Employment Skills Center - Nurse Aide Training

The Employment Skills Center Prepares Nurse Aides
for Service in 2010 / 2011

Many individuals may want to begin health care careers as a Nurse Aide, but may lack the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to successfully complete the clinical training and testing. Our concept is to: recruit new populations of Nurse Aides; provide remedial basic education, preparation for clinical training; improved life and employment skills; coaching throughout clinical training followed by helping participants to attain and retain employment.

Our current Carlisle based Nurse Aide training has entered its fourth year. During the first year, 12 0f 37 participants completed training and became employed as Nurse Aides (32%). In our past academic year, which began in September of 2009, we accepted 80 candidates. Of those 85% have gone on to pass their Clinical Training and currently 70% are employed with others in the job search phase.

We credit the significant improvement of our success rate to the comprehensive preparation given to candidates who enter the program. Our instructional team follows a compassionate yet no nonsense approach to training in basic life skills, including self-esteem and confidence devlopment, communication skills, community and team support and building activities, stress management techniques, managing conflict, study skills and enhanced job search and on the job skills.

Many of our graduates are now a valuable part of nursing homes and health home care services in our area. Our graduates tend to remain on the job for a longer period of time thereby being of added value to the firms that hire them.

Our 20th Pre-Clinical and Home Health Aide Training Session is scheduled to begin on September 13th. The Pre-Clinical classes run for 3 weeks followed by 3 weeks of Clinical studies. Those who are successful in the Pre-Clinical course will be recommended for a full HACC scholarship to complete Clinical studies on site at a nursing home.

The Employment Skills Center continues to be an integral part of our graduates employment journey as we coach them to apply for and successfully obtain employment. Once employed we will continue to work with them, as needed, to see that they are applying the skills that they learned in their Pre-Clinical phase to the workplace. We normally continue to receive updates from our new nurse aides for a year or more.

           Our next session is scheduled to begin Monday September 13th in Carlisle. The classes will be held at
           E.S.C. Monday – Thursday (9:00 am – 3:30 pm) and Friday (9:00 am – 12:00 noon) from September 13th to
           October 01st. Those who pass the Pre-Clinical portion will be eligible to continue on to Clinical studies for an
           additional 3 weeks. More details will be given to those who are selected for interviews.

Candidates review a copy of the “Qualifications” (see below). Once you review this sheet and believe that you still qualify for consideration as a candidate then fill out an “Initial Contact Candidate Application”. Be sure that all items have been completed and answered. Be sure that all items on the application, including the date, have been filled out accurately.

Candidates will be contacted to take the CASAS test in Reading and Math. This will give evaluators a grade level for consideration. You can come to the Center for testing from Monday – Thursday. The Employment Skills Center is open from 9 am to 4:30 pm. Since the testing takes up to 3 hours candidates will be encouraged to come earlier rather than later. Those candidates who wish to take the CASAS testing upon filing out the Initial Application can do so with the understanding that this is part of an application process and does not secure a place in the class.

When testing and initial application considerations have been completed we will contact those candidates who we wish to interview. We will contact other applicants who leave an e-mail address to let them know that they are not being considered as a candidate.

SELECTION IS COMPETITIVE AND IS BASED ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS. TAKING AND “PASSING” THE TESTS AND FILLING OUT THE INITIAL APPLICATION IS NOT ACCEPTANCE. THOSE ACCEPTED WILL BE INFORMED BY LETTER AFTER THE INTAKE PROCESS IS COMPLETED.

1. Please note that neither a GED nor a High School diploma is a requirement though it is preferred.

5. Successful State Police Criminal Background check.
*PREFERENCE, for this program, will first be given to those with NO criminal record, that includes any and all misdemeanors and felonies.
*If you have not been a resident of Pennsylvania for the past 2 years or more you will require, per the State of PA, an FBI background check. This takes an estimated 2 weeks and must be completed in order for your application to be considered.
*All felonies and certain misdemeanors also are disqualifiers for nurse aide training by State of PA law. For further details check with the Instructor or Program Manager.

6. Physically fit and able to lift 40 pounds, free of communicable diseases and able to successfully pass a TB test (tuberculosis free) as certified by a physician.
Preference will be given to those completing and who have begun and scheduled testing prior to the beginning of the Pre-Clinical class. This is only one of the requirements for the training and completion does not guarantee a place in class. Since the testing is valid for one year it will give candidates the opportunity to re-apply without further testing and to apply directly to a Clinical study course, such as HACC Nurse Aide training within the year. The test must be a 2-step Mantoux TB Test (7-21 days after the first PPD is read, Step 2 can be administered).
Note: TB test reports are to be completed on a proper HACC form which is either attached to this form or can be obtained from the Employment Skills Center.

7. Recommendations from two persons in the community will also be taken into consideration when evaluating your candidacy. These recommendations might come from current or former employers, organizations that you are a member of or for which you have done voluntary service or other person(s) who can attest to your character and the likelihood of your succeeding as a nurse aide.

8. A final determination of suitability and likelihood to succeed will be based on the above. Due to the number of candidates who apply for our program it is not possible to contact candidates not initially selected for interviews. Those candidates contacted for an intake interview(s) will be further questioned and evaluated for the offering of a place in the program.