Nurse Aide

Course Description

This course focuses on the skills and knowledge necessary to become a Certified Nurse Aide within the healthcare system. Upon completion of this course the student will be eligible to sit for the exam required by the Virginia State Board of Nursing, Department of Health Professions to become a licensed CNA. This includes a combination of classroom instruction and 40 hours of clinical observation and instruction.

Course Outline

The following topics will be covered:

1. The Nursing Assistant in Long Term Care
2. Ethical Legal Issues
3. Communication Skills within the Healthcare Setting
4. Diversity, Human Needs, Development
5. Infection Control
6. Body Mechanics Transfers
7. Emergency Care, First Aid, CPR, Disasters Preparedness
8. Vital Signs Personal Care
9. Nutrition
10. Body/Organ Systems
11. Rehabilitation, Subacute, End of Life Care
12. Job Readiness, NOCTI, OSHA

Text

Diana L. Dugan, RN (2016). Nursing Assisting: A Foundation in Caregiving, Fourth Edition. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Hartman
Diana L. Dugan, RN (2016). Workbook- Nursing Assisting: A Foundation in Caregiving, Fourth Edition. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Hartman
American Heart Association Publication: Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Provider

Required Clinical & Classroom Supplies

1. Three Ring Binder with dividers
2. Notebook Paper
3. Black Pens, Pencils, and Highlighters
4. Textbook & Workbook
5. Watch (with second hand)
6. Stethoscope
7. Blood Pressure Cuff
8. Composition Notebook (supplied by instructor)
9. Scrubs and Clinical Footwear Required on Skills Lab & Clinical Days

Assessments

Tests
Formal assessments will be given throughout the year in a variety of formats and may be timed as appropriate.

Skills Assessments
Skills Assessments will be completed prior to start of clinical rotation and throughout the remainder of the school year. These assessments are as important as written assessments and will be required to advance in the program. Skills assessments include:

1. Skills Lab Checkoff
2. Clinical Observation
3. Required Competencies for State Board Exam

Class Participation
All students are required to come to class prepared, motivated, and willing to learn with a positive attitude. Participation grades are based on:

1. Engagement in Classroom
2. Attendance
3. Preparedness with required supplies

Other
Grades in the Other category include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Homework/Readings
2. Quizzes
3. Projects
4. Group Work

Readings
Students are required to complete reading assignments outside of the classroom. These assignments are expected to be completed prior to coming to class and may include textbook, internet, articles, or handout readings. Reading completion checks will be conducted randomly and counted as a graded assignment.

Project Assignments
Projects may be given with appropriate grading rubric and instructions

Electronic Use Policy

Students are not allowed to use any electronic devices within the classroom without the expressed permission from the instructor. Once the instructor has granted permission for electronic device usage, the student is to follow the procedure, rules, and guidelines given by the instructor at all times. Any violation of this protocol will result in the loss of privilege to use electronic devices within the classroom, confiscation of the device until the end of class and/or until a parent or guardian can pick up the device.

Make-up Policy

Students are responsible to obtain make-up work from the instructor the first school day upon return from an absence. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and obtain missed work. All written and skills exams MUST be completed on this first returned school day. The make-up exam will be given in an alternate format. Students will have five (5) school days to return missed homework and/or classwork assignments. If assignments are not completed within given time frames, grades will result in a zero.

Exam Exemption Policy

1. No student will be exempt from any mid-semester exam.
2. For a student to be eligible to exempt a final exam from a second year course or one-year course he or she must:
   1. Have a minimum of “80/B” in the class through the cutoff date. The cutoff date will be determined each year by the principal. Teachers will submit a list of exemptions for the year to the principal. The student have also passed a certification exam to be eligible for exemption.
   2. Student Conduct – No misconduct violations which resulted in a out-of-school suspension.
   3. Attendance
      1. No more than six (6) unexcused absences in the class during the school year.
      2. No more than three (3) tardies to the class during the school year.  The only exemptions  to the attendance rules are below and must be approved by the principal:
         1. students who are over the limit of tardies or absences because of school related activities
         2. death in the family
         3. court appearances (subpoena required)
         4. hospitalization
         5. prolonged illness over a specific period of time in situations where there have not been previous attendance problems and in which the absence is a sudden deviation from the student’s usual attendance pattern

General Classroom Procedures

1. Upon entering class be prepared to start given assignments. All electronic devices should be placed in designated area and silenced.
2. Homework should be turned in prior to start of class.
3. Permission to leave the classroom should be granted by the instructor once the bell rings.

General Class Rules

1. Respect one another.
2. To avoid classroom disruption, wait your turn to speak.
3. Profanity will not be tolerated.
4. Closed beverage containers will be allowed in the classroom, no beverages are permitted in skills lab or on clinical floors. All trash is to be disposed of properly. Failing to do so will result in losing beverage privileges within the classroom.

• Nursing Assistants and Orderlies, U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor and Statistics
• Virginia Board of Nursing, Homepage
• Certified Nurse Aide Requirements in Virginia, NursingLicensure.org