Basic nursing assistant training, abbreviated to BNA training, is typically less expensive, offers a shorter timeline, and requires less commitment than other allied health programs.
Basic Nursing Assistant Training Enrollment Requirements
When researching basic nursing assistant training programs, it’s important to understand what each individual school’s requirements are for enrollment. For example, at Midwest Technical Institute students must provide proof of a high school diploma, recognized equivalency certificate, or documentation of home school completion, as well as fingerprints prior to enrollment for a background check, and have the required immunizations. Prospective students at MTI need to also pass health tests, including proof of immunizations and negative tuberculosis (TB) tests administered within the last six months.
Check our catalog [1] for more detailed information on MTI’s enrollment requirements for the Basic Nursing Assistant Course.
Skills Taught During BNA Training
There are 21 skills [2] taught in state-approved nursing assistant courses, which students will need to successfully perform in order to pass the Manual Skills Competency Test [3]:
- High personal hygiene standards, including the recommended hand washing techniques
- Assisting patients with oral hygiene, helping them maintain clean teeth and dentures
- Shaving residents or patients who need assistance
- Maintaining the patients or residents’ nails
- Providing perineal care to prevent skin infections, breakdown, or odor
- Giving partial baths
- Assisting with showers or tub baths
- Making occupied beds
- Dressing residents or assisting residents as needed
- Transferring residents or patients to wheelchairs using transfer belts
- Transferring patients or residents with mechanical belts
- Ambulating (assisting with walking or moving about) with transfer belts
- Feeding residents or patients who are unable to feed themselves
- Accurately calculating and recording intake and output quantities of fluids
- Placing residents in a side-lying position
- Performing passive range of motion
- Applying and removing personal protective equipment, such as gloves, masks, clothing covers, and head coverings
- Measuring and recording pulse and respiration
- Measuring and recording blood pressure
- Measuring and recording weight within a plus or minus half-pound on a traditional scale or by wheelchair or bed scale
- Measuring and recording height of standing or non-standing people within one-half inch
Midwest Technical Institute Basic Nursing Assistant Training Course
The Midwest Technical Institute (MTI) Basic Nursing Assistant Course prepares the student for the CNA certification exam that is necessary to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in the state of Illinois. This course is designed to prepare qualified individuals to be safe, caring, and effective nursing assistants who work under the supervision of qualified healthcare professionals.
The lessons in the Basic Nursing Assistant Course prepare students to perform in positions normally available in hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies. These classes present basic nursing assistant principles and provide opportunities for practice and demonstration of skills related to patient care.
During the BNA course, the student’s time will be divided between classroom instruction, laboratory, and supervised experience in the nursing home and/or hospital setting.
The course includes the following classes:
- Introduction to Health Care Systems
- The Patient
- Protecting the Person
- Assisting with Activities of Daily Living
- Patient Assessment
- Assisting with Care Needs
- Nursing Assistant Practicum
The MTI Basic Nursing Assistant Course requires 144 clock hours over the course of seven weeks. Daytime classes are available at the Springfield, IL and East Peoria, IL campuses.
A BNA Career Starts With the Right Training
Beginning a career as a basic nursing assistant starts with proper training. Although BNA training can be physically demanding, it is also rewarding and a great introduction to the allied health field with relatively fast, entry-level training. Contact the MTI Admissions Team to learn more about enrolling in the Basic Nursing Assistant Course.
Sources
[1] https://www.midwesttech.edu/documents/catalog/MTI-IL-catalog-2018.pdf#page=14 [2] https://www.choosecna.org/illinois-cna-certification/#21-skills [3] http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/health-care-regulation/health-care-worker-registry/cna-facts