Core Competencies of Certified Nurses Assistant Training

No matter what state you are seeking your CNA training in by the time you get your CNA certification you must have mastered the same set of basic core skills and knowledge. This includes human anatomy, body mechanics, activities that often involved assistance, behavioral patterns, nutrition, and infection control measures.

Human anatomy knowledge is focused on normal verses abnormal function and how to spot those changes in individuals that might not express pain or discomfort. Some basic areas that are important to know well include taking measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and volumes, in addition to knowing what normal parameters are for those figures, not only for the individual patient but in general. Someone working with the elderly might also have to watch for mobility issues that can indicate fractures and other problems.

Body mechanics is the area that teaches how to lift and position both self and patient to avoid injury or causing harm during moving an individual. Many times lifting safety is highlighted as a vital thing to know, considering that a nursing assistant may have to performing such lifts many times each day. Included in this is knowledge of mechanical aids used for moving patients also.

Daily living is the hands on ability to help patients walk (ambulation), use the bathroom (and take samples as required by the medical regime they are on) and groom them or help them groom themselves. It may require bathing helpless individuals, feeding them, or learning individual special needs as required.

Top Trends in Education

There have been a lot of changes in the education world over the past few years. The government has been cracking down on for-profit schools and their enrollment practices. Large Universities have started to launch more online degree programs and competition is fiercer than ever before. There have also been budget cuts in state schools leading to layoffs in multiple departments. Most schools are doing more with less. In many schools enrollments have increased so it is weird to see the budget cuts taking place. For schools that have not developed online courses they are hurting the most. The education industry is counter-cyclical; meaning when the economy is doing well and people have jobs enrollments in schools actually decrease. On the other hand, when the economy is in a slump or recession more students go back to school. They feel they have to get a degree to be more competitive when searching for a job or impress their boss to keep their job.

Even though online education has increased over the years, there were a couple of schools doing business unethically, according to the United States Government. The government felt Kaplan University and University of Phoenix were enrolling students that were not necessarily qualified for their online degree programs. They would admit the students and help them with all of their financial aid paperwork. Unfortunately, the students were not passing the courses which led to them defaulting on their student loans. So the students were incurring debt, late fees, and not receiving their degrees. This was a big issue according to the government and their investigations. They went in and cleaned house so to say. Both schools had to lay off employees due to the government's findings.