Orientation of nursing assistant instructors

Abstract

Healthcare in the United States has been described as being in a state of crisis. One of the areas that is contributing to the problem is the current shortage of nurses. This has been given a lot of attention in the media and the public has responded with renewed interest in nursing and related programs. At one community college this has also resulted in an increase in enrollment in the Nursing Assistant Program, which is a prerequisite for many nursing programs in the state. The graduation rate for this program has increased 166 percent in the last four years. This increase in enrollment has lead to a demand for qualified instructors. The challenge has been to provide an orientation program for the nursing assistant faculty that will adequately prepare them to teach the program. The purpose of this field problem was to solicit input from current instructors as to their orientation experience at the college. The review of literature explores the origins of training and the development of instructor excellence. It also looks at the history of nursing assistant training and why it is important to have good training. The results of the study revealed that there are some inconsistencies and gaps in the instructor orientation. It demonstrated that there is strong support for the expansion of an instructor manual and creation of a mentor role that is felt will greatly improve the orientation process.