Overview
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The Nursing Assistant Fundamentals specialization prepares students for a successful Nursing Assistant career in diverse healthcare settings, emphasizing patient care assistance, health care setting navigation, effective communication in healthcare, hygiene and safety protocols, and patient mobility and comfort.
IMPORTANT: This specialization is not designed to prepare students for national certification. Enrollees will gain the foundational/fundamental knowledge on subject matter relevant to the profession. However, to gain industry certification, a more comprehensive program must be completed through enrollment via approved/eligible schools such as MedCerts.
Syllabus
- Course 1: Professionalism in Allied Health
- Course 2: Medical Terminology and the Human Body Fundamentals
- Course 3: Nursing Assistant Essentials
Courses
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This course will benefit anyone considering a career in allied health, as well as those already working the field. Allied Health Professionals must be committed to the key attributes of professionalism and strive to reflect this within the delivery of patient-centered, safe, and effective care. “Professionalism” is a broad term which reflects many different skills and abilities. For an individual to exhibit professionalism, they must be armed with specific skills and abilities that do not always show up within certification requirements, or even within career training curriculum. Soft skills are hard to measure and are typically less well-defined than hard skills. However, soft skills are what set many job candidates apart. Professionalism is not just what one knows. It is how one does their job, how one behaves, and how one comes across as they interact with others. The purpose of this course is to support students with soft skills training that will provide the tools needed to demonstrate a higher level of professionalism on the job. Key components of the course focus on patient interaction, proper office behavior, medical ethics, diversity and cultural bias, emotional strength, professional appearance, and communication. The course maintains a focus on the key attributes that are true markers of professionalism. This course was created with input from healthcare professionals working in the field, healthcare employers that hire our graduates, professional educators, and even former MedCerts students. The end-result is a collection of modules that touch on the soft skills that are truly important in the real world of allied healthcare. In this course, students are engaged through scenario-based learning that allows for real interaction with virtual coworkers and patients. Additionally, game-based activities keep students engaged and entertained throughout their learning journey.
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In this Introduction to Medical Terminology and the Human Body course, you will learn about the medical language that is used to describe the human body. Throughout each Lesson, the roots of terms are explained to help students understand how medical terminology works in healthcare and to increase their knowledge and understanding of the material discussed. This course will provide you with a better understanding and working knowledge of medicine that is required for understanding of medical records used for multiple purposes and job duties in the medical field. Lessons include: Introduction to Medical Terminology, Introduction to Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology, Cells – The Foundation of Life, and The Human Body.
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Nursing Assistant Essentials is a beginner-level course designed to build the fundamental knowledge and skills to provide compassionate and effective patient care. Through these three lessons, students will learn how to support patients across various healthcare settings. In Lesson 1: The Workplace: Health Care Settings, students explore the diverse environments where nursing assistants work, including hospitals, nursing homes, and home care settings. Lesson 2: The Nursing Assistant Role delves into the specific duties of a nursing assistant, including patient interaction, assisting with daily activities and providing essential support to nursing teams. Students learn to communicate effectively with patients and other healthcare professionals, fostering a positive and supportive care environment. In Lesson 3: Daily Hygiene: Grooming, Bathing, Toileting, Oral Care, and Dressing, students gain hands-on knowledge of assisting patients with personal hygiene tasks. They learn the proper techniques for ensuring patient comfort, dignity, and safety while performing essential daily care routines. This course is unique in its practical, patient-centered approach, blending theoretical understanding with essential hands-on skills to prepare students for real-world healthcare roles.
Taught by
Holly Myers and Jennifer Zabel