Top 12 Personal Care Worker Skills to Put on Your Resume
Personal care work runs on heart, stamina, and skill. On a resume, the right mix proves you can handle the delicate, day-to-day realities of supporting people who rely on you. Below you’ll find the top 12 skills to highlight—practical, human, and immediately useful—so you show up as versatile, dependable, and ready.
Personal Care Worker Skills
- CPR Certified
- First Aid
- Patient Monitoring
- Hygiene Assistance
- Medication Administration
- Mobility Support
- Nutritional Planning
- Alzheimer's Care
- Wound Care
- Scheduling Software (e.g., Celayix)
- Electronic Health Records (e.g., Epic)
- Communication Tools (e.g., Slack)
1. CPR Certified
CPR Certified means you’ve completed formal training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and are qualified to deliver life-saving support during cardiac arrest until emergency responders take over.
Why It's Important
CPR certification equips a Personal Care Worker to act fast in a cardiac emergency, protecting brain function and buying crucial minutes. For vulnerable clients, those minutes matter.
How to Improve CPR Certified Skills
Sharpen your CPR skills with repetition and currency. Renew on time. Choose the healthcare-provider (BLS) track when available. Practice compressions and rescue breathing on manikins whenever you can. Run short scenario drills with peers. If your employer offers simulation training, jump in. Keep up with updated guidelines so your technique matches the latest standards.
Confidence grows with hands-on time and short, frequent refreshers—not just one class every two years.
How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume
2. First Aid
First Aid is immediate care for sudden illness or minor injury until advanced treatment is available. In personal care, it means calm action, safe technique, and good judgment.
Why It's Important
Early, appropriate First Aid can prevent complications, reduce pain, and stabilize a client before help arrives. It’s the safety net you bring to every visit.
How to Improve First Aid Skills
Keep certifications current. Practice bandaging, splinting, and wound cleaning so your hands remember the steps. Review case scenarios—what you’d do, what you’d avoid, how you’d call for help. Build a quick-reference routine: check scene safety, don gloves, assess ABCs, then act. After any real incident, debrief and note what to refine next time.
How to Display First Aid Skills on Your Resume
3. Patient Monitoring
Patient monitoring means observing and documenting vital signs, symptoms, behavior changes, and risk indicators so care teams can respond quickly and appropriately.
Why It's Important
Small changes tell big stories. Early detection prevents crises, guides treatment, and keeps clients safer at home.
How to Improve Patient Monitoring Skills
Know baseline norms for each client and track against them. Measure vitals accurately—practice with digital thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, and glucose meters. Use approved wearables or remote-monitoring tools when part of the care plan, and document readings consistently. Watch for nonverbal cues: appetite shifts, sleep patterns, mood changes, gait differences. Report red flags promptly and clearly to nurses or supervisors. Standardize your notes so trends jump off the page.
How to Display Patient Monitoring Skills on Your Resume
4. Hygiene Assistance
Hygiene assistance is hands-on support with bathing, grooming, oral care, toileting, and dressing—done with respect, safety, and comfort front and center.
Why It's Important
Good hygiene fights infection, protects skin, and preserves dignity. It’s health care and human care, intertwined.
How to Improve Hygiene Assistance Skills
Personalize routines to the client’s preferences and cultural norms. Prepare the space, gather supplies, and explain each step before you begin. Keep the person warm and covered, exposing only what’s needed. Wash hands thoroughly and use gloves appropriately. Follow infection-control protocols, especially with incontinence and wound areas. Check skin for redness, pressure spots, or breakdown and report concerns early. Gentle, clear communication reduces anxiety and builds trust.
How to Display Hygiene Assistance Skills on Your Resume
5. Medication Administration
Medication administration is safely giving the right medication to the right person, at the right dose, time, and route—while watching for effects and documenting accurately.
Why It's Important
Meds done right stabilize conditions, prevent hospitalizations, and protect clients from harm. Mistakes do the opposite. Precision matters.
How to Improve Medication Administration Skills
Follow the five rights every single time. Read labels carefully and confirm orders. Use checklists or approved eMAR tools when available. Ask about allergies and watch for side effects, interactions, and swallowing difficulties. Clarify unclear instructions with supervising clinicians. Lock and store medications per policy, and document immediately after administering. Keep your knowledge current on common drugs you see often.
How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume
6. Mobility Support
Mobility support includes safe transfers, ambulation, repositioning, and use of assistive devices to reduce fall risk and promote independence.
Why It's Important
Movement preserves strength and spirit. Done safely, it prevents injuries for clients and caregivers alike.
How to Improve Mobility Support Skills
Master body mechanics and use transfer techniques that protect your back and the client’s joints. Fit and adjust aids like canes, walkers, and wheelchairs based on instructions from therapists or nurses. Set up the environment: remove trip hazards, secure rugs, improve lighting, keep necessities within reach. Encourage short, regular activity tailored to the person’s abilities, focusing on balance and strength. Know when to request a second person or lift device—safety first, always.
How to Display Mobility Support Skills on Your Resume
7. Nutritional Planning
Nutritional planning means building meal plans that match a client’s medical needs, preferences, culture, and budget—while keeping meals appealing and safe.
Why It's Important
Nutrition underpins healing, energy, mood, and disease management. A thoughtful plan turns the plate into part of the care plan.
How to Improve Nutritional Planning Skills
Start with a basic assessment: weight trends, appetite, hydration, chewing or swallowing limits, and any diet orders (low sodium, diabetic-friendly, texture-modified, allergen-free). Plan simple, balanced meals with variety and fiber. Prep ahead to reduce missed meals. Track intake and adjust if weight, blood sugar, or symptoms shift. When in doubt, consult a nurse or dietitian for guidance and special diets.
How to Display Nutritional Planning Skills on Your Resume
8. Alzheimer's Care
Alzheimer’s care focuses on safety, structure, and compassion—meeting the person where they are, moment by moment.
Why It's Important
Specialized support reduces distress, prevents wandering or injury, and preserves identity and dignity through a changing illness.
How to Improve Alzheimer's Care Skills
Use short, simple instructions and a calm tone. Keep routines steady and the environment familiar. Offer choices that are easy to accept. Redirect, don’t argue—validation over confrontation. Reduce triggers: noise, clutter, hunger, pain, or fatigue. Engage with activities matched to ability—music, sorting, light exercise, reminiscing. Monitor nutrition, hydration, sleep, and bowel habits. When behaviors change, look for unmet needs underneath.
How to Display Alzheimer's Care Skills on Your Resume
9. Wound Care
Wound care means protecting skin, cleaning gently, applying appropriate dressings, and watching for infection so healing stays on track.
Why It's Important
Good wound care prevents serious infections, eases pain, and shortens recovery time. Small lapses can spiral. Consistency wins.
How to Improve Wound Care Skills
Wash hands thoroughly and use clean technique. Follow the care plan exactly: cleansing solution, dressing type, frequency. Keep the area dry and protected between changes. Check for redness, heat, swelling, odor, drainage changes, or increasing pain—and report promptly. Offload pressure points and reposition regularly. Support healing with adequate protein, vitamins, and fluids as allowed.
How to Display Wound Care Skills on Your Resume
10. Scheduling Software (e.g., Celayix)
Scheduling software helps you manage shifts, client visits, and availability with fewer conflicts and faster updates.
Why It's Important
Clear schedules reduce no-shows, late arrivals, and burnout. Better planning means better care.
How to Improve Scheduling Software (e.g., Celayix) Skills
Learn the mobile app inside out—view, swap, and confirm shifts quickly. Set up smart notifications for changes and reminders. Keep your availability updated so schedulers can assign efficiently. Use in-app notes for client preferences or travel time considerations when that feature exists. Review your week at a glance to cluster visits geographically and cut down on transit. Track credentials and expiration dates if the system supports it, avoiding last-minute scrambles.
How to Display Scheduling Software (e.g., Celayix) Skills on Your Resume
11. Electronic Health Records (e.g., Epic)
Electronic Health Records are digital charts with medications, diagnoses, care plans, labs, and notes—accessible to the care team for coordinated, up-to-date support.
Why It's Important
EHRs reduce guesswork. With accurate, real-time information, you deliver safer, more consistent care.
How to Improve Electronic Health Records (e.g., Epic) Skills
Complete role-specific EHR training and practice in a test environment if offered. Use templates and smart phrases to document consistently while saving time. Enter information at the point of care when possible to avoid missed details. Learn basic search, filters, and dashboards so you can find orders, allergies, and care plans fast. Protect privacy: log out, avoid shared passwords, and document only what your role requires.
How to Display Electronic Health Records (e.g., Epic) Skills on Your Resume
12. Communication Tools (e.g., Slack)
Communication tools enable secure messaging, updates, file sharing, and quick coordination with care teams.
Why It's Important
Fast, organized communication keeps everyone aligned. The right message at the right moment prevents errors and delays.
How to Improve Communication Tools (e.g., Slack) Skills
Use channels for specific clients or tasks so conversations stay focused. Tune notification settings to flag urgent messages and mute noise. Set simple naming conventions for files and threads. Enable secure, HIPAA-compliant features when handling protected health information—encryption, access controls, audit trails—and follow your organization’s policies. Add calendar and task integrations if permitted to surface reminders inside your chat workflow. Keep messages brief, time-stamped, and actionable.
How to Display Communication Tools (e.g., Slack) Skills on Your Resume
