Senior care ranges from hands-on care to assist with personal care needs such as eating, bathing and toileting to companion care which can involve managing for the ups and downs for caring for a senior with memory loss or another age-related illness. The care needs of seniors are varied and the skills needed to successfully be a caregiver require proper training.
A skilled caregiver who has had the proper training will deliver a more enjoyable experience along with quality care to the senior. This is why every state in the United States has a Certified Nursing Aide certificate program with specific training guidelines and testing requirements before the certificate is granted.
Departments of Health in each state approve of the Certified Nursing Aide training and testing program and require nursing aides to renew their certificate, usually every two years, and show that they are maintaining their skills by working a certain number of hours as a C.N.A.
Senior caregivers working in the home usually can obtain training from the licensed senior home care agency employing them. The training can involve understanding company policies and specialized programs which may be provided by a local geriatric care specialist.
aQuire Training Solutions, a leader in providing training for senior care, and approved training in many states, has customized a 10-hour online training for senior caregivers which has been designed to meet the standards for training required by the state of Illinois for senior home care agencies.
Caregivers may read and learn the information for each training module and then take the exam and pass at an 80% pass rate to be granted a certificate of completion. Their name will also be entered into the database to show employers they have achieved this level of senior care training.
Senior caregivers may also research Certified Nursing Aide schools in their area and take a practice or sample C.N.A. test to understand the skills they will learn by taking a C.N.A. course.
