Nutrition Basics and Patient Feeding

Course overview

The human body requires good nutrition and the proper intake of food and fluids, to grow, repair damage, and to fight off infections. Food and fluids provide the body with calories and nutrients. Guidelines for individual diets include important rules such as maintaining a balance between calories taken in and calories expended to maintain proper body weight. A CNA will be called upon to assist a patient who needs assistance with eating. There are many reasons why someone might not be able to self-feed, and there are some important rules and procedures a CNA will need to follow when feeding a patient. Patients who cannot feed themselves are at risk of aspirating food into the lungs, and the CNA who observes recommended safety measures to prevent patient aspiration may help to avoid a devastating outcome.