In the United States, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Nursing Assistant Certified (NAC), Patient Care Assistant (PCA), State Tested Nurse Aid (STNA) or Nursing Assistant-Registered (NA/R) is a person who assists individuals with healthcare needs (often called "patients", "clients", "service users") with activities of daily living (ADLs) and provide bedside care—including basic nursing procedures—all under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) (Meyer).
In the UK, as in other countries, a CNA might also be called a Nursing Assistant (NA), Auxiliary Nurse (Aux-N), Patient Care Associate (PCA), Nursing Tech (NT), Healthcare Assistant (HCA), Healthcare Support Worker (HSW) or Clinical Support Worker (CSW).
The role is the same regardless of title or initials. The Nursing Assistant is an important member of the health care team who often holds a high level of experience and ability, but without qualification is unable to often perform some tasks due to issues of liability and legality. Attempts to regulate, control and verify education have been made in some places, and the result is the North American "CNA" (Certified Nursing Assistant), a credential gained by registering completion of the statuary level of workplace experience and academic achievement with a central body. This central certification allows an employer to verify experience and knowledge as well as to assist in preventing individuals who have been "struck off" (had registration/certification invalidated) from continuing to work in healthcare roles. In the UK, the credibility of the Healthcare Assistant and other social care workers is intended to be strengthened by their compulsory registration from 2009 with the General Social Care Council in England or its Scottish or Welsh equivalents.wikipedia