Top 12 Personal Care Attendant Skills to Put on Your Resume
Personal care is intimate, relentless, and deeply human. If you work as a personal care attendant, the skills you spotlight can swing doors open. The mix matters: steady hands, clear judgment, and a heart that listens. Below is a sharpened, up-to-date set of core skills to feature, with practical ways to strengthen each one.
Personal Care Attendant Skills
- CPR Certified
- First Aid
- Patient Monitoring
- Hygiene Assistance
- Mobility Support
- Medication Management
- Nutritional Planning
- Alzheimer's Care
- Behavioral Management
- Hoyer Lift
- Scheduling Software
- Electronic Health Records
1. CPR Certified
CPR certification verifies you’ve been trained to respond during cardiac or breathing emergencies—restoring circulation and supporting life while help is on the way.
Why It's Important
Emergencies don’t wait. With CPR skills ready, you can act fast and give someone a fighting chance.
How to Improve CPR Certified Skills
Make it muscle memory and keep it current:
Refresh often: Review updated CPR guidance regularly; protocols evolve.
Re-certify on schedule: Don’t let your card lapse—hands-on refreshers tighten technique.
Practice with feedback: Train using manikins or tools that give real-time compression feedback.
Drill scenarios: Simulate home, community, and workplace emergencies to reduce hesitation.
Stay fit: Effective compressions are physical; build stamina and upper-body strength.
Consistency turns knowledge into action. That’s the point.
How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume
2. First Aid
First Aid is immediate care for injuries or sudden illness—stabilizing, soothing, and preventing things from spiraling until professionals step in.
Why It's Important
Quick, correct first aid can limit harm, ease pain, and buy precious time.
How to Improve First Aid Skills
Keep your toolkit sharp:
Update knowledge: Review current first aid guidance regularly.
Take refreshers: Short courses keep skills crisp and responsive.
Practice: Rehearse bandaging, splinting, choking response, and bleeding control.
Add mental health first aid: Recognize and respond to panic, distress, or crisis with calm steps.
Maintain your kit: Check expirations, restock, and tailor supplies to the client’s needs.
Use checklists: Quick-reference cards or apps help when adrenaline spikes.
How to Display First Aid Skills on Your Resume
3. Patient Monitoring
Patient monitoring means tracking vitals and overall status—breathing, pulse, blood pressure, temperature, pain, mood, and function—to catch changes early.
Why It's Important
Small shifts can signal big trouble. Early detection drives early action.
How to Improve Patient Monitoring Skills
Master the basics: Accurate readings come from correct cuff size, positioning, and timing.
Use simple tech well: Learn home BP cuffs, thermometers, pulse oximeters, and employer-approved wearables.
Document consistently: Same time, same method, clear notes. Patterns emerge when records are clean.
Know red flags: Define when to escalate—thresholds, symptoms, and who to call.
Communicate: Share relevant changes promptly with families and care teams.
How to Display Patient Monitoring Skills on Your Resume
4. Hygiene Assistance
Hygiene assistance covers bathing, grooming, oral care, toileting, and skin care—cleanliness with dignity, tailored to each person’s abilities.
Why It's Important
Good hygiene prevents infection, protects skin, boosts comfort, and restores a sense of self.
How to Improve Hygiene Assistance Skills
Prioritize dignity: Explain each step, protect privacy, and move at a respectful pace.
Use proper technique: Safe body mechanics, warm water, gentle cleansers, thorough drying—especially skin folds.
Promote independence: Offer adaptive tools and let them do what they can.
Infection control: Hand hygiene, gloves when needed, and clean supplies every time.
Skin checks: Watch for redness, breakdown, rashes, or pressure points and report early.
Personalize: Preferred products, hairstyles, routines—comfort lives in the details.
How to Display Hygiene Assistance Skills on Your Resume
5. Mobility Support
Mobility support means helping someone move safely—walking, transferring, repositioning, and using mobility aids without injury.
Why It's Important
Safe movement prevents falls, preserves independence, and keeps life moving instead of shrinking.
How to Improve Mobility Support Skills
Train thoroughly: Learn transfer methods, gait belt use, and fall-prevention basics.
Match the device: Ensure walkers, canes, and wheelchairs are properly fitted and maintained.
Strength and balance: Support simple exercises approved by the healthcare provider.
Modify environments: Clear clutter, add grab bars, improve lighting, and remove trip hazards.
Reassess often: Mobility changes—adjust plans and equipment accordingly.
How to Display Mobility Support Skills on Your Resume
6. Medication Management
Medication management is the careful coordination of what to take, when to take it, how much, and what to watch for—documented and communicated clearly.
Why It's Important
Right dose, right time, right person. That’s safety. Errors can cause harm fast.
How to Improve Medication Management Skills
Know the meds: Purpose, dosing, timing, common side effects, and interactions.
Use tools: Pill organizers, smart dispensers, and reminder apps reduce slipups.
Build a system: A simple, written schedule with checkboxes and notes on side effects.
Communicate changes: Report missed doses, new symptoms, or switches to the care team promptly.
Follow scope and policy: Administer only as permitted by local rules and employer protocols.
How to Display Medication Management Skills on Your Resume
7. Nutritional Planning
Nutritional planning tailors meals to health needs, preferences, and restrictions—balancing nutrients, taste, and practicality.
Why It's Important
Food is fuel and comfort. Good planning supports energy, healing, and mood while preventing deficits.
How to Improve Nutritional Planning Skills
Assess needs: Consider diagnoses, allergies, texture requirements, and cultural preferences.
Set clear goals: Hydration targets, fiber for regularity, adequate protein for strength, sodium limits if needed.
Plan with variety: Rotate proteins, colors, and textures to keep nutrients (and interest) high.
Coordinate with pros: Follow guidance from the care team or a dietitian when available.
Monitor and adjust: Track intake, weight trends, appetite changes, and tweak the plan.
How to Display Nutritional Planning Skills on Your Resume
8. Alzheimer's Care
Alzheimer’s care is specialized support that adapts to changing memory, behavior, and function—safety, structure, and warmth all woven together.
Why It's Important
Consistency and compassion reduce distress, prevent crises, and help preserve identity through the disease’s twists and turns.
How to Improve Alzheimer's Care Skills
Understand progression: Learn common patterns—memory loss, confusion, sundowning, wandering—so you can plan ahead.
Communicate simply: Short sentences, calm tone, one step at a time. Validate feelings; redirect gently.
Use routines: Familiar schedules and cues lower anxiety and boost cooperation.
Engage meaningfully: Music, photos, tactile activities, and past hobbies spark joy and connection.
Make safety routine: Door alarms, clear paths, ID bracelets, and supervised outings.
Support caregivers: Share updates, suggest respite options, and encourage rest.
How to Display Alzheimer's Care Skills on Your Resume
9. Behavioral Management
Behavioral management means understanding what drives actions and shaping the environment to encourage safer, calmer behaviors.
Why It's Important
When behavior improves, everyone breathes easier—clients, families, you.
How to Improve Behavioral Management Skills
Find the “why”: Pain, hunger, fatigue, overstimulation, or fear often sit under the surface.
Reinforce the good: Praise and reward desired behaviors; be specific and timely.
Build predictable routines: Structure lowers anxiety and reduces outbursts.
Communicate clearly: Simple instructions, visual cues, and patient listening go a long way.
De-escalate: Stay calm, give space, offer choices. Safety first, ego last.
Care for yourself: Sleep, movement, and stress management protect your patience.
How to Display Behavioral Management Skills on Your Resume
10. Hoyer Lift
A Hoyer Lift (patient lift) is a mechanical device that helps transfer a person with limited mobility safely between surfaces.
Why It's Important
Proper lift use protects the client and prevents caregiver injuries. It turns risky transfers into controlled moves.
How to Improve Hoyer Lift Skills
Train and practice: Get hands-on instruction and rehearse with supervision until movements feel smooth.
Choose the right sling: Size and style matter; check weight limits, attachment points, and positioning.
Safety checks: Inspect straps, clips, batteries, wheels, and brakes before each use.
Communicate: Explain steps, count down, and coordinate with a second person when needed.
Follow protocols: Use designated transfer routes, clear obstacles, and never rush.
How to Display Hoyer Lift Skills on Your Resume
11. Scheduling Software
Scheduling software organizes shifts, visits, reminders, and tasks—your time map for steady care.
Why It's Important
Good scheduling reduces missed visits, smooths communication, and keeps workloads realistic.
How to Improve Scheduling Software Skills
Learn the features: Availability settings, shift swaps, notifications, notes, and time-off requests.
Sync calendars: Connect to your phone or email calendar to prevent overlap and late surprises.
Set smart alerts: Travel-time buffers, medication reminders, and documentation prompts.
Color-code and tag: Make priorities and visit types pop at a glance.
Protect privacy: Follow HIPAA and workplace rules—no client data in unsecured apps or messages.
Feedback loop: Report recurring glitches and suggest tweaks to your supervisor or admin.
How to Display Scheduling Software Skills on Your Resume
12. Electronic Health Records
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are digital charts that gather diagnoses, medications, allergies, plans, and notes so the care team stays aligned.
Why It's Important
Accurate, timely EHR use means clearer care plans, fewer errors, and smoother coordination.
How to Improve Electronic Health Records Skills
Take the training: Complete system tutorials and practice in a demo environment if available.
Document precisely: Objective, concise notes; use approved templates; time-stamp and sign every entry.
Use alerts wisely: Pay attention to medication warnings, allergies, and care-plan updates.
Protect data: Strong passwords, two-factor authentication, log out every time, and share the minimum necessary.
Audit yourself: Review your entries for accuracy and clarity; correct mistakes quickly.
How to Display Electronic Health Records Skills on Your Resume
