Programme Objective

COURSE DESCRIPTION The course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform basic care services for a patient (acute care setting) or resident (long-term care setting). It prepares the student to function in the role of nursing assistant under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN). This course is designed to meet the curriculum requirements of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The basic nursing assistant proficiency examination is the State-approved competency evaluation, with both written and manual skills components. The course requires the student to complete 93 hours of classroom lecture, perform 40 hours in a clinical setting, and successfully demonstrate 21 manual patient/resident care skills. Satisfactory completion of the course provides eligibility to take the IDPH established competency written examination for State certification as a certified nursing assistant. Prerequisites: Placement testing scores of 64 for English/Reading and 50 for Arithmetic, with two (2) attempts at passing; Successful completion of NUR 104 Socialization into the Nursing Assistant Career with a grade of “C” or better. Nature of Work: Nursing assistants perform routine duties in caring for patients or residents. Care tasks delegated by the nurse to the assistant include: transferring a patient/resident from the bed to a chair or wheelchair; walking or performing range of motion exercises; bathing, showering, shaving or providing oral hygiene for a patient/resident; feeding; changing bed linens; and maintaining cleanliness of the patient/resident’s general surroundings. The nursing assistant is proficient in taking a temperature, respiratory rate, blood pressure and other patient/resident vital measurements, and reporting the results back to the nurse. The practice of good hand hygiene and patient/resident safety is expected at all times in the clinical