The steps required in CNAs to dress a resident with a weak arm include the basic direct and indirect care skills that you will learn in a CNA class.  It is important to take note, that it is not only the direct process of dressing the patient which will be assessed by the evaluator during the skills part of the exam, the indirect care skills would also possess a significant weight in your test scores.  You should therefore take all the care and effort to try to perform and include all the required skills that the evaluator will require.

The steps for dressing a resident with a weak arm is as follows.  Make sure to provide the appropriate indirect skill to the given situation.  The first is to greet the resident by his or her name, and then introduce yourself and what is the purpose of your presence in their room.  Tell them that you are there to assist them in their dressing.  After that, inform the patient about the steps that will be done for dressing them right before and during the activity.  Ask them about their personal preference as to the type, color, and shape of clothing that they want.  This is one of the rights of a resident and you should be careful to include them.  Try to collect these pieces of clothing right before you undress the resident.

Next, you have to make sure that you are providing sufficient support for the weak arm of the resident while you are undressing and afterwards, dressing them.  You should dress the weak arm first taking care that you perform all the necessary steps to lessen the amount of stress that you will put in it while dressing.  Make sure that you have gathered up the sleeve of the clothing before trying to put their arm in it. Afterwards, you can proceed with the other pieces of clothing such as the pants and the socks.  Do not try to overextend the legs and arms of the resident.

Try to put the clothes in as appropriate a manner as possible meaning perform the necessary adjustments so the clothes fit comfortably on the body of the resident such as adjusting the sleeves and aligning them correctly.  Try to make it look as neat as possible and close the areas that need to be closed.  After this, put the dirty clothing in a hamper and wash your hands.

It is important to take note that you have given the patient with the proper method of care and dressing.  Try to keep them on a safe position on the bed where the distance will not let them roll over. Try to incorporate as much of the resident’s preferences as possible and use the necessary precautions for infection control and standard precautions.

Ensure that the patient is feeling comfortable with how you are dressing them and what other needs they may require while dressing them.  You should also be careful to protect the patient’s rights to privacy as well as to safety during the activity.