Senior caregivers may work as companion caregivers or become certified as a nursing assistant or nursing aide. Additional certification as a home health aide is offered in a few states such as New Jersey and Florida.
Becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant requires attending a state-approved C.N.A. course which is usually offered by community colleges and some high schools and technical colleges also offer C.N.A. classes. However, now many senior care nursing homes also offer C.N.A. courses and will even provide them for free as long as you work for their facility as a C.N.A. for a certain amount of time upon completion of your certificate.
Remember, C.N.A.’s must pass the state C.N.A. exam to become officially certified. You may review a free Sample C.N.A. Exam and a Practice C.N.A. Exam if you are thinkingn of becoming a C.N.A. Ongoing job opportunities will be available to certified nursing assistants as the senior population in the U.S. lives longer, with the assistance of advancement in medical technology, but also requires personal caregiving.
How do you find free C.N.A. training courses near you? Contact nursing homes which you may be interested in working for and ask them if they offer a C.N.A. course for potential employees. Caregiverlist’s nursing home directory provides the name and contact information for 18,000 nursing homes nationwide. Larger nursing homes in large metropolitan cities often will provide either tuition assistance for C.N.A.’s or their own nursing assistant training program.
Norridge Healthcare and Rehabilitation in metropolitan Chicago, Illinois, provides a free C.N.A. training program but you must apply early and applications are competitive.
You may also contact the community colleges with C.N.A. programs in your area to inquire about financial assistance and if there are any grant programs or employers who will reimburse for training – many do so.
Become a companion caregiver for seniors by working with a senior home care agency if you would like to explore the field of senior care, as this is an easy way to gain experience before becoming a C.N.A. Apply for a caregier job or C.N.A. job near you on Caregiverlist’s Career Center.
