A certified nurse's aide (CNA) instructor teaches nurse's aides what they need to get their certification, including communication and interpersonal skills, infection control, safety and emergency procedures, respecting the patient's rights, promoting the residents' independence, and basic nursing skills. In Texas, it must be someone approved by the Department of Aging and Disability Services, formerly the Department of Human Services.
While some states require CNA instructors to be registered nurses, Texas only requires CNA instruction program directors to be RNs. Instructors are only required to be licensed nurses in Texas. This could include licensed practical nurses. Normally, you can receive your LPN or RN in about two years. If a nurse chooses, she can obtain her bachelor of science in nursing before taking her licensing examination.
An instructor must have a minimum of one year of nursing experience in a facility such as a hospital, urgent-care center or nursing home. Different programs sanctioned by the Department of Aging and Disability Services may require instructors to have more than one year's experience.
Instructors must either have completed a course in teaching adults, have experience teaching adults or have experience supervising nurses' aides. There are courses known as "train the trainer" courses to prepare CNA instructors for their jobs. But CNA instructors might also be able to use work as an adjunct faculty member or experience teaching something like English as a Second Language to qualify.
You must work under the general direction of the program director for the CNA certification program. Program directors also can be teachers, but they must be RNs and meet other qualifications. Instructors also can have supplemental trainers with at least a year of experience in the area they're teaching about. But they can only supplement teaching. The course must mainly be taught by the qualified instructor.
