Being Part of the Medical Field

Many people desire to be in the medical field but thought that one must be a doctor, surgeon or nurse but that is a very myopic view. You can be in the medical field as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) through a CNA education without the long years of study and housemanship. CNA’s are important to the medical team by performing many routine medical tasks on patients before the latter are attended to by the busy doctor. This course of study may be funded by the Federal Workforce dollars which you may be sponsored. If sponsored, employment after graduation is usually assisted.

CNA Education Training Program

A CNA education is the best way forward for anyone who wish to be a certified nursing assistant as the related course can be completed in as short as 3 weeks or 75 hours minimum training, depending on which state as different states have different requirements. Online and correspondence CNA education courses are not approved programs by many states, so do not attempt these. There are night schools or part-time CNA education courses for those who cannot be available for full-time courses due to some commitment.

The program usually calls for attending classes and performing clinical practical which can take up to 8 weeks on a part time basis. There are mental demands as well as physical demands during and after the CNA education program. Besides proper schools, CNA programs are also offered by Community colleges or technical schools.

Work scope of a CNA

A CNA education will prepare a graduate to work under others, like a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse or a doctor. The main duty of a CNA is to give nursing care to the patients in different health care situations. A CNA is the first medical attendant you meet when you visit the doctor. Certified nursing assistants will check on your vital signs, height and weight measurements.

Some of the tasks required to be performed by a CNA include assisting a patient with bathing, dressing and grooming, exercising infection control and oral care of patient, serving meals and feeding the patient, making beds and tidying the rooms, assisting in motion exercises, escorting a patient around the care facility, assisting the RN or doctor with medical procedures, reporting on a patient’s changes, exercising CPR and safety to needy patients; these are taught and exercised as practical during your CNA education.

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Education

An applicant for nursing education must be at least 18 years old. They must also have a high school diploma at the very least or a GED. The requirements mentioned may differ for each state as well as the educational institution. Some institutions accept students that are fresh high school graduates for the graduation even if they are only 16 years old. There are also some states that do not require a high school diploma or GED from the applicants for the education program. Once enrolled in the program, a student must complete the required number of hours in lectures and practical training. After accomplishing that, he is already qualified to apply for the licensure exam or certification.

Prerequisites

Some colleges require their applicants to complete a required number of prerequisite subjects that are related to the job of an assistant to a nurse. Examples of these prerequisite subjects are human anatomy, basic computer skills, medical terminology, first aid and CPR.

Academic and Practical Training

Nursing education is not entirely about sitting in class listening to a professor discuss important points from the book. Aside from the classroom lecture where the students learn about the basic knowledge needed for the job, there is also a practical training where the students get to practice what they have learned in the classroom and from their books. Practical training programs for nursing assistants are usually conducted in hospitals, clinics, mental institutions, elderly homes or rehabilitation facilities.

Skills Taught In School

The skills taught in nursing assistant education are mainly the skills needed to efficiently execute the duties of a nursing assistant. Examples of these skills are giving the patient a bath, dressing, grooming as well as feeding. Taking vital signs and inserting a catheter are the more specialized skills that a nursing assistant has to learn. These skills are taught inside the classroom and the students are given the chance to put their knowledge into practice during the practical training.

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More and more people are enrolling in certified nursing assistant training courses to make successful careers in the medical field. It is however very important to lay down all the expectations required and all the skills one must have both in personality and those acquired during training to make sure one is right for the challenging path ahead.

There are specific certifications and training classes that are needed for nursing aides and they may vary in length. This depends on where one is enrolling in as well as the rules and regulations that may vary from one state to another. There are institutions and societies that are renowned for offering the best CNA training courses with the Red Cross society topping the list. The training normally does not require any form of a medical background to enroll in so long as one has attained the right age which is over eighteen years.

Health facilities also offer training classes which are held in class as well as on site which are the various clinics and health care facilities. It is possible for one to get free training classes from the facilities although at the end, one may be required to work for the facility for a period of time at no pay. All one has to do with the classes and training is acquiring the knowledge and skills and then gets the certification to qualify to work.

Certified nursing assistant training courses are taught by registered nurses and they cover ranging topics. The topics will teach you all the necessary skills such as how to position a patient properly, how to bathe them as well as how to dress them without giving them any form of discomfort. Feeding and moving the patient skills will also be taught to fully prepare one for the duties and responsibilities awaiting him. Apart from the basic skills, training will help you know how to recognize things like depression, how to control infection as well as dealing with dementia among other things.

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1. Avoid a fake program, by making sure that any program that special education personnel want to use for your child, is developed by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The professional should have a masters or a doctorate degree; and ask for written proof of this. The person also must have over one hundred hours of specific course work and thousands of hours of supervised experience. The program is individualized for each child with autism, and will not be effective if it is not developed by a trained person.

2. Avoid a fake program, by making sure that the professional person that develops the program also has experience working with children with autism. The program will be more effective, if the professional person developing it, has experience working with many children with different types of autism.

3. Avoid a fake program, by ensuring that the ratio is 1-1; which is 1 adult to 1 child; any other ratio is not the correct way to do the program. Many schools say they have ABA programs, but the ratios are 4 students to 1 adult; not the way ABA is carried out. If the program is not done on a 1 to 1 basis, your child will not be getting the most benefit from the program.

4. Avoid a fake program, by ensuring that your child receives a minimum of 25 hours per week or a maximum of 40 hours per week. Many disability organizations estimate that a 40 hour week costs approximately $50,000 a year per child. If your school district wants to give your child 2 hours of ABA a day, tell them that ABA must be given a minimum of 25 hours a week, and you will accept no less. One way that special education personnel try and save money, is to offer the appropriate interventions, but not for the effective amount of time.

5. Avoid a fake program, by making sure that the instruction uses discrete trial training, which is the main component of the program.

6. Avoid a fake program, by making sure that the teacher assistant that is carrying out the program, has received extensive training from a professional with a Masters or Doctorate in ABA; and works under the supervision of the professional. The professional, should also meet with the teacher’s assistant on a regular basis, to see how the child is progressing, and if the program needs to be changed.

Why is it important to make sure that the ABA program your child receives will bring the maximum benefit? A study that was done in 1998 Entitled: Cost benefit estimates for early intensive behavioral intervention for young children with autism shows that If a child receives ABA between the ages of 2 and school entry the cost savings range from $187,000 to $203,000 per child for ages 3-21. Also the cost savings is from $656,000 to$1,082,000 per child from ages 3-55 years.

It is not only in your child’s best interest to receive an appropriately developed ABA program, but it is in societies also. Advocate for an effective program that is going to benefit your child, for the rest of their life.

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In the US there are only 142 types of accredited physician associate programs that provide graduate courses that lead to a master’s degree. This master’s degree can only be achieved after taking a medical degree at the bachelor level, though there are now doctorates in this area, too.

Unlike nursing education, a physician associate is taught like a doctor, but only has to do two to three years of medical school as many students already have some health care type experiences. Much of the education that is needed to get physician assistant jobs includes lab/classroom coverage of the following subjects:

* geriatrics
* emergencies
* oncology
* obstetrics
* paediatrics
* surgery
* family type medicine
* internal type medicine
* physical diagnosis
* clinical medicine
* pathology
* hematology
* pathophysiology
* pharmacology
* microbiology
* anatomy

Though PAs are trained with first year medical type students, once they graduate, they do not do any residence type work or training. Then they are either certified or registered, having to pass a nationally designated exam and provide proof of at least one hundred continuous education hours within the medical field. However, they are not certified for life, unlike doctors, having to go back for re-certification every six or so years.

So, if you are considering physician assistant jobs to enter the medical world, the importance of education and certification cannot be overlooked or underestimated. Given that a PA is very close to being a doctor, ensure that before you start applying, that you have all the credentials necessary as the competition for jobs is very tough.

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