Certified Nurse Assistant Programs A Comparison Study of Community College Programs Greater Puget Sound Area

A Comparison of Nine Programs  Bellevue Community College  Edmonds Community College  Highline Community College  Lower Columbia College  Pierce College  Renton Technical College  Shoreline Community College  South Seattle Community College  Yakima Valley Community College

Comparison by admission criteria College ProgramCASAS/ESLCompassEnglish/Other Bellevue CCCNA-Regular80 or > Bellevue CCCNA-ESLLevel 5 Edmonds CC Vocational ESLLevel 5 Edmonds CC Allied Health (prerequisites) English level below ENG 101 Edmonds CC CNAGPA 2.0 or > Highline CCFundamentals of Health Care Level 4 Highline CCCNA-I-BESTLevel 5

Comparison by admission criteria CollegeProgramCASAS/ESLCompassEnglish Lower Columbia CC Health Occupations Core-Regular English 37 Math-91 Or Eng 100 Lower Columbia CC Health Occupations Core-I-BEST Level 4 Pierce College College Foundations of Allied Health Level high 4- 5 Pierce CollegeCNA-I-BESTLevel 5 Renton Technical College CNA-I-BESTNonenone Shoreline CCCNALevel 4-5

Comparison by admission criteria CollegeProgramCASAS/ESLCompassEnglish South Seattle CC CNA-I-BESTLevel 5Math and English 220 or > Yakima Valley CC CNA-I-BEST221 or >

CNA: Comparison of Clinical Hours Bellevue Community College64 Edmonds Community College64 Highline Community College80 Pierce College50 Renton Technical College96 Shoreline Community College64 South Seattle Community College 50 Yakima Valley Community College 64

CNA: Comparison of Classroom Hours Edmonds CC100 Highline CC110 Pierce College110 Bellevue CC120 Shoreline CC126 Renton Technical College132 Yakima Valley CC172 South Seattle CC200

Best Practices-CNA Programs  Clinical placements in both hospital and long-term care facility give students experience in different settings (Bellevue CC)  Evening and Saturday classes (Bellevue CC)  Although a longer program, after finishing Allied Health prerequisites-students can enter a number of different fields (Edmonds CC)

Best Practices-CNA Programs  Students are connected immediately with advisor and instructors (Highline Community College)  Different tracks for those wishing to enter program from those already working in health care field (Lower Columbia College)  2 quarter CNA program with first quarter providing a certificate in CPR, HIV/AIDS (Pierce College)  Immediate preparation for LPN program by way of CNA program (Renton Technical College and South Seattle CC)

Best Practices-CNA Programs  Study Hall incorporated into weekly CNA schedule (Shoreline CC)  First come, first served (South Seattle CC)  2 quarter CNA program with intensive basic instructions in first quarter (Yakima Valley CC)  Foundations of Health Care class (precursor to CNA program for all TANF recipients) includes 20 hours a week of classes in Math, Medical English (learning how to write paragraphs, cultural issues) Medical Terminology (making a presentation on one body system), Computer Literacy and Job Readiness. These classes are all taught by different subject-specific instructors. (Yakima Valley CC)

Recommendations Each successful CNA program visited is built upon a solid partnership between the CAN Content/Lab and ESL instructors. This is a must for any successful CNA/ESL program! Consider restructuring the ESL Health Bridge classes in to connect to a specific vocational program (ie- Caregiving certificate or CNA). Combine health bridge classes into one quarter and extend the number of hours each week for these classes.

Recommendations Once health bridge courses have been established, institute an outreach program to ancillary staff in local long-term care facilities (housekeeping, dietary, transport etc). Make contact with Master degree programs in Nursing and/or Nursing Education to recruit new nursing instructors specifically for CNA program. Additional suggestions for a CNA program at NSCC have already been submitted to the Health and Human Services Division at North Seattle Community College.

Questions?