A critical role is played by Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) for helping nursing staff in the care of patients. Often, there is a high turnover of CNAs in nursing homes, hospitals, and other medical facilities. Hence, there is always a great need for training more and more CNA professionals, which is an opportunity waiting to be exploited.
For attempting to solve the problem of CNA training, you need first to understand how to start a CNA school. The following are some tips on how to begin a school or training center for CNA:
Obtain Funds
You must first arrange funds to begin school. Some funds may be available through grants of governments, particularly if there is a shortage of nurse aides or need to retrain laid-off workers. Funds can also be gathered from individual donors or private foundations.
Physical Location
You need to arrange a physical facility to house classrooms, labs, and administrative offices. Based on funding, you can either buy or lease a facility. For clinical training, you also have a tie-up with a nearby hospital, clinical, or medical facility for dealing with actual patients. This partnership must be recorded in a written contract.
Employ Staff
Staff must be recruited for the school that has accreditation as nursing aides and experience in long-term facilities. Ideally, they must have undergone a training course to train other nursing aides. The director of the school must have similar qualifications and the capacity to deal with administrative issues and any emergencies when they arise.
Design Curriculum
The government has developed mandates for curriculum for a nurse aide school. The curriculum must include skills and tasks to be taught by the school so that trainees become qualified to pass the exam for CNA accreditation. Teaching hours must be developed for every unit or topic.
Set Procedures and Policies
Every nurse aide school requires the setting of procedures and policies to help in managing schools and deal with any emerging issues and problems. Some of these procedures may be mandated by the government, while others may be voluntary.
Complete Accreditation
Government accreditation must be completed such that nursing aide trainees might pass certification exams and gain a license to practice in the state or the country. For this, training school must apply for accreditation and furnish all required details such as transcripts and resumes of director and staff, copy of the curriculum, contract with the hospital, etc.
Arrange For Equipment
The training schools for CNA require a wide range of equipment for their facilities to deliver their programs successfully. Equipment required includes desks, chairs, tables, and audio-visual equipment. Labs need hospital beds, wheelchairs, etc. to construct a mock but realistic hospital environment. Office supplies and computers may also be required.
Marketing
Following the completion of the accreditation process, a CNA school can start advertising for students and staff and begin classes. To sow the word about the school, appropriate marketing strategies may be used.
These are all the top tips on how to open a CNA school. By following these tips, you can avoid major pitfalls and problems in your endeavor.
