Assisted living offers various levels of care for adults who need assistance with daily tasks. Training for positions such as certified nursing assistant, certified medication aide, and live-in caregiver is available, with continuing education options. Some employers require certification for medication aides and offer on-the-job training for live-in caregivers. Training for assisted living administrators is also available.
Assisted living provides a warm and welcoming environment for adults who need assistance with daily tasks but do not require full care in a nursing home. Assisted living programs offer various levels of care, from basic assistance with bathing and dressing, to helping with taking medications and maintaining mobility. With such a wide range of services, the best way to get assisted living training is to focus on positions such as certified nursing assistant, certified medication aide, and resident caregiver, with possible later changes in administration.
Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) work closely with staff of registered nurses to oversee the care of those with medical conditions. For this type of assisted living training, students should look for programs that require several months of instruction designed to help them prepare for certification and their first job. The best CNA programs train students to feed, bathe, and dress residents; take vital signs for those who are sick or need monitoring; maintain a villager’s living area by making beds; managing medical equipment for the residents who use it, such as oxygen machines or diabetes testing kits; and monitor the daily activities of residents with chronic medical conditions.
Assisted living training for those wanting to be certified drug aides involves classes and clinical classes. While local requirements vary, the best training for medication aides includes up to 100 hours of course work focused on pharmacological terminology and how medications affect the human body. Students should look for programs taught by registered nurses and those that prepare medication aides for a certification exam.
In some assisted living settings, employers require that medication aides also have nursing aide training. While a minority of employers do not require certification for medical assistants, others do. Thus, assisted living training for Medication Assistants can be broad and lead an employee to CNA training and better job prospects.
Another level of assisted living training prepares workers to be live-in caregivers. Most training for these positions takes place on the job, although some employers look for employees with CNA training to fill the roles of live-in caregivers. These positions are also called case associates and resident assistance associates. The best on-the-job training includes guidance on serving meals to residents in their apartments or dining rooms, recording and reporting changes in eating habits, and basic care.
In addition to formal or on-the-job instruction for specific positions, assisted living training can include continuing education. The best ongoing training courses cover topics such as first aid, resuscitation techniques, and personal care. For those with a nursing or business background who want to become administrators, training for assisted living administrators is available and requires completion of workshops and seminars. Local public health boards set guidelines for training living administrators with better care.
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