Nursing Assistant Certificate Program is designed to provide comprehensive training that will qualify students for a number of different occupations including Nurse Aid, Medication Aid, Geriatric Aid, Hospital Assistant, Home Companion Aid, and Patient Care Technician. In addition to the specific occupational skills, the program will provide the opportunity for students to receive a Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). The CRC credential certifies that an individual has demonstrated his/her competence in the foundational skills of Reading for Information, Locating Information, and Applied Mathematics, which are fundamental workplace skills.
The Nursing Assistant Certificate program consists of the following courses:
Nurse Aide I
This course introduces basic nursing assistant skills required to provide personal care for patients, residents, or clients in a health care setting. Topics include communications, safety, patients’ rights, personal care, vital signs, elimination, nutrition, emergencies, rehabilitation, and mental health.
This course covers the six rights of medication administration for non-licensed personnel. Topics include medication administration via the oral, topical and instillation routes, medical asepsis, hand hygiene, terminology, and legal implications.
Geriatric Aide
This course provides advanced training for the Nurse Aide I. The course curriculum is focused on geriatric care with an emphasis on person-centered care concepts, hydration, nutrition, mental health, dementia, behavioral challenges, pain management, palliative care, and stress management.
Medical Terminology
This course is an introduction to the study of the structure of medical words and terms. Emphasis is placed on spelling and defining commonly used prefixes, suffixes, root words, their combining forms, and body organization. Program content covers basic human anatomy and physiology for all systems, elements of medical terms, and names of major diseases, including terms used in physical exams, operative procedures, and diagnosis.
Career Readiness/Pathways
This course provides employability skills training for unemployed and underemployed adults based on the Certified Nurse Assistant I occupation. The course may be linked either at the beginning or end of the occupational course and addresses topics such as: career exploration, job seeking/keeping strategies, entry-level skill awareness/development, and training success strategies (note-taking, test-taking, test anxiety, and preparing for certification exams/placement tests).
