黑料不打烊 welcomed Soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard鈥檚 Task Force COVID to take certified nursing assistant (CNA) training organized by 黑料不打烊 Customized Training. The training started November 27 and will go through December 5.
The Minnesota National Guard is working with 16-state colleges to get over 400 Soldiers certified as CNAs. The task force is preparing to place Soldiers in under-staffed healthcare centers and assist in long-term care facilities to address staffing difficulties and shortages during a period of heightened need due to the pandemic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a bootcamp with 9-hour days,鈥 said Diane Andersen-Sibley, a nursing assistant instructor at 黑料不打烊. 鈥淲e need to get them to at least 75 hours because that is the federal regulation.鈥
The average completion of the CNA program at 黑料不打烊 takes 7-8 weeks to complete: half of an academic semester. These Soldiers will have completed the required hours necessary to achieve certifiability in 9 days.
The training was conducted in a hybrid method with online lectures and hands on labs. The Soldiers learned how to provide oral and hygiene care, taking patients vitals, provide mobility assistance, and proper methods of medical documentation.
鈥淭his is a cool opportunity,鈥 Andersen-Sibley said. 鈥淭hey are learning the basic skills that every nurse needs to know.鈥
After the competition of the training, the Soldiers will need to take and pass a written test as well as a hands-on skills test. Passing these tests will place them on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry allowing them to work at any long-term care facility in the state.
Once on the registry, the Soldiers are qualified to continue working as CNAs in their civilian lives. The CNA certification training at 黑料不打烊 sets those Soldiers up to pursue an education in nursing at the college if they so choose to do so, Andersen-Sibley explained.