important
It prevents falls, preserves function, and boosts independence. Small wins add up to better outcomes.
How to Improve Mobility Assistance Skills
Master body mechanics and transfer techniques; protect your back and the patient.
Know the gear: gait belts, walkers, canes, wheelchairs, slide boards, lifts. Fit and function matter.
Assess before you act—strength, balance, pain, cognition, lines/tubes, footwear.
Encourage brief, frequent activity per plan of care; celebrate progress.
Coordinate with physical therapy and nursing to align goals and reinforce exercises.
Document tolerance, distance, assistance level, and any red flags.
How to Display Mobility Assistance Skills on Your Resume
6. Wound Care
Wound care includes assessment, cleaning, dressing, and monitoring to promote healing while preventing infection. Technique and consistency drive results.
Why It's Important
Good care minimizes complications, speeds recovery, and protects comfort and function.
How to Improve Wound Care Skills
Start clean: perform hand hygiene, use gloves, and maintain a tidy field.
Choose appropriate dressings per wound type, drainage, and provider orders; change on schedule.
Monitor closely: watch for redness, warmth, swelling, odor, increased pain, or drainage changes.
Support healing with nutrition—adequate protein, hydration, vitamins, and zinc per plan.
Teach simple home-care steps if applicable and reinforce when to seek help.
Report concerns promptly and document progress with measurements and descriptions.
How to Display Wound Care Skills on Your Resume
7. HIPAA Compliance
HIPAA compliance means protecting patient health information—what you see, say, store, and share—through sound privacy and security practices.
Why It's Important
Trust depends on confidentiality. The law does too. Patients deserve protection; teams need discipline.
How to Improve HIPAA Compliance Skills
Complete role-specific training and refreshers; know your facility’s policies cold.
Understand PHI and the minimum necessary standard; share only what’s required for care.
Use safeguards: secure screens, locked carts, correct shredding, and strong passwords.
Avoid hallway talk; verify identities before disclosing information.
Report suspected breaches immediately. Better cautious than compromised.
Stay alert to policy updates and new threats (phishing, tailgating, lost devices).
How to Display HIPAA Compliance Skills on Your Resume
8. Glucose Monitoring
Glucose monitoring involves checking blood sugar—most often via fingerstick—so care teams can act quickly and keep values in a safe range.
Why It's Important
It helps prevent dangerous highs and lows, guides medication and meal timing, and reduces complications.
How to Improve Glucose Monitoring Skills
Teach and reinforce technique: proper site prep, strip handling, and meter use.
Time checks per orders and meals; note symptoms that don’t match numbers.
Document readings with context (fasting, pre/post meal, activity) when relevant.
Communicate abnormal values immediately and follow protocols for hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
Support lifestyle guidance from the care team—consistent meals, hydration, and safe activity.
How to Display Glucose Monitoring Skills on Your Resume
9. Medication Administration
Medication administration, where permitted by state regulations and facility policy, means ensuring the right patient gets the right medication, dose, route, and time—with the right documentation. In many settings, Patient Care Assistants support this process through reminders, preparation, and reporting; actual administration may require additional certification (e.g., medication aide) or be performed by licensed staff.
Why It's Important
Accuracy prevents harm. Timeliness improves control of symptoms and conditions. Clear records close the loop.
How to Improve Medication Administration Skills
Follow the “rights”: patient, medication, dose, route, time, and documentation. Many teams also add reason and response.
Know common meds on your unit: indications, side effects, and red flags you must report.
Use barcoding and check two identifiers every time when applicable.
Clarify unclear orders immediately; never guess.
Communicate changes in patient status that could affect medication safety.
How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume
10. Charting (e.g., Meditech)
Charting in systems like Meditech means recording observations, care provided, and patient responses in real time. Clean entries make care safer and handoffs smoother.
Why It's Important
Accurate documentation tells the patient’s story—what’s been done, what’s next, what to watch.
How to Improve Charting (e.g., Meditech) Skills
Learn your system’s layout: flowsheets, task lists, note types, and shortcuts.
Use templates and smart phrases to stay consistent and efficient.
Document close to the point of care; avoid memory gaps.
Stick to facts, quantify when possible, and avoid vague wording.
Coordinate with nurses and therapists to ensure continuity and avoid duplication.
Review your entries for accuracy, spelling, and correct patient charts before signing.
How to Display Charting (e.g., Meditech) Skills on Your Resume
11. Infection Control
Infection control bundles policies and habits that block pathogens from spreading—hand hygiene, PPE, cleaning, respiratory etiquette, safe sharps, and isolation precautions.
Why It's Important
It protects vulnerable patients and keeps staff safe. Outbreaks are costly; prevention is faster and kinder.
How to Improve Infection Control Skills
Perform hand hygiene before and after every patient contact and after removing gloves.
Wear the right PPE for the task; don and doff correctly.
Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces and shared equipment on schedule.
Handle sharps safely; never recap; dispose immediately in proper containers.
Apply isolation precautions exactly as posted; cluster care to reduce exposure.
Stay current with unit protocols and report breaches right away.
How to Display Infection Control Skills on Your Resume
12. Phlebotomy Skills
Phlebotomy involves drawing blood safely and correctly, labeling specimens, and ensuring patient comfort. Scope varies by facility and training; certification may be required.
Why It's Important
Quality samples drive accurate results. Calm, skilled technique reduces patient anxiety and complications.
How to Improve Phlebotomy Skills
Practice under supervision to refine vein selection, angle, and depth.
Review anatomy and palpation skills; let your fingers guide your eyes.
Prepare meticulously: correct tubes, order of draw, gentle tourniquet use, and proper mixing.
Use clear, confident communication to set expectations and reduce fear.
Label at the bedside with two identifiers; verify requisitions before leaving.
Seek feedback from experienced staff and track your own misses to spot patterns.
How to Display Phlebotomy Skills on Your Resume
