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Did your health science program just add a new certified nursing assistant course? Or are you looking to update your current CNA curriculum?
If so, you need materials to help cover your standards, prepare students for CNA certification, and get them set for nursing assistant careers.
While we provide a health science curriculum that hundreds of teachers use to teach CNA courses, our solution isn’t right for everyone.
Some health science instructors prefer to use a traditional textbook as their primary curriculum resource, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
There are dozens of nursing assistant textbooks to choose from, but how do you know which one is right for your program?
The top CNA textbooks recommended by CTE health science teachers are:
- Nursing Assistant Care: The Basics
- Nursing Assisting: A Foundation in Caregiving
- Mosby’s Textbook for Nursing Assistants
- The Nursing Assistant: Essentials of Holistic Care
In this article, you’ll find an overview of each textbook to help you decide which one is right for you and your students.
1. Nursing Assistant Care: The Basics
- Authors: Hartman Publishing, Inc. with Jetta Fuzy
- Copyright: 2022
- Retail Price: $36.00 Textbook, $16.00 Workbook, $39.90 Instructor's Guide
Nursing Assistant Care: The Basics is a textbook covering the essential information required for working in long-term care facilities.
This book is the shortest one on our list, and is organized into ten chapters:
- The Nursing Assistant In Long-Term Care
- Foundations of Resident Care
- Understanding Residents
- Body Systems and Related Conditions
- Confusion, Dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease
- Personal Care Skills
- Basic Nursing Skills
- Nutrition and Hydration
- Rehabilitation and Restorative Care
- Caring for Yourself
You’ll find more than 60 procedures your students need to know to be successful CNAs throughout the chapters.
Overall, this recently updated health science textbook is easy for students to follow, with straightforward language, clear organization, and procedural guidelines highlighted throughout the content.
However, the main drawback of this CNA book is its brevity. It may lack the in-depth teaching required to help your students pass their certified nursing assistant exam unless partnered with a more comprehensive teaching system.
Nursing Assistant Care: The Basics is an excellent option for teachers focused on the basics of nursing assisting and would be a great supplementary text if you have an existing curriculum.
2. Nursing Assisting: A Foundation in Caregiving
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Authors: Diana L. Dugan
- Copyright: 2019
- Retail Price: $60.00 Textbook, $65.00 Hardback Textbook, $18.60 Workbook, $39.90 Instructor's Guide
Nursing Assistant: A Foundation in Caregiving is a comprehensive text on becoming a nursing assistant, with 28 chapters:
- The Nursing Assistant in Long Term
- Ethical and Legal Issues
- Communication Skills
- Communication Challenges
- Diversity and Human Needs and Development
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Safety and Body Mechanics
- Emergency Care, First Aid, and Disasters
- Admission, Transfer, Discharge, and Physical Exams
- Bedmaking and Unit Care
- Positioning, Moving, and Lifting
- Personal Care
- Vital Signs
- Nutrition and Fluid Balance
- The Gastrointestinal System
- The Urinary System
- The Reproductive System
- The Integumentary System
- The Circulatory or Cardiovascular System
- The Respiratory System
- The Musculoskeletal System
- The Nervous System
- The Endocrine System
- The Immune and Lymphatic Systems and Cancer
- Rehabilitation and Restorative Care
- Subacute Care
- End-of-Life Care
- Your New Position
The chapters that focus on each body system help your students better understand the disease processes and related care they will be responsible for as CNAs.
Like the first book on our list, this text provides more than 60 procedures for students to learn and review.
Overall, it provides an in-depth foundation for students to learn concepts and skills, along with chapter tests to assess student understanding throughout the semester.
This CNA book is a good choice for teachers who need a comprehensive resource to act as the main piece of their CNA curriculum.
3. Mosby's Textbook for Nursing Assistants
Authors: Sheila A. Sorrentino, Ph.D., RN and Leighann Remmert- Copyright: 2021
- Retail Price: $80.95 Textbook
Mosby’s Textbook for Nursing Assistants is designed to help prepare your students for work in long-term, acute, or subacute care settings.
It is organized into a whopping 60 different chapters:
- Health Care Agencies
- The Person’s Rights
- The Nursing Assistant
- Delegation
- Ethics And Laws
- Student And Work Ethics
- Communicating with the Person
- Health Team Communications
- Medical Terminology
- Body Structure And Function
- Growth And Development
- The Older Person
- Safety
- Preventing Falls
- Restraint Alternatives And Restraints
- Preventing Infection
- Isolation Precautions
- Body Mechanics
- Moving The Person
- Transferring The Person
- The Person’s Unit
- Bedmaking
- Oral Hygiene
- Daily Hygiene and Bathing
- Grooming
- Dressing And Undressing
- Urinary Needs
- Urinary Catheters
- Bowel Needs
- Nutrition Needs
- Fluid Needs
- Nutritional Support And IV Therapy
- Vital Signs
- Exercise And Activity
- Comfort, Rest, And Sleep
- Admissions, Transfers, And Discharges
- Assisting With The Physical Examination
- Collecting And Testing Specimens
- The Person Having Surgery
- Wound Care
- Pressure Injuries
- Heat And Cold Applications
- Oxygen Needs
- Respiratory Support And Therapies
- Rehabilitation Needs
- Hearing, Speech, And Vision Problems
- Cancer, Immune System, And Skin Disorders
- Nervous System And Musculo-Skeletal Disorders
- Cardiovascular, Respiratory, And Lymphatic Disorders
- Digestive And Endocrine Disorders
- Urinary And Reproductive Disorders
- Mental Health Disorders
- Confusion And Dementia
- Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities
- Sexuality
- Caring For Mothers And Babies
- Assisted Living
- Emergency Care
- End-Of-Life Care
- Getting A Job
With so many chapters, Mosby’s Textbook for Nursing Assistants is the most built-out text for CNA programs.
It includes more than 100 procedures with step-by-step instructions and is perfect for programs that are 80 hours or longer.
Overall, this CNA text is a good fit for a program looking for a nursing assistant curriculum heavily focused on teaching hands-on skills.
4. The Nursing Assistant: Essentials of Holistic Care
Authors: Dr. Sue C. Roe- Copyright: 2020
- Retail Price: $66.00 Textbook, $26.00 Study Guide
The Nursing Assistant: Essentials of Holistic Care teaches the knowledge and skills needed to become a nursing assistant, focusing on holistic care.
The textbook contains 28 chapters, organized into 11 parts:
- The Nursing Assistant—Roles and Responsibilities
- Health and Well-Being—Self-Care and Disease
- Holistic Communication and Cultural Humility
- Observing, Reporting, and Documenting
- Infections and Infection Prevention
- Safety and Mobility
- Obtaining Health Information
- Providing Personal Care
- Nutrition, Fluid Balance, and Elimination
- Special Issues, Populations, and Emergency Care
- Taking the Next Steps
Throughout the chapters, you’ll find 80 step-by-step procedures, which illustrate the techniques required to work in various healthcare settings.
It also highlights common healthcare scenarios CNAs encounter and “culture cues” to help students understand the impact of cultural, social, and ethnic diversity.
The Nursing Assistant: Essentials of Holistic Care is a great CNA book for teachers who wish to teach their students a holistic approach to their patients’ bodies, minds, and spirits.
Which Nursing Assisting Textbook is Right for Your Students?
Though it’s impossible to review every CNA book out there, this article can give you some direction based on textbooks we hear about from teachers like you.
As you learn more about each resource, keep in mind that many teachers use more than just a traditional textbook to teach their CNA students.
Many health science teachers have found that using a comprehensive curriculum system like iCEV in conjunction with their CNA textbooks is the perfect way to help their students prepare for their careers.
iCEV includes prebuilt lesson plans, fully customizable courses, media-rich presentations, and engaging activities to prepare students for industry certifications.
Wondering how a digital curriculum like iCEV could fit into your CNA classes? Check out the Health Science curriculum page to learn more and see if it's right for your needs:
