Q. Who is the 40-hour Personal
Care Attendant Training Program
designed for?
A. The 40-hour Personal Care Attendant Training
Program is designed to train those
who provide home care and assistance to the elderly, sick or disabled. These
care providers may have various titles including: personal care attendant,
direct care provider or in-home support worker.
Q. Why did Medifecta
Healthcare Training develop the Personal Care Attendant Training Program?
A. To provide standardized education in essential care
skills as well as important communication and professional skills for in-home
support workers. The need for in-home support providers has increased
dramatically because of the huge aging boom. Older people choose to age in
place rather than enter nursing homes. More and more people going home “quicker
and sicker” due to early hospital discharge. For all these reasons, personal
and home care aides represent one of the top 10 fastest-growing occupational niches,
according to Dept. of Labor statistics. The demand for trained in-home
caregivers will nearly double by 2020.
Training of in-home care
providers varies widely. In-home support workers are not included routinely in
health care education, where CNA, LPN and RN are the main levels trained. With
the 40-hour Personal Care Attendant Training Program, qualified in-home support workers benefit from an
excellent standardized education in essential caregiving skills, communication
and behavioral skills, which enable them to provide care with skill and
confidence.
Q. Who developed the
program?
A. All materials were developed by Marion Karpinski, RN, a nationally known
health care educator. Ms. Karpinski is President of Medifecta Healthcare Training. Prior to founding Medifecta
Healthcare Training, a division of Health Care Training Systems, Inc. in 1995,
(the company was called Healing Arts Communications at that time) she spent
nearly a decade as the Home Intravenous Coordinator at a major hospital and as
the Patient Care Coordinator for home care/hospice for a home care agency of a
major hospital. (Providence Hospital, Medford, Oregon).
In development and
production of materials she is assisted by her husband/business partner Mike
Karpinski. Mr. Karpinski has more than 30 years’ experience in film and video
production. He graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography with a B.S. in
motion picture and video production. Prior to his work with Medifecta
Healthcare Training, he spent 10 years developing video training programs in
the health care field.
Q. What does the 40-hour Personal
Care Attendant Training Program
consist of?
A. The program includes a comprehensive,
step-by-step curriculum that is
provided in the
Instructor and Administrator manuals, along with a Support
Material manual
that contains all handouts and tests.
Three textbooks and
15 DVDs are also
included. The program incorporates the key principles of adult learning theory
to optimize retention of course materials.
For the Administrator: The Administrator Manual provides everything needed
to become familiar with the course, hire an instructor and publicize the
program. A course content outline, instructor job description, tips on hiring
an instructor, publicity tips, publicity flyer and public service announcement
are included. The manual describes space and equipment needs and provides lists
of resources and tips on working with other organizations to obtain them.
For the Instructor: The Instructor Manual contains the curriculum as
well as instructions on how to use the textbooks. Tips for space and equipment
preparation, a class summary, a guide for key points and definitions,
semi-final and final exams, answer keys, course/teacher evaluation forms and 21
certificates of completion are also included in the Instructor Manual. In
addition, the manual provides tips for using classroom time effectively, giving
effective demonstrations, teaching adult learners, guiding hands-on learning as
well as testing and a skills competency checklist. The instructor support materials also include the Quick
Tips for Caregivers textbook and
workbook, Guide to Working as a Personal Care Attendant booklet and award-winning DVDs on 15 essential care
topics.
For the Students: The
program is designed for up to 20 students.
Each will receive copies of the dynamic, information-packed Quick Tips for Caregivers textbook,
the Quick Tips for Caregivers Workbook, and
the Guide to Working as a Personal Care Attendant booklet.
Students will receive 40 hours of classroom instruction in the form of lecture,
live demonstrations, hands-on practice, DVD instruction and discussion.
Curriculum, textbook and DVD content is presented in an easy to understand
style with an opportunity for review. Students who complete the course successfully
receive a certificate of completion identifying them as trained and confident
care providers.
Q. What topics of
instruction are covered?
A. Communication skills
Caring
for the elderly and disabled
Roles
and responsibilities of a personal care attendant
Client
confidentiality
Observation,
reporting and documentation
Elements
for success on the job
Moving
and positioning someone in bed
Preventing and
treating pressure ulcers
Proper body
mechanics for the caregiver and care recipient
Infection control
and bloodborne pathogens
Personal care
(grooming, hygiene, etc)
Tub baths and
showers
Vital signs
Intake and output
Oxygen therapy
Medication
management
Safe wheelchair
use
Nutrition
Reducing personal
stress
Fall prevention
Fire safety
Elder abuse and
neglect
Cultural
competence
Specific
diseases, including: early to mid and mid to late stage Alzheimer’s disease,
arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and aphasia, depression,
Parkinson's, ALS, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury.
Q. Where were the DVDs
made?
A. Medifecta Healthcare Training is located in Medford,
Oregon. Scenes in the DVDs were filmed in home and institutional environments
at various geographic locations throughout the western United States.
Q. In what settings can
the skills obtained through this program be applied?
A. The skills obtained can be used in individual’s
homes and by assisted living facilities, adult day care centers and
private-duty agencies.
Q. What other training materials has Medifecta
Healthcare Training produced?
A. Medifecta Healthcare Training is also the producer
of the award-winning 21-hour National Caregiver Training Program. In addition, the company has produced a 4-hour
training program on Alzheimer’s, a 3-hour training program on aphasia and a
2-hour program on elder abuse. Medifecta Healthcare Training is also the
producer of 24 DVD programs on a variety of caregiving and communication topics
as well as a selection of books, workbooks and journals for caregivers. DVD
programs are also available as
e-learning. (see website: http://www.medifecta.com/c-42-staff-training.aspx)
Q. What is the difference between the National
Caregiver Training Program and the Personal Care Attendant Training Program?
A. The Personal Care Attendant Training Program is a 40-hour training designed to educate groups of
up to 20 people who want to work as paid care providers in home or
institutional settings. Topics of instruction are provided above. There is approximately 15 hours of additional
homework for the student during the course of the program. Organizations may
choose to add up to 35 hours of externship or practicum to the course.
The National Caregiver
Training Program is a 21-hour course
designed to educate groups of up to 10 family caregivers or volunteers. It
focuses on essential caregiving skills in the home setting.
Q. Who teaches the
curriculum?
A. An RN or LPN/LVN can teach the program. The Instructor Manual guides the
instructor step by step. It also
includes tips and techniques for classroom management such as teaching adult
learners, creating a supportive classroom environment, the importance of
cultural competence, the art of giving excellent demonstrations, using
classroom time effectively and helping students with hands-on learning.
Q. How many students can
be taught?
A. The program is designed for up to 20 participants at
one time. The program can be
repeated again and again.
Additional textbooks can be purchased at a discounted price.
Q. How long is the program?
A. Program content is 40 hours of classroom time that
is taught in 3-hour learning modules. There are approximately 15 hours of
homework during the course of the program. Organizations may choose to add up
to 35 hours of externship or practicum to the course.
Q. What are the space and
equipment needs?
A. The course requires a room that is 375 –550 square
feet. Ideally, the room will
contain a sink with running water.
Necessary equipment includes two hospital beds, two wheelchairs and
blood pressure equipment. These
and other items such as thermometers, bed linens and bath basin can be obtained
on loan or by donation from agencies such as the American Cancer Society, Red
Cross or your local hospital.
Q. Are there
pre-requisites?
A. Participants must have an understanding of the English language and a
fifth grade reading level.
Q. What requirements are
needed to successfully complete the program?
A. The participant must complete all workbook
assignments and have a passing score of 75% correct answers for the semi-final
and final tests in order to receive the Personal Care Certificate of
Completion.
Q. What does the PCA
Program cost?
A. The program can be purchased for $5,995. It is a one-time purchase cost with no
licensing or renewal fees.
Q. Who has purchased the PCA Training Program?
A. Technical colleges, community colleges, social
service agencies, home care agencies and corporations that own group adult
foster homes are currently utilizing the program.
