Samantha Medeiros is helped from bed to wheelchair by her fellow student nurse Gabriel Weighous in a lab exercise during Spring Semester.
Nursing assistants continue to be highly needed in the region’s health care sector—and for those who would like a meaningful career helping people, the CNA certificate is a prompt way to enter the nursing field.
Truckee Meadows Community College offers a Nursing Assistant Skills Certificate Program. It is a one-semester, six-credit class.
“We’re hosting an Information Night—it’s a great way to be introduced to the mission of our training program and to what a CNA does on the job,” said Susan Bluhm, RN and CNA Program Coordinator. “At the workshop, we’ll cover how to apply, the requirements, and the various schedules offered. We’ll break down the registration process into straightforward steps.”
Attendees will learn about the variety of training schedule options from which to choose—days, evenings, weekends or fast track.
- What: Nursing Assistant Information Night
- When: Wednesday, March 29, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
- Where: Red Mountain Building, room 256, Dandini Campus
The event is open to current TMCC students and to prospective students in the local community, as well as the entire northern Nevada region.
Nursing assistant training is comprehensive and has three distinct parts:
- Theory, classroom studies
- Lab work
- Clinical experiences on-site at health care providers
“We work with all the hospitals and long-term care facilities in the Reno-Sparks community,” Bluhm added. “Students have said that the clinical hours have given them expertise and confidence in their skills.”
What Is a Nursing Assistant?
TMCC’s CNA Program is a hands-on occupational preparatory course that gets students ready to be an entry-level nursing assistant.
Nursing assistants take vital signs and are the first “eyes and ears” that support the Registered Nurse (RN) in each patient’s total care. With their compassion and attention, CNA professionals are the caregivers who patients may see most often.
Many of their important tasks involve assisting the RN with the patients’ activities of daily living, such as feeding, walking or moving, and bathing.
TMCC’s training course meets the Nevada State Board of Nursing (NSBN) eligibility requirements to take the NSBN CNA Clinical Skills Competency Exam and the Written Knowledge Exam.
Various Schedules Accommodate Students’ Needs
In the Summer Term, Nursing Assistant: NURS 130, section 8001 is offered on weekday mornings, with clinical experiences on five selected Saturdays.
During Spring and Fall Semesters, the training course is typically offered with various scheduling options such as the following (examples are from Spring 2017):
- Monday and Wednesday sections, with clinicals on selected Wednesdays
- Tuesday and Thursday sections, with clinicals on selected Tuesdays
- Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with clinicals on selected Saturdays
- FastTrack; weekday evenings, with clinicals on selected Saturdays
- Fridays and Saturdays, with clinicals on selected Fridays
More information on specific class times may be found in the Class Schedule. (Tip: search Nursing – NURS in the subject field).
One scholarship is available for applicants in the Fall and Spring Semesters.
More information about the Certified Nursing Assistant Program can be obtained by calling 775-673-7115.