Tag: medication aide class arlington

Fast-Track 10-Day CNA Class Starts September 7, 2021 in the DFW Area

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Legacy Healthcare Careers, a smaller family-owned healthcare occupational trade school that offers a number of fast-track medical career training classes, offers a 10-day nurse aide (CNA) program to people who want a new career before the new year. The next 10-day CNA training classes are slated to begin on Tuesday September 7th with a graduation date of September 17th, 2021. Place a telephone call to 682-626-5266 to enroll.

Graduates who complete the fast-track 10-day CNA program successfully at Legacy Healthcare Careers become eligible to take the state examination for Texas to receive an occupational license as a certified nurse’s aide (CNA). Minor criminal records are no problem in order to enroll. In addition, potential students do not need a high school diploma or GED to enroll in CNA classes. 16 years old is the minimum age to enroll.

Please visit the school’s website http://www.LegacyHealthcareCareers.com to submit an online application to get the enrollment process started or, if you want, feel free to call the school’s 24-hour line at (682)313-6404. Legacy Healthcare Careers’ experienced RN instructors are always ready and willing to answer questions about the variety of healthcare career training program offerings at the school.

Legacy Healthcare Careers also offers a NHA/NCCT-certified medical assistant training program, certified medication aide programs, two-day personal care assistant courses and NHA/NCCT-certified phlebotomy technician training classes. Job placement assistance is available to all graduates.

Here’s the question: what precisely does Legacy Healthcare Careers have to offer current and potential students? The school has convenient day and night class schedules, as well as the ability to let students graduate in just eleven days. The all-inclusive tuition includes textbooks, a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, transfer (gait) belt, access to skills videos, offsite clinical practicum externship at a skilled healthcare center and a lot more.

Additionally, job placement assistance and other helpful services are made available to all graduates. Legacy Healthcare Careers CNA School is located at 7505 Glenview Drive, Suite I, North Richland Hills TX 76180. The 24-hour hotline is (682)313-6404 and the school’s office line is (682)626-5266. Jump-start your legacy today to ensure you are firmly entrenched in a fulfilling healthcare career for the year 2022 and beyond.

Summer Open Enrollment Event: Friday July 26, 2019

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Legacy Healthcare Careers will soon be hosting a summer open enrollment event that allows members of the public to easily enroll in nurse aide (CNA) programs, medication aide training classes, and American Heart Association CPR/BLS certification classes on the spot.

The open house event will take place on Friday July 26th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at the Legacy Healthcare Careers campus. Call (682)626-5266 to RSVP, ask questions and/or confirm attendance. The school’s address is 7505 Glenview Drive, Suite I, N. Richland Hills TX 76180. Light refreshments will be served.

The next two-week CNA training program starts on July 29th with a graduation date of August 12th, and the medication aide program begins on August 20th with a planned completion date of October 17th. The next CPR/BLS classes will be held on the afternoon of August 13th.

Place a telephone call to (682)626-5266 for any questions on class schedules, tuition, fees and enrollment requirements. The nurse aide programs are accredited by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS). Legacy Healthcare Careers has approval to operate from the Career Schools and Colleges division of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) in Austin, Texas.

Healthcare Career Spotlight: the Certified Medication Aide

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Certified medication aides, also known in some states in the U.S. as assistive medication administration personnel or medication technicians, have a clearly defined role in the allied healthcare field that is definitely worth exploring further. The overriding goal of this piece is to discuss the medication aide, including the day to day duties and responsibilities associated with this role.

Medication aides are helpful members of the allied healthcare team who assist licensed nurses in the realm of medication therapy. The primary function of the medication aide is safe administration of non-injectable over-the-counter and prescription drugs to clients, patients and residents. Medication aides work at the bedside to distribute medications to a large number of clients in a timely manner.

Medication aides are utilized extensively in certain settings, but never found in other types of workplaces. Post-acute healthcare settings such as long term care facilities, personal care group homes, correctional facilities, schools and assisted living facilities utilize medication aides regularly depending on the state. Meanwhile, medication aides are not utilized in the acute care hospital setting.

Most, but not all, states in the U.S. allow medication aides to work. In the states that do allow the use of medication aides, they are permitted to administer oral, topical, transdermal, eye and ear medicines to clients under the supervision of a licensed nurse. In addition, medication aides communicate with clients, report changes in patients’ conditions, obtain vital signs, and document their findings.

Because of pre-existing regulations in most states, the vast majority of medication aides have prior patient care work experience as certified nursing assistants (CNAs) or unlicensed assistive direct care workers. To be admitted into most medication aide training programs, students must be 18 years of age or older with a high school diploma or G.E.D. and submit evidence of work experience as a CNA or direct care worker.

The educational requirements to become a medication aide differ in each state. For instance, the requirements to become a medication aide in Texas entail 140 hours of training. The 140-hour medication aide training programs in Texas are comprised of 100 hours of classroom (didactic) teaching, 30 hours of hands-on return skill demonstrations and 10 hours of clinical externship practicum.

The medication aide training classes consist of a targeted review of a number of relevant topics such as medical terminology, human body systems, effects of medication on each body system, infection control, and drug medication classifications. The goal of the medication aide program curriculum is to bestow pertinent knowledge upon students so they will be able to administer medications safely and prudently.

Individuals who graduate from medication aide programs must also pass a written medication aide examination in the state where they plan to secure employment. The medication aide state test usually contains 100 multiple choice questions on medication therapies. Students who pass the written medication aide state test receive a practice permit or state certification as a certified medication aide.

The state medication aide certification and/or practice permit allows the certified individual to work in a wide variety of healthcare settings for fairly competitive pay. In addition, the working conditions of medication aides are generally not as demanding on the body as those experienced by nursing assistants and direct care workers. For many people, a career as a medication aide is a step up.

How does a career in the healthcare industry sound? A career as a medication aide is an awesome entry point into the healthcare field. Working in the allied healthcare field as a medication aide can serve as a wondrously great foundation to any person’s occupational future. 

Legacy Healthcare Careers will soon be offering a medication aide program in the spring of 2019 at our Fort Worth area campus. Place that phone call to (682)626-5266 or the 24-hour hotline at (682)313-6404 to get more information. This is an opportunity that should not be passed up.

Why Would Anyone Become a Medication Aide /Medication Technician?

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A medication aide, also referred to as a medication technician or assistive medication administration personnel (AMAP) in a handful of select U.S. states, is an allied healthcare worker whose primary responsibility is administering non-injectable prescription and over-the-counter medications to clients.

Medication aides work under the oversight of registered nurses, licensed practical /vocational nurses (LPNs /LVNs) and other members of managerial staff to set up, administer and observe the effects of clients’ medications. Medication aides also report changes in clients’ health conditions and might also be responsible for requesting reorders of prescription drugs per company policies and procedures.

Medication aides are typically found working in post-acute healthcare workplaces such as skilled nursing home facilities, personal care group homes, intermediate care facilities, assisted living facilities, retirement centers, correctional facilities, and schools. Generally, medication aides secure employment in non-hospital healthcare settings due to local regulations.

So, why would any person become a medication aide in this day and age? Well, the advantages of working as a medication aide are definitely worth mentioning. The role of a medication aide is associated with a number of tangible and intangible perks. Without further ado, keep reading to find out about the wonderful advantages of becoming a medication aide.

REASON ONE: The role of a medication aide can be incredibly fulfilling.

One of the main reasons people opt to become a medication aide is that a career in the healthcare industry can be enormously rewarding. The reality that a medication aide will work alongside other persons as a very important part of the healthcare team can produce powerful feelings of joy. In addition, the fulfillment is something intangible that the medication aide can take extreme pride in.

Medication aides also communicate with clients, thereby being in a position to put a smile on their faces or ease their anxieties. The knowledge that one person can make a positive impact by contributing to various clients’ well-being while possibly even prolonging their lives with timely medications makes the role of the medication aide meaningful and fulfilling.

REASON TWO: Flexible work schedules are available for medication aides.

Since healthcare facilities are in operation 24 hours per day, medication aides are often able to select the work schedules they would like to work. A medication aide with school-aged children can work the 7:00 am to 3:00 pm day shift while the kids are in school. Likewise, a medication aide who is single and into the party scene can work the 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. shift, enabling him or her to get off work in time to go to the club or visit late night parties.

Furthermore, the weekend double shift is an option at some facilities. Weekend work appeals to medication aides who attend school full-time during the week or simply have a preference for enjoying all their weekdays off in a row. Finally, many people are nocturnal late owls who prefer to sleep during the day while working all night. Many medication aides work the overnight shift due to 24-hour work scheduling.

REASON THREE: The working conditions of most medication aides are comfortable.

The workplace environments of most healthcare workers, including medication aides, are comfortable due to predetermined standards of cleanliness. Most individuals who work in the healthcare sector report to places of employment that are cleaned on a routine basis per protocol by housekeeping, as well as climate-controlled to promote comfort for workers, clients, family members, vendors and visitors.

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In the very near future, Legacy Healthcare Careers plans to offer a brand new certified medication aide training program to prospective students in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area who are employed as CNAs or direct care staff workers. Call (682)626-5266 for more details.

The staff of Legacy Healthcare Careers is in the initial phases of abiding by the varied regulatory steps connected with the addition of the certified medication aide classes to the school’s current nurse aide course offerings. More details will be added as the development of the certified medication aide training program reaches completion time.

 

Medication Aide /Medication Technician Practice Test Questions (Part Two)

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NOTE: This post is the second one in a series that contains medication aide practice test questions similar to the ones a test taker will most likely see on the state Medication Aide Competency Examination, or MACE for short. Answers to the practice test questions are supplied, as well as rationales. Click here to read Part One.

QUESTION: When administering oral medications to a nursing home resident who needs assistance, where should the medication aide ensure the pills, caplets or capsules are placed?

A. Onto the center of the tongue

B. Anywhere in the mouth is okay

C. Under the tongue

D. Between the inner cheek and the teeth

ANSWER: A

RATIONALE: Oral medications such as pills, capsules and caplets are to be placed on the middle of the tongue to promote greater ease with swallowing. Sublingual medications are the only type of oral drug that should be placed under the tongue. Pills and capsules that are placed between the inner cheek and teeth of a client might dissolve without ever being swallowed by the resident.

QUESTION: The medication aide is permitted to crush a client’s oral medications (e.g., pills and caplets) and mix with puddling, applesauce or jelly only if the following condition is met:

A. If the client requests the medications be crushed

B. If the medication administration record (MAR) indicates that the medications may be crushed

C. If the facility administrator requests the medications be crushed

D. If the client’s family member requests the medications be crushed

ANSWER: B

RATIONALE: A medication aide should not crush or break pills, caplets or tablets or pills, or open and empty powder out of capsules, unless a pre-existing order on the client’s medication administration record indicates that the medications may be crushed. Some types of tablets, pills and capsules will not work as directed or may actually be harmful to the client if they have been crushed or opened prior to administration.

Many medications are in extended release form. This means they the medication is released in the client’s body patient over an extended period of time, typically several hours. If the client takes an extended release medication after it is crushed, this means the medicine will be released all at one time in the body. This might lead to the medication harming the client, similar to taking too much of a dose at once.

In addition, an extended release medication might be rendered less effective than the prescriber originally intended since it is no longer medicating the client during an extended period of time. For example, the anti-diabetic medication Metformin XR (Glucophage XR) is an extended release form of Metformin that is not to be crushed because it is intended to provide control over a client’s blood glucose levels over many hours.

Also, many drugs are coated to permit them to pass through the upper gastrointestinal tract undissolved with minimal side effects so they will be released in the small intestine instead of the stomach. Crushing a coated pill or caplet may result in unwanted side effects since the protective coating has now been crushed.

QUESTION: How would a medication aide determine that a medication should be given transdermally?

A. Ask a coworker

B. Find out from the client

C. Follow the directions on the MAR

D. Ask the manager

ANSWER: C

RATIONALE: The medication aide should always follow the directions printed on the medication administration record (MAR). The MAR contains the essential components of each medication order. These components include the medication’s name, current dose, frequency to administer the drug, route of administration, and original date the drug had been ordered by the healthcare provider.

Since the MAR contains the proper route of administration, a prudent medication aide would follow the directions on the client’s MAR to determine whether the drug should be administered in transdermal form.

 

How to Become a Medication Aide, a.k.a Medication Technician

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A medication aide, also known in some states as a medication technician or assistive medication administration personnel (AMAP), is an important member of the healthcare team who has been trained to provide skilled assistance to registered nurses and licensed practical / vocational nurses in the realm of medication therapy.

In essence, medication aides are entrusted with the safe administration of nonparenteral drugs to patients and residents in a wide variety of healthcare settings outside the acute care hospital. Medication aides have received the pharmacological knowledge and practical training to assist licensed nursing staff by administering medications to patients and residents.

The main duty of a medication aide entails the safe, prudent administration of nonparenteral medications to patients. In most states, medication aides are permitted to distribute oral, topical, transdermal, eye and ear medicines to patients under the supervision of licensed nursing staff (LPNs/ LVNs and RNs). Medication aides also communicate with patients and residents, document all medications they have administered, report changes in patients’ conditions to nurses, and obtain vital signs.

Medication aides are typically employed in workplace settings such as nursing homes, extended care facilities, intermediate care facilities, personal care group homes, assisted living facilities, schools and correctional facilities. Due to rules and regulations that exist in most states, virtually all medication aides must have prior patient care experience as certified nursing assistants (CNAs) or unlicensed direct care staff workers.

To be able to enroll in most medication aide training programs across the United States, prospective students will need to be at least 18 years of age by the first day of class. Prospective students must also possess a high school diploma or general education diploma (GED) and provide evidence of current employment as a CNA or unlicensed direct care staff person before the first day of school.

In many states such as Missouri, the medication aide program consists of a minimum of 60 hours of classroom instruction along with 8 hours of clinical practicum training at a nursing facility. On the other hand, the requirements to complete a medication aide program in Texas are much more stringent: 100 hours of classroom instruction, 30 hours of return skills demonstrations and 10 hours of hands-on clinical practicum training.

The medication aide program coursework consists of instruction in a variety of topics such as medical terminology, fundamental review of systems of the human body, medicinal effects on each body system, principles of infection control, and different medication classifications. The overriding point of the medication aide program curriculum is to equip students with enough knowledge to administer medications in the safest manner possible.

Graduates of medication aide programs must also take and pass a written medication aide examination in the state where they intend to work. The medication aide test normally consists of 100 multiple choice questions that assess the test taker’s knowledge of medication therapy. Adequate preparation for the medication aide test is of the utmost importance. After all, who wants to fail this important test and be forced to retake it?

Graduates who pass the written medication aide test will be awarded a practice permit or state certification as a certified medication aide. This certification enables the medication aide to legally secure employment in a variety of healthcare settings for higher wages than those typically earned by CNAs and direct care workers. Moreover, the working conditions of medication aides tend to be less physically grueling than those endured by CNAs and direct care workers.

Legacy Healthcare Careers CNA School is excited to announce the planned opening of a medication aide program to prospective students who live and work in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. Please place a telephone call to Legacy Healthcare Careers at (682)626-5266 for additional information. More updates will be provided to the public as the medication aide program progresses further along in its nascent development.

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