|
JOB
DUTIES AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS: Home Health Aides
Home health aides usually work in peoples'
homes and other community-based settings. Like nursing asistants, they
help elders or other people with disabilities with the activities of
daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, bathing and toileting;
reposition those who can’t move on their own; and perform clinical
tasks such as range of motion exercises and blood pressure readings.
In addition, they perform light housekeeping duties such as bed changing,
room cleaning, and meal preparation.
Training
Requirements
The
federal government requires home health aides whose work is paid
for by Medicare or Medicaid to receive a minimum of 75 hours
of training and pass an exam. Their training is like the
training required for nursing asistants. Topics include communication
and interpersonal skills, basic infection control procedures,
promoting patient rights, and basic nursing skills. Sixteen of
the 75 training hours is devoted to hands-on practice of clinical
tasks under the instruction of a registered nurse.
Some
states have additional requirements. To check training requirements
in a particular state, see the State
Activities section of this website.
Pre-certification
training classes designed for home health aides are not always
easy to find, but the requirements for nursing assistants are
so similar that you can learn what you need to know to pass your
exam by attending CNA training if you can’t find a home
health aide class. Check with your local Red Cross and community
college or vocational-technical school. A few home health agencies
do their own training, so check with potential employers too.
For
information from the U.S. Department of Labor about home health
aide career paths, click here click
here.
|
