Home Health Aide resume keywords and skills

Home health agencies hire aides who can work alone in a client's home and stay inside the plan of care a nurse wrote. Postings screen for your certificate or training hours, the personal care you give and how you record visits. Pick the terms that match tasks you have done for real clients, and name conditions you have worked with, such as stroke recovery or dementia.

Check a posting for these keywords

Checked in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded.

Job posting

Your resume (optional)

Paste a posting to see which of these 19 keywords it asks for.

Personal care
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Toileting and incontinence care
Patient transfers
Range of motion exercises (ROM)
Vital signs
Medication reminders
Meal preparation
Light housekeeping
Transportation and errands
Plan of care
Electronic visit verification (EVV)
Visit documentation
Reporting changes in condition
Home Health Aide certification (HHA)
CPR and First Aid
Infection control
Fall prevention
Dementia care

Home Health Aide resume keywords

The bullets are writing models, not anyone's real results. Use a keyword only when you can back it with your own work.

Personal care

Personal care: The phrase agencies and Medicaid programs use for hands-on help. Follow it with the tasks, such as bathing, grooming and oral care.; Provided personal care to 5 clients a week, including showers, bed baths, oral care and skin care.
Activities of daily living (ADLs): Nurses write plans of care around ADLs, so postings repeat the term. Spell it out once and use ADLs after that.; Assisted clients recovering from hip surgery with activities of daily living such as dressing, toileting and walking to meals.
Toileting and incontinence care: Agencies ask directly because some applicants will not do it. A plain line removes the doubt.; Managed toileting and incontinence care for bedbound clients, checking skin for redness at each brief change.
Patient transfers: Working alone means no second person to help. Name the equipment you use, such as a gait belt, slide board or Hoyer lift.; Completed patient transfers between bed, wheelchair and commode with a gait belt and slide board.
Range of motion exercises (ROM): Appears when a therapist or nurse leaves an exercise plan. Say that you follow their written instructions.; Led clients through range of motion exercises left by the physical therapist, twice per visit.
Vital signs: Certified aides take them when the plan of care asks. List which ones and who you report to.; Took temperature, pulse and blood pressure at each visit and called abnormal vital signs in to the supervising nurse.
Medication reminders: In most states aides remind and do not administer. Use this wording unless you hold a credential that allows more.; Gave medication reminders from the client's pill organizer at set times and noted each dose taken or missed.

Household support

Meal preparation: Postings pair it with diet orders. Mention the diets you have cooked for, such as diabetic, low-sodium or pureed.; Prepared meals for diabetic and low-sodium diets and recorded how much the client ate.
Light housekeeping: Covers the client's own space, not deep cleaning. Name the tasks so the reader knows you understand the limit.; Did light housekeeping tied to client care, including laundry, dishes and fresh bed linens.
Transportation and errands: Many cases need a driver. State that you have a license, insurance and a reliable car if the posting asks.; Handled transportation to dialysis three times a week and ran errands for prescriptions and groceries.

Care plan and records

Plan of care: The nurse's written instructions for each client. Agencies need to hear that you follow it and stay within it.; Followed the plan of care written by the supervising RN and asked before doing any task not listed.
Electronic visit verification (EVV): Medicaid requires EVV for home care visits. Name the app you clocked in with, such as HHAeXchange or Sandata.; Clocked in and out of every visit through EVV in the HHAeXchange mobile app and fixed missed entries the same day.
Visit documentation: Agencies bill from your notes. Mention that you record tasks, observations and client refusals before leaving the home.; Documented each visit before leaving the home, listing care given, food and fluid intake and anything the client refused.
Reporting changes in condition: Aides see the client far more often than the nurse does. A bullet about a change you reported shows judgment.; Reported changes in condition, such as swelling, new confusion or a fall, to the agency nurse the same day.

Certification and safety

Home Health Aide certification (HHA): Medicare-certified agencies need aides who meet the federal 75-hour training standard. Give your training hours and the state.; Earned Home Health Aide certification after a 75-hour state-approved program with 16 hours of supervised practical training.
CPR and First Aid: Nearly every agency asks for it, since you are alone with the client. List the provider and expiration date.; Hold current CPR and First Aid cards from the American Heart Association.
Infection control: A home has none of a hospital's supplies. Mention gloves, handwashing and how you handle soiled linens.; Practiced infection control in the home with gloves, handwashing before and after care and bagging soiled linens separately.
Fall prevention: Agencies look for aides who spot hazards. Mention what you check, such as rugs, cords, lighting and footwear.; Supported fall prevention by clearing walkways, removing loose rugs with family approval and keeping the walker in reach.
Dementia care: Common in home cases. Describe the approach you use when a client is confused, anxious or refusing care.; Cared for a client with Alzheimer's disease for 2 years, using dementia care methods such as a fixed routine and calm redirection.

Home Health Aide job description for a resume

Common duties written as resume bullets. Keep the ones you did and add your own numbers.

Assist clients with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting and oral care in their homes.
Follow the plan of care written by the supervising nurse and stay within assigned tasks.
Transfer and reposition clients using gait belts, slide boards and mechanical lifts.
Take temperature, pulse, respiration and blood pressure when the plan of care calls for them.
Remind clients to take medications on schedule and record whether each dose was taken.
Prepare meals that fit ordered diets and encourage fluids through the day.
Do light housekeeping tied to client care, such as laundry, dishes and changing linens.
Record each visit and clock in and out through electronic visit verification.
Report changes in condition, falls and safety concerns to the nurse or agency the same day.

Home Health Aide resume summary examples

Entry level

Certified Home Health Aide who completed a 75-hour state-approved program with 16 hours of supervised practical training. Practiced bathing, transfers, vital signs and range of motion exercises with a nurse instructor. Holds current CPR and First Aid, has a reliable car and is open to weekend and overnight cases.

Experienced

Home Health Aide with 6 years at Medicare-certified agencies, carrying 4 to 6 clients a week, among them hospice, dementia and post-stroke cases. Follows RN plans of care, logs visits through EVV and reports changes the same day. Experienced with Hoyer lifts, slide boards and diabetic meal plans.

Phrases to replace on a home health aide resume

Took care of elderly clients
Name the care and the caseload. Provided bathing, dressing and transfer help to 5 clients a week under an RN plan of care.
Gave medications
Stay inside your scope. Reminded clients to take medications from their pill organizer on schedule and recorded each dose taken or refused.
Did housework
Tie it to the client. Prepared low-sodium meals and handled laundry and linens for a client recovering from heart surgery.

Home Health Aide resume examples

See these keywords in a full resume, by experience level.

Entry Level Mid Level Senior Level Compare levels Before and after rewrites

Home Health Aide resume keywords FAQ

What skills should a home health aide put on a resume?

Personal care, ADLs, transfers, vital signs, medication reminders, meal preparation and visit documentation cover most postings. Add EVV, the plan of care and the conditions you have worked with, such as stroke, dementia or hospice. Agencies also check for CPR, a driver's license and schedule flexibility, so put those where they are easy to find.

How do I list home health aide certification on a resume?

Write Home Health Aide certificate, the training program, the state and the year, with your total hours. Federal rules for Medicare-certified agencies set a 75-hour training standard with a competency evaluation, and some states ask for more. If you are also a CNA, list both, since many agencies accept either.

What is the difference between a home health aide and a caregiver?

A home health aide usually has formal training, works under a nurse's plan of care and may take vital signs. Caregiver or personal care aide often means non-medical help, such as bathing, meals and companionship. Use the title that matches your training, and mirror the posting's title in your summary if both fit.

Should I put medication administration on a home health aide resume?

In most states, home health aides remind clients to take medications and do not administer them. Write medication reminders or assistance with self-administered medications unless you hold a credential that allows more. Claiming administration without it can cost you the job, because the agency's nurse knows the state rules.

Keywords for related roles

See how your home health aide resume scores

Upload it for a free review: a score, the weak lines and a rewrite for each.

Review my resume