Certified Nursing Aide (CNA)/Patient Care Technician (PCT)
Program Description
A Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) and Patient Care Technician helps patients with important daily activities including feeding, bathing, repositioning, and taking vital signs. A valuable member of the patient care team, they are also known as “nursing assistants” and generally work under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Becoming a CNA+PCT also serves as a good foundation if you’re looking to transition into nursing or other healthcare careers. The benefit of adding PCT to a traditional Certified Nursing Aide role, are higher wages due to the ability of performing more job duties such as blood draw and wound care. This program will consist of classroom hours and clinical hours. It is designed to provide the experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to work in the field. Those who successfully complete the training will earn a Red Cross CPR certification and Certificate of Completion from OCC. Following completion of this program, individuals will have the classroom knowledge required to sit for the Michigan Nurse Aide Exam.
- Classroom location: Southfield Campus
- Clinical location: Surrounding hospitals
- Schedule: Full-time OR Part-time
- Duration: 4 weeks full-time OR 8-10 weeks part-time
- Format: In-person
Mandatory Health Requirements
Students are required to complete and pass all of the following as part of the application requirements. For complete details about the exact screening, please visit the program web page.
- Background check
- Drug screening
- Negative Tuberculosis clearance
- Vaccinations
- For complete details about the exact screening, please visit the program web page.
Module Descriptions
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Students will identify types of communication, communication barriers, and techniques
for overcoming those barriers. Guidelines for quality documentation will be covered
and students will demonstrate how document relevant information. Students will also
learn to demonstrate professionalism in communicating with both residents and team
members.
Infection Control
Students will learn the chain of infection, standard precautions, and transmissions-based
precautions along with the appropriate PPE and donning/doffing. Students will learn
to demonstrate proper handwashing, emptying of a urinary drainage bag, safe handling
of food, and proper handling and disposal of soiled linen and biohazard material.
Safety and Emergency Procedures
Students will learn safety techniques used in exposure to contaminants, principles
of body mechanics, safe vs unsafe environments, and more. Students will learn the
Heimlich maneuver and how to evaluate the environment for unsafe conditions.
Promoting Residents’ Independence
Students will learn strategies to promote residents’ rights to make personal choices,
ways to give assistance in resolving grievances and disputes, and ways the nurse aide
may facilitate getting to and participating in activities.
Respecting Residents’ Rights
Students will learn ways to maintain care and security of residents’ personal possessions.
Abuse, mistreatment, and neglect as well as the need to report such mistreatment will
also be discussed. Students will demonstrate care of the resident’s environment and
how to report to a nurse on behalf of a resident requesting care plan changes.
Basic Nursing Skills
Students will learn to identify abnormal changes in body functions and why it’s important
to report those changes. End-of-life care, normal/abnormal ranges for vital signs,
signs of effective/improved circulation, catheter care and fall prevention/response
will be covered. Students will learn to accurately measure, record, and report vital
signs and to correctly position a resident in a chair or bed. Additional topics include
catheter and perineal care, along use of the bed pan, assessing urine output, lower
extremity and foot care and use of a mechanical lift.
Personal Care Skills
Students will learn techniques for proper positioning, turning, and transferring of
residents. Students will learn proper feeding techniques as well as perform personal
care and hygiene, including toileting and bathing.
Mental Health and Social Service Needs
Students will identify behavior modifications of their personal response to resident
behavior. Changes associated with the aging process and ways to support resident independence
and dignity, and sources of emotional support for the resident will be covered. Additional
topics include care techniques for the cognitively/uniquely impaired and methods on
how to respond to resident’s behavior.
Care of Cognitively Impaired Residents
Students will learn the challenges of communicating with cognitively impaired/uniquely
impaired residents along with ways to understand and appropriate responses to the
behavior of these residents.
Basic Restorative Services
Students will learn the appropriate use of assistive devices - including prosthetic
and orthotic, appropriate bowel and bladder training, range of motion exercises and
maintenance, and strategies to train residents in self-care. Students will learn the
use of a gait belt during ambulation and transfer of residents, including 2-person
assist.
Clinical Rotation
The clinical experience is a MANDATORY program component that provides students the
opportunity to interact with patients and staff members in acute and long-term care
settings with guidance and oversight from a clinical instructor. Students will use
the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and lab to provide hands-on care
for patients. Students will be assigned a clinical rotation at an area care facility
and are required to complete three 6-hour shifts as designated.
Additional Program Content
Career Readiness
Students will be provided with resources and tools to be successful in the labor market.
Personal branding, including resume and interview skills, will be addressed with the
assistance of a career coach. Students will learn how to utilize LinkedIn as part
of their job search process.