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State Tested Nursing Assistants (CNA) who wish to maintain their eligibility to work in long term care facilities, assisted living facilities, palliative or hospice care facilities or within a home health care agency, must meet all the requirements defined by the Ohio Department of Health for certification.

In Ohio, there are four steps you must complete to maintain your CNA certification.  The steps are as follows:

1. Provide documentation that you completed at least seven and one-half consecutive hours, or eight hours in a 40-hour period, of nursing-related services during the previous 24 months.
2. Provide documentation confirming all necessary in-service or continuing education requirements have been completed in the previous 24 months.
3. Provide documentation of physical exams and tests, including the Mantoux (TB) skin test.
4. Submit a completed renewal application to the Ohio Department of Health, along with all the supporting documentation, as mentioned above, as well as the correct specified payment.

It is very important that you submit your completed application and documentation early enough so that it is received and processed before your CNA certification expiration date.  Always better to be safe, than sorry!

The Ohio Department of Health requires all individuals pursuing CNA certification to providing nursing and nursing related services for monetary compensation within 24 months after he or she last met the requirement for being listed on its eligibility registry.  If the above requirements are not met, the individual must, unfortunately, go through CNA training again, as well as be retested and pass the test, in order to be eligible to work as a CNA.

Maintaining your CNA certification is a wise investment, an investment which opens the door to a long-standing career offering job security, stability, as well as personal satisfaction in providing a needed service to a diverse population within a long term medical setting, assisted living facility, home health care or hospital.  For more information regarding maintaining your CNA certification eligibility, contact Premier Choice Health Services (PCHS) or the Ohio Department of Health, Nurse Aid Program, at NAR@odh.ohio.gov.

IT IS RELATIVELY EASY GETTING RECERTIFIED

So you have found yourself in a situation where your State Tested Nursing Assistant (CNA) certification has lapsed or is no longer valid.  Do not despair!  Rise up, dust yourself off, and read on to take the necessary steps in obtaining re-certification in the State of Ohio and being listed in the Ohio Department of Health’s registry of eligible nursing assistants.

The Ohio Department of Health requires all individuals, who are no longer listed in the registry due to suspension or lapse of certification, to retrain and retest.  The first step is to enroll in a State accredited CNA program, such as that which is offered at Premier Choice Health Services (PCHS).  PCHS offers courses covering basic nursing, safety, CPR, communication and mental health.

Once you have completed the retraining, the next step is to submit a completed CNA Application.  It is important to note that the Application requires proof that you are currently enrolled in a qualified training course.  If you have completed your retraining with the previous 24 months of submitting the Application, a copy of your program certification will need to be attached to the Application.

The last step in the process is taking and passing the test.  In Ohio, the tests are administered through D&S Diversified Technologies.  D&S has testing sites through the state.  When you are ready to take the test, you can check the D&S website for testing times and locations.  After you take and pass the test, the rest is a breeze!

It is important that once you pass the state test, you verify your inclusion on the Department of Health’s registry at:  http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhprograms/io/nurseaide/nurseaide1.aspx.  If you are currently employed at a long-term care facility or hospital, your supervisor or Human Resources Department can easily verify your inclusion on the registry, as well.

It may seem that the State of Ohio has rigid requirements when it comes to the certification of CNA’s, but there is a good reason for this.  One thing to consider is the State’s guidelines are established to protect the integrity of Ohio CNA certifications.  Once you obtain your re-certification, you can be proud that you earned it each step of the way!  PCH is just a click or phone call away to assist you in doing just that!

The number one reason why you should take a CPR class is because it puts you in the position to save a life. Of course, it’s best if you’re never put in the situation where you’ll have to save a life, but as long as you are in that position, and throughout your life you likely will be, you might as well be a hero about it.

Also, CPR classes are a good way to meet other people who care enough about life to try to be potential heroes, which means they’re probably good people. You’ll make friends with them, and when you hang out together, you know that you’ll be in good hands in case your heart stops beating and your lungs start breathing. A friend who knows CPR is like a life support system that you can talk to.

Most classes are group classes in which the students gather around a dummy. The instructor teaches a step in the CPR process, then everyone practices that step on the dummy. Then the instructor teaches the next step in the CPR process, and then everyone practices that next step on the dummy, and so on. Similar to helping an old lady cross a street, CPR isn’t difficult and it doesn’t take a long time, but it’s still important to do.

You’ll have to recertify every two years if you want to keep your certification valid. Of course, it’s not necessary to have a valid certification to save a life, but continual research goes into perfecting the CPR method, so while you may save a life with your outdated CPR training, it’s always best to have the latest and most-accurate information possible. After all, when it comes to saving a life, every inch counts.

Before we get into the differences between how to conduct CPR on an adult, child, and infant, let’s first review what CPR is: it stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and it’s a manual way for you to keep a cardiac arrest’s victim’s heart and lungs working. In essence, it’s like life support that you can perform with your hands.

But adults, children, and infants have different body types, so while the overall CPR technique is essentially the same on all three, there are minor variations that we need to remember in order to ensure the best outcome. And since the outcome that we’re referring to here is the saving of a life, it’s good to remember this.

Response time

If you’re the only person on the scene, then it’s even more important to respond immediately to a child or infant who goes into cardiac arrest with CPR, even if it means waiting a few minutes to call an ambulance. Children and infants respond better to CPR than adults, especially if you start the CPR immediately.

Head position

On an adult, it’s important to tilt the victim’s head back to open up the airway fully. On a child and infant, tilting the head back too far will actually close off the airway. So only tilt a child or infant’s head back into a “sniffer’s position.” This means to tilt the head back to the point that it looks like the child or infantis sniffing.

Where to check for pulse

On infants, check their pulse on the brachial artery located inside the upper arm. On children and adults, check the pulse at the carotid artery located on the neck.

Chest compressions

When compressing the chest of an adult (to the rhythm of “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees, about 100 compressions per minute) use the heel of both hands. On a child, use only the heel of one hand and on an infant, compress with only two fingers of one hand.

The instructions on this post will help you in an emergency, but please don’t consider them a replacement for actual CPR training. Please check our schedule for more information on First Aid and CPR classes,

Now that you’re an CNA, opportunities will be opening up in front of you. More specifically, you’ll have to open up the opportunities yourself by selling yourself to potential employers. The best way to start the selling process is bywriting a stellar resume, your main selling tool. List each job that’s relevant to the job you’re applying for, and list three or four accomplishments at that job.

It’s important to list accomplishments on your resume as opposed to duties. Make it seem like you’re not just a regular worker who goes through the motions, but somebody who goes to work to actually do something. For example, if you worked at a nursing home, instead of writing, “Cared for tenants in a prompt and orderly fashion,” write, “Achieved the least number of complaints than any other employee.” It helps if you actually achieved measurable accomplishments, but just be creative and you’ll see that a mere duty can easily be reworded into something that sounds much better.

Once you have your polished resume, it’s time to send it out. Most job postings on the internet or in the newspaper are a wild goose chase. Instead, try posting your resume on job boards. When you send your resume to a specific job posting, only one employer will see it, if that. But when you post your resume on a job board, many employers will see it.

In conjunction with posting your resume on a job board, try your luck with a staffing agency for nurses. Even if you’re unable to get full-time work through a staffing agency, it’s common to at least get part-time work, and if you do well, it usually turns into something more. After all, in a period of economic downturn, getting your foot in the door is getting in the door.

Nursing assistants don’t have to end up in long-term care

The common perception of State Tested Nursing Assistants (CNA) is that they predominantly give non-medical aid to people with chronic illness or disability. This is known as long-term care (LTC). While there is some validity to this association between CNAs and long-term care, since nursing homes are major employers of CNAs, this doesn’t mean that as an CNA you will forever be relegated to bed pans and sponge baths.

The mere fact that hospitals and other non-LTC areas employ nurse assistants on a regular basis should give you confidence that you don’t have to work in LTC if you don’t want to. Even psychology wards need nursing assistants more often than you would think. However, if you don’t take any specific action to work at a venue where you want to work, then yes, chances are you will end up in LTC because nobody else wants to.

But you could say that about any qualification for any field. An engineer could end up doing rudimentary number crunching on a project to build a bridge, or he can be the chief engineer on the project. The difference is in drive and determination, and not so much intelligence, especially since drive and determination often are harbingers of intelligence.

A good way to demonstrate your drive and determination is to volunteer. If you don’t want to end up changing colostomy bags for a living, then volunteer at the job you do want and make yourself useful.

Or, if you simply cannot afford to work for free, then take an LTC job but help out with other duties as well. Once your supervisor takes notice of your utility, you’re sure to get an opportunity, or at least the chance to learn more, which is usually all the opportunity you’ll need.

A common problem of nurses who recently received their State Tested Nursing Assistant (CNA) license is that employers require experience before they hire. What seems like a Catch 22 is actually not, because employers don’t require paid experience.

Unfortunately, in this economy, hospitals aren’t exactly trying to trap any nursing assistant who happens to walk by the front door, so you’ll have to prime the hospital’s HR pump by working for free. Volunteering is a great way to show your usefulness to a potential employer. If you volunteer for a hospital, but act as though you actually work for them, you’ll be surprised how often the hospital will ask you to start working full-time and for pay, often much sooner than one year. In the meantime, Starbucks is always looking for baristas. Think of it as an opportunity to work on your customer service skills.

Plus, it’s beneficial for you to volunteer before settling down in a full-time, committed job. What hospital do you want to work in? What part of the hospital? You may not have a clear vision of where you want to be, which is dangerous when you get a full-time job. It would be good to try out different environments. You may like working with children more than the elderly. You may enjoy the excitement that comes with dealing with trauma patients. Let’s say, through volunteering, that you enjoy working in a hospital’s emergency room more than anything else. You’ll be able to convey your passion for the position in your interview, which, when combined with your experience, will be able to land you a job at any hospital. 

Also, you’ll know something is your true calling when you will do it for free, so maybe if the thought of volunteering as a nursing assistant makes you feel gipped, this could be telling you something very important about yourself.

Rarely are recently-discharged patients from the hospital ready to be self-sufficient members of society. They need a phase of transition, and home health care is this transition just like a halfway house is a transition for ex-convicts.

What home health care is

Home health care, or just “home care,” is supportive and rehabilitative care performed in the home of the recently-discharged patient, provided by family and friends. Sometimes a health care professional is required for home care, but rarely is this a full-time duty. A nurse may be called in case of an emergency or to teach the patient’s family and friends a convalescent duty, and then she goes on her way.

Other services can be provided by a health care professional depending on the difficulty of the skill involved. A nurse may need to assess the respiratory status of a patient after a bout of pneumonia, but family can provide ostomy care, insulin injections, and feedings.

What home health care is not

Home care is not when a nurse or health care professional is needed to take care of a patient full-time and for an extended period of time. As a transition period to a normal life, home care doesn’t necessitate a nurse. If it did, then the patient is usually better off in the hospital.

Paying for home health care

As with any medical expense, public and private medical insurance will cover all or none of home care depending on the importance of the care. For instance, ventilator care or some other complex skill will most likely be covered by insurance, but custodial care is usually an out-of-pocket expense.

Most insurance plans, and especially Medicaid, require a medical doctor to order the service or care, and the patient must be homebound for the duration of the home care.

How people are in one area of their life is a good indication of how they are in another area of their life. If you’re honest with your children, then you’re probably honest with your boss. If you put your full effort into completing a project at work, then you’re going to put your full effort into playing a board game when you get home. And if you’re an attentive student in nursing school, they’re you’re probably going to be a nurse who employers are looking for.

So if you’re in nursing school now, notice your approach to school; it will be quite revealing of the kind of worker you’re going to be. For instance, if you turn your phone off before class begins, that says something different about you than if you just put your phone on vibrate in case someone texts you, which would give you something to fiddle with in case class gets boring.

Do you ask questions in class, always trying to think about the material in a new way? Or do you just sit in the back of the room and absorb? In the field, this could mean the difference between being a cog in a system and an innovator.

Do you even show up to class every day? Or are you ready and even willing to blow off class because it’s “no big deal,” anyway? If you do the latter, maybe this doesn’t mean that you’ll skip work, but maybe you won’t think it’s such a big deal if you’re ten minutes late. Other people, however, will think it’s a big deal.

In short, the qualities that employers are looking for are the same qualities that you can develop and bolster while getting your nursing certification. You’ll leave no doubt in your future employer’s mind that you’re attentive, inquisitive, punctual, and a hard worker because these are qualities that you’ve radiated while in school.

Perhaps more importantly, these are qualities that your instructors notice. They know who asks the questions, and they know who plays their phones like a piano, and when making a recommendation, they have no problem telling employers about either.