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Certified Nursing Assistant class begins next
week |
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January 15, 2015 |
Boundary Community Hospital provides classes to
earn certification as a Certified Nursing
Assistant (CNA) four times a year. These classes
are a great way to be eligible for steady work.
A new class will begin Tuesday, January 20 and
continue through March 12. A second class is
slated for March 31 to May 21.
CNA training can begin as early as age 16 with
no maximum age limit. A high school or college
diploma is not a prerequisite for either the
training or the certification. Graduates are
work-ready.
Class meets at the Fry Healthcare Education
Center, across from the hospital, from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday of each
week.
“A tremendous savings in gasoline and lunch
expenses is realized because the hospital is
willing to teach the classes in Bonners Ferry,”
says Boundary Community Hospital’s Community
Relations Coordinator, Marcia Morman. “This is a
commitment to bettering the community that the
hospital has offered for years. Many, many local
people have taken the classes.“
Tracey Maas, R.N., has been a CNA instructor
since the 1990s.”Tracey Maas is a compassionate
and knowledgeable instructor working with the
students to succeed in learning the subject
material,” Morman enthused.
There are many advantages for both men and women
as Certified Nursing Assistants. Instructor
Tracey Maas explains, “They are the backbone of
the healthcare system.”
A High School Dual Credit Course through North
Idaho College’s Nursing Department taught at
Boundary Community Hospital by Instructor Tracey
Mass is held annually during the fall school
term. Many of the students after graduating the
class take their state tests and are trained and
certified to work throughout Idaho. December
2014 graduates are Veona Petefish, Veronica
MacDonald, Hanna Lysne, Jayden Pulliam, Sarah
Beck, Talia Liermann, Chole Copley, Alivia
Hampton, and Tanner Liermann.
A CNA has a wide-range of employment options.
Employers hire CNAs to work in hospitals,
assisted living homes, nursing homes, home care
agencies, rehabilitation centers, doctor’s
offices, outpatient medical and surgical
offices, hospices, respite care, group homes,
and in schools.
There are choices of working with children, with
the elderly and with any age in between. For
instance, many elderly people want to stay in
their own home, but need some assistance with
daily living. Often a CNA is qualified to offer
that needed care. Many times indirect care like
housekeeping and running errands are part of the
CNA’s job. On the other end of the age spectrum,
children with long-term problems and needs can
receive good care in the comfort of their homes
with assistance from a CNA.
Often CNAs decide that they want to further
their education in the healthcare field and go
back to school for a Licensed Practical Nurse
(L.P.N.), or Registered Nurse (R.N.) degree. A
CNA certification is an educational requirement
for becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse or
Registered Nurse in many nursing programs.
Boundary Community Hospital employs nearly forty
CNAs as full-time, part-time and per diem
employees. Some have worked in our community
hospital for many years; others are recent
graduates of the CNA class.
Boundary Community Hospital’s CNA class is in
affiliation with North Idaho College and is a
State of Idaho certified course. The course
consists of 120 hours of instruction: 80 hours
in the classroom and 40 hours of clinical
experience. At the end of the 120 hours of
training, the student will take a certification
examination at the North Idaho Workforce
Training Center in Post Falls, Idaho.
When certified, the Nursing Assistant can work
throughout the State of Idaho and within those
states that have a reciprocity agreement with
the State of Idaho.
If you are interested in the class, contact
Tracey about this professional occupation
offered locally. You can call her at (208)
267-3141 extension 4312, or email,
tracey.m@bcch.org. |
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