MyCAA-APPROVED HEALTHCARE PROGRAM
PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANT
Personal Care Assistants are making a difference in healthcare. With the demands for healthcare growing every day, personal care assistants are absolutely vital to daily operations in hospitals, nursing care facilities and client’s home.
PROGRAM COSTS: Varies
COURSE CONTACT HOURS: 750
PROGRAM DURATION: 6 Months
EXTERNSHIP AVAILABLE: Yes
COURSES AVAILABLE THROUGH
Tyler Junior College TJC-PCA
Download TJC Course Outline
Texas A&M TAMIU-PCA
Download TAMIU Course Outline
The Personal Care Assistant
Personal Care Assistants are making a difference in healthcare. With the demands for healthcare growing every day, personal care assistants are absolutely vital to daily operations in hospitals, nursing care facilities and client’s homes. Personal Care Assistants give patients important social and emotional support and also provide vital information on patient conditions to nurses. Working closely with patients, Personal Care Assistants are responsible for basic care services such as bathing, grooming and feeding patients, assisting nurses with medical equipment, and checking patient vital signs.
The Personal Care Assistant Program
This comprehensive program prepares students for a position as a Personal Care Assistant. Emphasis is on giving personal care in a client’s home, communications, working with ill persons, basic human needs, eldercare, nutrition, special diets, and home management. Many different types of individuals who live at home or in a home-like residential facility require assistance with minor medical and daily tasks. Personal Care Assistants provide this assistance or provide some of the care to allow family caregivers a respite. This program will ensure students are prepared to provide a variety of essential services for their clients including health care management and monitoring, assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) ranging from bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom, housekeeping and laundry to medication reminders and/or management, recreational activities and companionship, security and transportation.
Certification Opportunities
Education and National Certifications
- Students should have or be pursuing a high school diploma or GED.
- There are several National Certification exams that are available to students who successfully complete this program:
- National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) Exam
- Individual states have specific certification requirements and processes associated with this program. Please refer to your specific state agency for certification requirements.
- In addition to facilitating entry-level clinical medical assisting related positions, this course is ideal for students interested in pursuing a future formal Nursing (LPN) or a Nursing (RN) program.
Detailed Course Information
- Explain how laws and regulations affect the roles and responsibilities of the Nursing Assistant Specialist within the health care system
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of effective communication skills necessary to function as a member of the health care team
- Demonstrate basic technical and communication skills that facilitate an optimal level of functioning of the client, recognizing individual, cultural, and religious diversity
- Use procedures and techniques to promote infection control and prevent the spread of microorganisms
- Demonstrate the ability to identify and use safety and emergency procedures
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of body systems, basic anatomy, common disease processes, and the aging process
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of vital signs and other body measurements
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of principles and skills of restorative nursing in providing client care, while also using proper body mechanics
- Identify elements of a client’s physical environment and the client’s interaction with their environment
- Identify proper procedures and techniques used for providing personal care to clients, including but not limited to ADLs, bathing, skin care, nutrition and feeding, elimination, range of motion, positioning, and mobility
- Identify psychosocial characteristics of all clients, including those with physical and cognitive impairments
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of delivering sensitive care to the dying client and family
- Identify behaviors that maintain and respect the client and client’s family rights and promote client independence, regardless of race, religion, lifestyle, sexual preference, disease process, or ability to pay
- Responsibilities of the clinical medical assistant and introduction to healthcare facilities
- Medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, circulation of the heart and blood vessels
- Care & safety of patients, medical & legal aspects of care, confidentiality and HIPAA
- Effective verbal and non-verbal communication, interpersonal skills and human behavior
- Aseptic techniques, infection prevention, universal precautions, proper use and disposal of biohazards and sharps
- Documenting patient medical histories, updating patient medical files, vital signs and documentation
- Appling sterile dressings, preparing patients for x-rays, performing various injections, administering oral medications, instructing patients on the proper usage of medications
National Certification
Upon successful completion of this Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Nursing Assistant Specialist program, students would be eligible to sit for the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam. Students who complete this program are encouraged to complete the clinical externship option with their program in order to gain clinical experience. Students who complete this program can and do sit for the NHA CCMA certification exam and are qualified, eligible and prepared to do so. TAMIU works with each student to complete the exam application, gain clinical experience and register the student to take the national certification exam. Additionally, students may pursue state Certified Nursing Assistant certification if they meet certain state requirements.
Clinical Externship / Hands on Training / Practicum
Although not a requirement of this program, once students complete the Nursing Assistant Specialist program, they have the ability to participate in a clinical externship and/or hands on practicum so as to practice the skills necessary to perform the job requirements of a Nursing Assistant Specialist. Students will be assisted with completing a resume and/or other requirements necessary to work in a hospital, physicians practice, clinic and/or with other healthcare organizations. All students who complete this program are eligible to participate in an externship and will be placed in a healthcare organization near their location. TAMIU works with national healthcare organizations and has the ability to place students in clinical externship opportunities nationwide.
Technical Requirements
- Windows 7, XP or Vista
- 56K modem or higher
- Soundcard & Speakers
- Firefox, Chrome or Microsoft Internet Explorer
MAC OS USERS
- Mac OS X or higher (in classic mode)
- 56K modem or higher
- Soundcard & Speakers
- Apple Safari
System will support the two latest releases of each browser. When using older versions of a browser, users risk running into problems with the course software.
- Windows Users: Firefox, Chrome, Explorer
- Mac OS Users: Safari, Chrome, Firefox
We recommend setting your screen resolution to 1024 x 768 pixels.
SUGGESTED PLUGINS
- Flash Player
- Real Player
- Adobe Reader
- Java
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