Certain changes to the body are normal. How fast we age and certain aspects of aging differ from one individual to the next depending up diet, health, stress, heredity, exercise and environment. Some changes occur gradually over time, while others can occur quickly as a result of illness or disease. Ohio STNA training helps you understand the different systems and the effects aging can have upon these systems.

One such system affected by aging is the integumentary system, or skin: skin loses elasticity and strength, brown spots may appear on wrists and or hands, fewer blood vessels and nerve endings, loss of fatty tissue, thin and saggy skin, development of fine lines, folds, wrinkles, dry and itchy skin, more sensitive to cold and less sensitive to pain, decreased sweat gland and oil secretions, thinning, drying and or graying hair and development of facial hair in some women.

STNA training in Ohio includes instruction of the various systems in and of the body including the musculoskeletal. Physical changes from aging to this system include muscle atrophy, decreased mobility and strength, bones become more brittle and more susceptible to breaks, stiff and painful joints and a gradual loss of height.

Signs of aging within the nervous system include confusion, decreased sense of smell and taste, forgetfulness, decreased vision and hearing, shorter memory, reduced blood flow to the brain and progressive loss of brain cells, and reduced sense of touch and sensitivity to pain.

Decreased appetite, indigestion, difficulty in swallowing, decreased peristalsis causing flatulence and constipation, loss of teeth, and decreased saliva production are a few of the changes of the digestive system.

Although the urinary and respiratory systems are also affected by things such as lung tissue becoming less elastic, difficulty breathing, urinary incontinence and a decrease in kidney function, focus is generally on the cardiovascular system with changes such as narrowing arteries that become less elastic causing less blood flow, and a weakened heart which pumps with less force yet has to work harder to pump blood through the narrowed vessels.

STNA training in Ohio prepares individuals for the demands of older patient care including the young-old (persons between 60 and 75 years of age), the middle-old (persons between 75 and 84 years), and the old-old (persons older than 85 years).

Your duties as a State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) in Ohio encompass a wide range of responsibilities, depending on where you work. These tasks vary with the job and facility, and also vary somewhat from state to state. There are many laws of responsibility and liability that cover the exact duties of a STNA, and you will learn about many of them during your STNA training in Ohio.

As you go through your formal training and participate in clinicals, you will learn more about which of Ohio’s laws apply to your role as a state tested nursing assistant. Your primary obligation will be, of course, to your client or the patient. You will often be responsible for the daily management and routine care of your patient. This is especially true for the care of elderly residents in nursing home and extended care facilities.

 Your second obligation will probably be to carry out the mission, goals, and objectives of your employer. Many facilities offer intense training and an orientation program to carefully go over the expectation of their workers.

 Your third obligation will be to carry out the duties of a state tested nursing assistant as you were trained and educated to perform. This becomes your major obligation and you will find it very rewarding and satisfying.

During your STNA training in Ohio, you will learn how to ensure that your patients’ are always protected – including the right of privacy, the right to be informed of their health care program and treatment, the right to accept or reject treatment, and the right to be included in their health care plan information.

Because nurses cannot spend a lot of time in direct contact with the patient, you will be the nurses’ “eyes and the ears.” You will keep a close watch over your patients, and will be familiar with emergency responses in case of need. In most situations, you will monitor your client or patient’s vital signs, such as temperature, respiration, pulse, blood pressure, and level of pain.  You will be the one who notifies a nurse or doctor if anything changes in the patient’s condition. During your STNA training in Ohio, you will also learn the feeding process in order to ensure that patients are eating properly and taking any vitamins or nutritional supplements. You may also make beds, and perform hair care, personal hygiene, and bed-bath responsibilities.

There are many duties of a certified state-tested nursing assistant and the responsibility is enormous and challenging. The reward of your training will also be a exciting and very satisfying career.  Get started with your STNA training in Ohio today.

If you like helping others and want to work in the medical field, being a state trained nursing assistant can be an exciting and fulfilling career option. Candidates who received their STNA training in Ohio have career options in a variety of medical facilities, plus there is a high demand of skilled nursing assistants in the market. This profession can be extremely rewarding for someone wishing to make a difference in others’ lives by helping them.

Nursing assistants are the bridge between the patients and the medical staff, providing assistance to ensure the patients’ comfort. They also provide critical emotional support to the patients and their family. Nursing assistants prepare and maintain a report of the patients’ medical condition and vital signs, to which nursing staff refer while attending to patient. Nursing assistants also assist the nursing staff in setting up medical equipment and moving the patients whenever necessary. This job offers constant variety because things change daily – each day has its own set of challenges.

A nursing assistant’s job is challenging and it comes with many responsibilities, and it is a great choice for those who are passionate about helping others. Strong communication skills are also vital in this profession as you must communicate clearly and effectively with the patients and other medical staff at all times. Overall, receiving STNA training in Ohio allows you to touch the lives of many people and make a difference in the world.

Among the traits that successful STNAs possess are:

Empathy: Know how to put yourself in someone else’s place. Whenever faced with a situation, be willing to ask yourself what you would do, or how you would act if you had to deal with the very same problem.

Courtesy: Be courteous to everyone; your patients, their families and visitors, and fellow co-workers. Simple acts of politeness include saying “thank you” or “please”. Treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Dependability: You are part of a team, and each team member is as important as the next when it comes to the overall care of patients. Being on time to work, returning from breaks and lunches at the specified time, and completing assigned tasks are all a part of being a dependable STNA.

Caring: You’ve received the necessary training to help an individual be more comfortable, happier and even in less pain. Show your concern in your interactions with your patients and their visitors and families.

Honesty: Be truthful and accurate in all reports, comments, conversations, and actions.

Consideration: Have respect for the patient’s emotional and physical feelings. Showing acts of kindness and gentleness to a patient and their support system helps to ease some the stress that goes along with needing medical care.

Cooperation: Be an active part of your team. Be aware of others and be willing to help out, if applicable, in stressful and busy situations.

Cheerfulness: Be pleasant. Everyone has some sort of issue to deal with outside of work, but don’t allow that issue to interfere with your day. Remain pleasant in greeting and speaking with others throughout your workday.

Conscientiousness: Be thorough. Know and understand instructions before you begin. Be alert and always “put your best foot forward.”

Trustworthiness: Everyone you come in contact with throughout your work day has confidence in your abilities as an STNA. Be trustworthy with all work related information.

Enthusiasm: Realize that being an STNA is important. Be eager and excited about your job and what you provide to patients and their families. Showing excitement in what you do shows to patients as well as co-workers and supervisors.

Respectfulness: Everyone you meet has rights. Individuals have their own feelings: their own rights and beliefs. Be respectful and treat everyone you encounter with dignity.

These skills are valuable in any area of life, but particularly if you are going to be entrusted with the daily care of a sick or dying patient.

Many people mistakenly believe that a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and a STNA (State Tested Nursing Assistant) are the same.

 
They are not.

In Ohio, CNA means that you are “certified,” meaning that you took the STNA class only and you’ve finished it. You have completed all of the practical learning as far as standardized classes are concerned and you have completed a minimum number of hours in a clinical setting in a long-term care facility, nursing home, or hospice setting.
You have demonstrated a desire to learn about the profession. But you have not passed the state exam. The CNA is a temporary designation which allows you to work in a STNA position before you have passed the state test.

Per Ohio law, once you have your certificate of completion of STNA training, you have to decide between two choices:

1. If you want to work and earn money right away, you have only 4 months from the time of finishing the course (received certificate of completing the class becoming a CNA) to the time you MUST take the test to become a State Tested Nursing Assistant. If you do not take the test within 4 months of completing the course, you MUST retake the entire STNA course over again in order to be eligible to take the STNA exam.

Note: If you fail the test the first time you get 2 more chances (total of 3) to pass the state exam. That process can extend a little more than 4 months, but not much.

2. The second option is that you don’t start working and earning money as a nursing assistant. Then you have two years in which to take the STNA exam. If you complete the course but do not take the test within two years, then you have to start all over again.

What some folks get confused is that they think that they can just not for 4 months and then find work as a CNA and then take the exam. Nope! You can’t do that. After 4 months, you lose your CAN status and cannot work. You have to wait to be employed until you take the exam and pass it. Then you can be employed as an STNA.

Also, to maintain your STNA certification you must work at least 8 hours every 2 years in a LONG TERM Care Facility. The law is not stringent at the time of this writing, however it’s changed once before and those individuals not working in an LTCF had to stop working as an STNA, retake the course and retake the state test because they had not complied with the continuing education requirements.

So it’s best to just work those 8 hours every 2 years, obtain proof from the human resources department that you did this, and keep it in your files just in case the state registry questions your certification in the future.

In order to begin STNA training in Ohio, you will have to pass a criminal background check.  A criminal background check is simply the process of finding out if the individual has been convicted of any crimes.  They are routinely performed before many employment opportunities, especially in health care fields. 

The process is very straightforward for enrollment in classes.  If you have lived in Ohio for more than 3 years,   your fingerprints will be scanned and submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, a division of the Ohio Attorney General’s office.  BCI maintains the statewide Automated Fingerprint Identification System which catalogs the millions of fingerprints from all the law enforcement offices throughout the state. Every time someone is arrested in Ohio, their fingerprints are taken and submitted to the AFIS database. If you have lived in another state, a request will be submitted to that state (or states) for them to check their databases for any criminal history. A report is then issued to the school or employer, typically in about 10 days.

Finding a criminal record does not necessarily preclude training or employment.  Certain factors are taken in consideration:  your age when you committed the offense; the type and severity of the offense (misdemeanor, felony, etc.); how much time has passed since the offense occurred; whether you are currently on probation; if the offense was related to employment; and if there is a history of committing offenses.

Certain offenses will prevent enrollment in STNA training and even employment for particular lines of work. Those with sexual offenses will not be hired at schools or hospitals. In addition, committing an employment-related offense (such as stealing from your job) will make it difficult to find employment at many places in the future.

What should you do if you have a criminal conviction on your record but want to pursue a career as an STNA?  First of all, be honest and upfront about the situation with your training center staff.  Talk to the director of admissions and explain the circumstances surrounding any conviction.

Finally, if you only have one conviction, it has been more than one year, and you completed any terms of probation successfully, you may want to consider having the record expunged.   Some types of offenses cannot be expunged, like DUIs, sexual offenses, or serious felonies.  But a successful expungement wipes your record clean.  It will not appear in a standard background check and you are not required to disclose it on applications.  However, even if you have a conviction expunged, it’s still a good idea to make sure your director of admissions is aware of the situation, but it will make starting your career easier.

Being a State-Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) is often a tough, physically-demanding job. At our STNA training classes in Ohio, we emphasize to our students that they need to take the time to get physically fit. Many working STNAs must assist patients get in and out of bed, must roll patients over, and may have to lift them out of a wheelchair onto a toilet seat and back. This type of work can take a toll on your back, your legs, and your arms.

Here are the top three strength-training exercises as reported by survey of personal trainers from across the country. Do these exercises regularly and you will be better prepared for the physical demands of being a STNA.

Most personal trainers select squats as the number one strengthening exercise for professions like STNAs. Squats work your butt, thighs, hamstrings, and calves all at the same time. To do a squat correctly, stand with feet hip-width apart, toes facing straight ahead or turned slightly outward. Slowly bend your knees, keeping your spine straight and abs pulled in tight. Do not let your knees bend beyond your toes, then slowly straighten your legs. Do this up-and-down motion 10 to 15 times, slowly, taking a deep breath each time you go down and exhaling as you stand, every other day.

The second exercise personal trainers recommend, and the one many people dread, is the push-up. But push-ups, like squats, are very effective. In one compact move, you can work all the muscles in your chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abs. There are lots of variations, but here’s how to do the basic push-up. Position yourself face down on the floor, balancing on your toes/knees and hands. Your hands should be wider than shoulders, body in a straight line from head to toe. Don’t sag in the middle and don’t stick your butt up in the air. Bend your arms and slowly lower your body toward the floor, stopping when your elbows are at 90 degrees. Exhale and push back up. You should do as many as you can until your muscles are fatigued every other day.

Another great exercise for women is arm curls. Ideally, you should have a three to five-pound weight. Hold the weight in your hand and hold your arm out away from your body and bend slightly at the hips. Slowly bend your elbow, tightening the bicep muscle as tight as you can. Control the weight as you straighten your elbow. Do this exercise first with one arm, then the other. Then put the weight back into your first hand and reach your arm out behind you. Now bend your elbow and push back, tightening the triceps on the back of your arms as tight as you can. Do as many repeats as you can, then switch to the other arm. You should try to do some arm curls every day.

Even with a busy schedule of STNA classes, clinicals, studying, and home life, you should try to make time to incorporate these five exercises two to three times a week will help strengthen your muscles and bones to make you better prepared for your career as a STNA. ]]> http://www.pchslive.com/stnatraining/getting-fit-for-the-stna/feed/ 0 http://www.pchslive.com/stnatraining/what-are-clinicals/ http://www.pchslive.com/stnatraining/what-are-clinicals/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:20:13 +0000 admin http://www.pchslive.com/stnatraining/?p=54 Clinicals are an important part of STNA training in Ohio.  They give STNA students real-life experiences in handling the duties they will handle in their working life.

Clinicals are supervised sessions conducted in real healthcare environments, like a nursing home, hospital, or clinic, which allow STNA students to put their knowledge and skills to work. STNA clinicals are like mini-internships and they are a critical part of the STNA training in Ohio.  Clinicals allow the STNA student to deal with real patients in a supervised setting before being thrust into real situations without instructors or supervising nurses to step in and assist.

During clinicals, the STNA will be assigned to work with patients with a variety of different needs.  They usually work closely with a supervising nurse or trainer, and occasionally with doctors, and other health care providers. The STNA students are rotated through a variety of settings, from intensive care wards to nursing homes to outpatient clinics, so that they get to interact with a wide variety of patients, and to see a broad spectrum of health care interventions and situations.  They get hands-on experience at assisting patients with bathing and feeding, taking vital statistics, observing patients and reading charts.

Before being allowed to participate in the clinicals, STNA students must complete a portion of training in the classroom.  This is where they gain the general knowledge of what needs to be done in a medical situation.  This knowledge encompasses everything from common first aid, to dietary and medication basics, to how to provide basic hygiene assistance,and even how to react in specific medical situations.  The classroom will also address the ethical issues STNA students  may encounter in the course of the work. Students are often given an opportunity to work in lab environments, and to “treat” actors or fellow classmates who volunteer to be model patients.

In addition to being used to provide educational opportunities, clinicals are also used by the STNA teachers to evaluate their students. Students are expected to thoroughly research their patients, apply all their knowledge, and be prepared to answer questions relating to patient care, the history of the individual patient, and other issues. Supervisors will also observe the way in which the STNA student interacts with the patient; for example, is the student unfriendly or rough, even though the medical care is adequate? These types of observations are used to guide the student, and to determine final grades.

For STNA students, nursing clinicals can be intense, because they provide the first opportunity to interact with real patients, and to make decisions which could have very real consequences. Students should remember that they are there to learn, and they should never be afraid to say that they don’t understand something, or don’t feel comfortable performing a procedure without assistance or direction.  It is a critical and necessary part of STNA training in Ohio.

CPR has two main goals: to keep the blood flowing and to keep air going in and out of the lungs.

If you find a patient who may potentially be in cardiac arrest or unconscious, the first step is to call 911 for additional help. Once help is on the way, check for a pulse. The STNA classes in Ohio show students all the proper techniques for accurately determining whether or not the patient is breathing or has a pulse.

To begin CPR, the victim must be lying on his or her back on a flat surface. Then you begin with the ABCs of CPR. Developed by the American Heart Association, the ABCs are:

Airway

The mouth and throat need to be clear and unobstructed before any CPR can be given. To clear a blocked airway, you should first place the palm of your hand across the victim’s forehead and push down gently. With the other hand, slowly lift the chin forward and slightly up. Move the chin up until the teeth are almost together, but the mouth is still slightly open.

Tilting the head back and lifting the chin in this manner will move the tongue out of the airway. At this point, you will check again for breathing. If the victim is choking on something, you may see their chest heave as they try to breathe, but you won’t be able to feel or hear air being exhaled. If that happens, you may need to compress the abdomen with forceful thrusts or manually dislodge any object with your fingers.

Once this is done, you have to check for signs of breathing again. Just clearing out the windpipe may sometimes be enough to allow the victim to start breathing on their own. If the victim starts breathing and moving around on their own, you should stop CPR. If this doesn’t happen, you’ll have to help them breathe, by providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Breathing

Lungs have one main function: remove carbon dioxide and take in oxygen. Normally, the muscles in your chest contract and expand your chest cavity, allowing your lungs to fill with air. Oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across the immense surface area of your lungs. Finally, your chest muscles relax, and you exhale.

Rescue breathing uses your lungs to force air into the victim’s lungs at regular intervals. The timing of each breath (about 1.5 to 2 seconds per breath) mimics normal breathing. However, the process is much more like blowing up a balloon than real breathing. You inhale deeply, form a tight seal with your mouth over their mouth, and exhale strongly to push air out of your mouth into theirs. Because you also pinch the victim’s nostrils closed, the air has nowhere to go except down into the lungs, which expand as they fill with air.

Mouth-to-mouth breathing is hard work. Normally, when you inhale, the chest muscles drive the process. In artificial respiration, you’re working against the victim’s relaxed chest muscles. When the chest muscles are relaxed, the chest cavity is small, keeping the lungs in a deflated state. As a rescuer, you have to exhale forcefully into the victim’s mouth for 1 to 2 seconds to overcome this resistance. As the lungs fill with air, the victim’s chest is pushed up at the same time; you can actually see it rise. When you remove your mouth from the victim’s and break the air seal, their chest falls and once again deflates the lungs. As in normal breathing, this results in air being exhaled from the victim’s mouth.

Circulation

After giving two full breaths, if you can’t find a pulse, then you need to provide artificial circulation in addition to breathing.

External chest compressions are used to provide artificial circulation. When you apply rhythmic pressure on the lower half of the victim’s breastbone, you force the heart to pump blood. There is a precise timing you must follow to adequately administer chest compressions. Our 3-hour CPR for STNA training classes in Ohio teach you exactly what to do.

Once you have been trained, you must periodically review the procedure. But this training makes you a valuable asset to your family, friends, and neighborhood for years to come.

It takes time and effort to become a State-Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA). It is a rewarding career for some, but it’s not right for everyone. Here are eight questions you should ask yourself before enrolling in our STNA classes in Ohio.

1) Do you enjoy health, science and math classes? As a STNA, you will be expected to understand how the human body works, how different medications may interact, and how to gauge and monitor various measurements. It will be very beneficial to you if you enjoy these areas.

2) Do you like to help people, even when they are sick? A STNA is first and foremost a helper. Your role would be to help the other nurses and doctors stay informed about the patient’s health conditions. You would be helping the patient and their family with their everyday needs. In many instances, the patient will be unable to do even simple tasks by themselves and will need your help.

3) Can you follow directions, but are you confident enough to take some actions on your own? You will need to follow the directions of the doctors and nurses, but when you have enough experience in caring for your patients, you will need to be confident enough to take care of the patient’s needs without close supervision. The doctors and nurses are too busy to tell you everything little thing that needs to be done. You need to have the common sense to recognize what needs to be done and then the confidence to do it without being told.

4) Do you communicate well? The STNA is usually the position with the most contact with the patient and is often the go-between to make sure the patient’s questions and concerns are being heard by the doctor and nurses and then make sure the patient and his or her family hears accurate information from the doctors and nurses. A STNA must be able to accurately convey information, without excess emotion or hyperbole to everyone else in the medical care chain.

5) Are you patient and thick-skinned? As a STNA on the frontline of patient care, you will have to deal with patients and families who are in pain and ill. As a result, they may say or do mean things. They will complain a lot, they will find fault in everything you do. You have to be able to listen to their criticism, understand that it’s not YOU, but their circumstances, and still maintain a positive, cheerful attitude.

6) Are you a good listener? Many times, a patient just needs someone they can talk to. You have to show your patients that you care and hear their concerns. Sometimes, you will have to interpret what they are feeling because their pain cannot allow them to express themselves adequately.

7) Do you like working with your hands and doing physical work? The job of a STNA is physically demanding. You will be on your feet a lot, and you will be helping patients button their shirts, brush their teeth and brush their hair. You will not be sitting in an office all day staring at a computer screen.

Do like a routine where you know what you are going to do every day? Then being a STNA may not be right for you. Every day will be a different challenge. Those individuals who like variety and can adapt to whatever the day brings are the most successful in this type of environment.

If you have answered these questions and still want to explore becoming a STNA, we encourage you to check out our STNA training in Ohio.