Certified Nursing Assistance
Program Summary
As America's aging population grows, so does the need for qualified and caring staff to work in facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living residences, adult day care centers, retirement communities, and even in homes. Job prospects well into the 21st century are expected to be excellent in direct response to the increasing need for long-term care. These jobs offer not only competitive wages and benefits, but the opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives – particularly for “direct caregivers,” including:
- Certified Nursing Assistance (CNA)
- Geriatric Nursing Assistance (GNA)
- Personal Care Aides
Nursing Assistance of all specialties work under the supervision of a nurse and are key in providing vital information on patient conditions to the medical staff. They also provide the most basic level of patient care -- for those who need only minimal assistance to those who are totally dependent. Nursing Assistance provide the support needed for daily living:
- Serving and feeding patients, ensuring that their nutritional requirements are met
- Assisting with elimination, including catheter and colonoscopy care
- Helping patients with hygiene, dressing, and other personal care tasks
- Providing supportive care, such as lifting and turning for comfort and to protect skin integrity
- Assisting patients with ambulation, exercise, and prescribed physical therapy
- Monitoring and documenting vital signs
- Collecting patient blood, urine, and tissue samples for testing
- Administering precautions for blood, air, and contact borne pathogens
- Sterilizing equipment and supplies, changing linens, and helping patients care for their rooms
- Providing assistance in medical treatment or post mortem care
A nursing assistant's job does not end with the physical needs of the patients, however. Residents of nursing homes and the home-bound often suffer from depression and/or dementia, and the nursing assistant is often the closest human contact many of these people have. The nursing assistant is often called to do tasks that are not only physically demanding, but emotionally draining. They may be asked to be a best friend, confidant, sounding board, and overflow valve – sometimes to the patient’s last hour of life. It is a job that requires heart-felt compassion and a desire to make people comfortable and happy. It is also a job that fills the human spirit.
Certification Guidelines
In the State of Maryland, a student having successfully completed the Nursing Assistant Program may work in most hospitals (depending on the requirements of the specific institution). In order to work in long-term care facility, however, the student must specialize by becoming a Geriatric Nursing Assistant. Certification is achieved by passing the state competency test and, then, being entered in State Board of Nursing Registry. Medicine Aides must take additional specialty courses before attaining their certifications. Specific regulations govern each state and may vary. In Maryland, a criminal background check and fingerprinting is required prior to certification.
PGCC programs that lead to professional certification include:
- Certified Nursing Assistant and/or Geriatric Nursing Assistant: 78 hrs. classroom and 52 hrs. clinical instruction.
- Certified Medicine Aide (CMA): requires certification as a GNA and 1-2 yrs. work experience, plus 38 hrs. classroom and 37 hrs. clinical instruction.
Topics include characteristics, functions, and facilities needed by effective nurse aides; methods to properly communicate with patients, staff, and management; legal and ethical issues; maintaining a safe environment including medical asepsis, standard precautions, and emergency planning; patient care and assistance, behavioral issues, nutritional needs, and special conditions; basic medical procedures; and caring for the dying resident.
Employment Trends
- Most jobs are in nursing and residential care facilities, hospitals, and home healthcare services.
- Numerous job openings and excellent job opportunities are expected.
- As the largest industry in 2002, health services provided 12.9 million jobs -- 12.5 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 382,000 jobs for the self-employed.
- About 16 percent of all new wage and salary jobs created between 2002 and 2012 will be in health services— 3.5 million jobs, which is more than in any other industry.
- The majority of jobs require less than 4 years of college education, but health diagnosing and treating practitioners are among the most educated workers.
Program Objectives
- Successful completion of each course earns a Certificate of Completion
- Skills development and preparation leading to an academic degree or professional credentialing
- The opportunity to focus on an area of specialty, including:
- Personal Care Aide: Client in the Home
- Medicine Aide
- Medication Technician for Assisted Living
- Principles of Adult Education (Train the Trainer)
At PGCC, programs leading to certification include:
- Certified Nursing Assistant for Geriatric Nursing (GNA): 78 hrs. classroom and 52 hrs. clinical instruction.
- Medicine Aide (CMA): requires certification as a GNA and 1-2 yrs. work experience, plus 38 hrs. classroom and 37 hrs. clinical instruction.
Geriatric Aide courses HES403, HES405, HES317, and HES318 are approved and endorsed by the Maryland State Board of Nursing.
Program Requirements
- Students must be able to speak and understand standard American English.
- Students must take and successfully complete both a reading and basic math assessment test before registering for this course.
- A US Social Security card
- Evidence, showing name, of a negative TB test taken within one year.
- A positive skin test must produce a negative chest x-ray. Yearly review of symptoms with documentation must be submitted within the first two weeks of class.
- Hold a current certification card CPR for Healthcare Provider (see section for Emergency First Response)
- Purchase the textbook, Nursing Assistant: A Humanistic Approach to Caregiving (Lippincott)
Course Curriculum
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Crs #
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Course Name
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Hrs
|
|
|
Prerequisites
|
|
|
HES344
|
CPR for Health Professionals (Modules 1-5)
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Core Courses
|
|
|
HES403
|
Certified Nursing Assistant: Theory
|
78
|
|
HES417
|
Certified Nursing Assistant: Clinical
|
52
|
|
|
Program total
|
137
|
|
Specialty Programs
|
|
|
HES439
|
Personal Care Aide: Client in the Home
|
16
|
|
HES325
|
Medicine Aide
|
75
|
|
HES365.
|
Medicine Aide Update
|
8
|
|
HES309
|
Medication Technician for Assisted Living
|
20
|