Hybrid CNA course offers students new option

Ozarks Technical Community College’s Center for Workforce Development is ready to offer a new training option for those wanting to enter the healthcare field.

A new hybrid Certified Nurse Assistant course has been approved by the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services and will be offered as an online course beginning the week of June 20.

The 75-hour course will include 50 hours of online instruction and 25 hours of seated classes for testing and meeting with other students and instructors. Students also will be required to complete 100 hours of clinical work at a long-term care facility.

“This is an excellent opportunity for students who have other commitments and cannot attend two full days of class per week or for those who are working and want to move to a new career, but cannot take time off without pay to become certified,” said Dana Thorp Patterson, assistant executive director of the OTC Community Enrichment Center.

“The best part is they still get the OTC quality of education in a new cutting-edge format.”

Students will receive the same materials and support as what a seated class offers.  Students working at a long-term facility can use the hours worked there towards their clinical requirements.

“Students work on assignments independently and at their convenience.  This saves drive time and travel expense, and in the current economy, we think it’s just what students need and want,” Patterson said.

Faith Mann, a registered nurse and the course’s lead instructor, said the class was developed at the request of students.

“I had a lot of inquiries from current students who were taking a full load of seated classes and needed the certification in order to work,” Mann said.

After six months of work experience, new CNAs can return to the workforce center to become Certified Medication Technicians, allowing them to dispense medications to patients in long-term facilities.

“This will open up opportunities for nurse assistants everywhere in the state since it’s an online course,” Mann said.

For more information or to register, call 447-8888 or go to www.otc.edu/workforce.

Steve Koehler is coordinator of publications at Ozarks Technical Community College. Contact him at koehlers@otc.edu.