Paid Training Questions

[kalley]

I went for an interview at a LTC facility on Tuesday. The position is for Nurses Aide Trainee. The program is 2 1/2 weeks long with pay and then you get a raise in pay after you pass the boards. I have never worked health care before, but I am a pre-nursing student. The interview went really well and the person I interviewed with said that when the HR department contacts me they will give me salary information and she proceeded to tell me about their dress code and their benifits package. I saw her check the recommend for hire box on her form and I got a call from someone needing to get further information in order to verify my application that afternoon. I took this all as a good sign. I am now just waiting to hear from them.

For those of you that have been in similar programs what was your training salary like? How long was your training? Can you really learn all you need to know in 2 1/2 weeks? Also, any insight on this type of program would be greatly appreciated.

I am anxious and excited. I feel like this is a great step towards my nursing career.

[yousoldtheworld]

Your salary will vary by location...I was paid for the clinical hours of my training, I think somewhere a bit under 8 bucks an hour. My training consisted of 4 or 5 days of classroom work and a week or two of clinicals. I think it's really easy to learn everything you need to know in a couple of weeks. Much of it is common sense, it's just learning proper procedures for things. I know there are people on here who think you can't learn everything in a short class, but I suppose it just depends on how quickly you learn. If you are currently a student, I am willing to bet you will have no trouble at all.

[yousoldtheworld]

Oh, and as far as insight on a program like that goes, I will just tell you how mine went:

1. A week or so of classroom training - watch videos, learn procedures, practice them, take practice tests, maybe learn about the facility itself.

2. A week or so of clinicals - being on the floor with your instructor. Usually you will have a list of skills to master, and you demonstrate your skills on actual patients/residents in front of your instructor to get checked off. You will be nervous and unsure of yourself, but remember that everyone else is, too.

3. At my facility, they set up and paid for the state CNA test. First everyone did the written part of the test, then we took turns going into another room and doing the skills portion of the test, which in Indiana consisted of 5 randomly drawn skills. Some facilities do not set up the test for you though, and you have to arrange to take it yourself. It just depends.

4. Next,I was put on the floor with another CNA for a couple of weeks. The other CNA "showed me the ropes" and allowed me t get to know the residents a little bit before caring for them by myself.

5. That's it! It's not too different from a regular CNA class taught at a school or specific training facility, it's usually just more accelerated and more specific to the facility itself.

As I said, there are some people who will say you can't learn what you need to know properly in such programs, but I have since gone on from that facility to work in another nursing home, a hospital, and a memory enhancement center and I've been just fine. :)