CNA Classes train nurse aides in nursing care knowledge and skills. It is each state's responsibility to develop nurse aide training programs based on the OBRA-87 education and nursing care standards. The programs are offered by vocational schools, community colleges, post-secondary schools, and technical institutes. Individuals can also attend Red Cross nurse assistant classes, online training programs, and free classes. The American Red Cross has 36 nurse assistant training centers in various US cities, and their curriculum exceeds training standards of many states. Free Nurse Aide classes are provided by health care facilities.
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The Omnibus Reconciliation Act (OBRA 87) is a set of minimum Federal standards for nursing home cares and care provider's competencies. All states must include these standards in their nurse assistant training and competency evaluation programs. The OBRA also requires all old and new nurse aides to complete the State-approved training and skills assessment exam and prove their nursing care competencies for safe, effective patient care.
Training Curriculum
The curriculum for Nurse Aide Training Program is 75-hour long and based on Federal nursing education standards. The training is divided between 59 hour classroom theoretical instructions, and 16 hours supervised clinical training. The training can be completed in 4 to 12 weeks depending upon the providers. However, many states such as California, Florida, Alaska, Montana, DC and others require 100 to 175 hours training. The faculty for nurse aide classes should be a registered nurse who has minimum 1-year long-term care and 1-year general nursing care experience.
Course Curriculum
The Course Curriculum for CNA Classes includes courses in Personal Care Skills, Basic Nursing Skills, Mental Health and Social Service Skills, Human Anatomy, Basic Restorative Care Skills, Residents' Rights, Communication and Interpersonal Skills, Medical Terminology, and Physiology. Emergency Care and CPR/AED are also a part of the curriculum and compulsory in many schools. Many nursing homes and hospitals also demand these certificates from new nurse assistants before hiring them.
Course Requirements
There are few pre-requisites for enrolling in nurse assistant classes. Individuals must complete criminal background screening, TB tests, and communicable disease checks for enrolling in CNA schools or colleges. The applicants must also possess High School Diploma or GED before applying for the admission.
CNA Exam
Nurse aide exam assesses basic-level nursing care competencies of nurse assistants. The examination consists of two separate parts - a) Oral or Knowledge Test, and b) Skills Test. The candidates must pass both exams with required grades to earn CNA Certification.
A certified nursing aide is a direct patient care worker, who provides daily routine cares to long-term care patients with chronic illness, injuries and disabilities, and assist them with activities of daily livings (ADL) such as bathing, feeding, grooming, toileting, dressing, walking and more. CNAs gain necessary acumen and skills to serve the residents through the state-approved Nurse Aide Training Program. The training program is specifically developed by the different state's health departments in order to train nurse aides in direct patient care. The OBRA-87 legislation also mandates nurse aides to complete a CNA training program, and pass the competency examination to be eligible to work in approved, and licensed facilities.
The nursing students can complete their CNA training programs in different ways. They can enroll in a technical institute, vocational school, community college, trade school, long-term care facility, American Red Cross Class, or Online CNA Classes for their nursing assistant education. Although, both online and regular CNA classes are appropriate for nursing education, there are still certain differences between the traditional and online classes.
Regular classes Vs Online Classes
Although, both Regular and online classes are popular among the nursing students, the attraction toward online classes is increasing day-by-day. The basic reasons for the wider acceptance of online nursing assistant classes among the student population can be summed up as follows:
Online CNA Classes Disadvantages
Online CNA Classes are also, not without any CNA Course Waterbury CT cons. There are also certain disadvantages of Internet classes including the students lack physical interactions with their teachers, and they are not aware of online lectures and instructions quality. Majority internet classes do not provide clinical training arrangements. The students will have to arrange clinical hands-on experience on their own in a local hospital, or long-term care facility. Many states do not approve and recognize online nursing classes, and only certify these graduating students with a certification who successfully complete their trainings through approved schools and colleges. Many online training providers are fake and enrolling and attending these phony classes may waste your training costs and valuable time.
The only solution for overcoming these shortcomings is to verify online classes, find out their accreditation and credential, lectures quality, and clinical training arrangements. Applicants can read different online CNA classes reviews on Internet fir its authentication and discuss the quality of the classes on online forums. They can also find out about these classes through the past nursing assistant students who may have completed online CNA classes.