With a very high number of sick people in hospitals, more healthcare professionals are needed in order to improve the situation. These include doctors and nurses. To become a nurse, you need to go for rigorous training. A good entry point into nursing is through becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). To get this certification, you need to attend CNA Training. CNAs are very important as they cater for the daily and even hourly recovery of patients. Here is more information regarding CNA training.
Characteristics of a good CNA
Any job has its ideal type of person. To be a successful CNA, it goes beyond what you learn in your CNA training. A CNA deals with helping to improve people’s lives through improved health. This means that you have to have a caring heart that genuinely wants to see people get better. You should also dislike seeing any person fall sick and strive to make them improve. A CNA works in the medical field and it is not all rosy in this line of work. It involves unpleasant sights such as blood, needles and graphic accidents and deformities. To a normal person’s eye, these events are harrowing, but a CNA has to get used to it and be strong. This is also the case for the worst moments when patients die. This can be emotionally draining for everyone, especially CNA who work really hard to prevent death from taking place.
A day in the life of a CNA
A CNA in the line of duty has a lot to do. Since they are the healthcare professionals who cater for the day to day care of patients, there is a lot on their plate. They not only carry out medical based tasks but also some work of intangible value, but important all the same. Most of these skills are gained during CNA training. They include regular checking of vital signs, administering medication, dressing patients, providing CPR where necessary and feeding bedridden patients. They also take care of patient’s personal hygiene through bathing them and ensuring that their environment is always clean. CNAs also do clerical work and record keeping tasks to ensure that information on patients’ progress is always updated. In addition, CNAs play a crucial role in the recovery of patients by offering them moral support and companionship. Being in a hospital can be very depressing and a CNAs duty is to help patients cope with the situation.
Who accredits CNA training programs?
As you decide on your most desired CNA training course, it is imperative that you find out whether the program you will select is fully accredited. It mostly depends on which state you come from. Different states have different requirements that have to be met by their respective CNA training programs. In this case, just do a search on your state’s department of education website and find all the state accredited CNA courses. There are also some programs which are accredited by federal government bodies such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). This is another platform for you to check the best programs for you. Once again, it is very important for you to attend an accredited CNA program. It would be very unfortunate if you worked very hard only to find out that you were attending a bogus course.
CNA Training Schedule
The process of CNA training is a 3 fold process. The first is attending classes that give you vital theoretical knowledge. This involves mainly bookwork where you study notes and see if you truly understand the course content. This part requires a lot of hard work since you will have to internalize all this information for you to be able to do the next step. You therefore must not take this part lightly as it will form the foundation for the rest of your course.
Next is the practical training. You will be placed at a hospital or a relevant healthcare facility and from there you will learn vital clinical skills that form the core of work as a CNA. You will apply all the knowledge that you acquired in the previous stage and under the supervision of a senior nurse, you will prepare yourself for the final phase of your CNA training.
Finally, is the examination. Any training course has to end this way where you have to be tested and find out whether all the training you underwent was worthwhile. The CNA exam is split into two segments. There is the first part, which is the written exam that tests your knowledge of the course content. To do well in this part, you should have studied hard in the first part on the CNA training. The next part is the practical test where you will demonstrate the skills you developed in the second part of the training. This also needs a lot of practice time for you to do well. Once you pass your test, you will be certified and your nursing career can begin.
Options for CNA Training
There are some alternatives you can take when training to be a CNA. The first is at a traditional brick and mortar school. You will have a class schedule which usually consumes most of your day. This option is most ideal since the work you will be doing will be practical. You will also have close contact with professors and fellow students for collaboration. Also, by dedicating most of your day to doing your course, you will be able to complete your education earlier.
Online CNA training is also a viable option. This is good if you have other commitments which do not enable you to attend classes on a daily basis. This could be a job. You thus get the freedom to set up your own schedule and you will complete your course at your own pace. It is important if you select the plan that best complements you.
Reasons for becoming a CNA
When you decide to get into a profession, you always seek ways to improve and become a better person. The nursing profession gives you one of the best opportunities to do this since it involves improving people’s lives through better health. Good health is vital for a happy life and by helping people get better health, you get incomparable joy and happiness.