For care facilities, achieving a good ratio of CNAs to people in need of their services can be challenging. By increasing the CNA talent pool, facilities can easily increase their own numbers.
Stop-Gap Measures for Facilities
A number of care facilities have tried to use stop-gap measures to get more CNA applicants. Everything from sign-on bonuses to offering more autonomy, and even offering in-house training can temporarily increase the number of applicants, but those strategies may not have long-lasting results. In-house training yields small classes with a high resource investment on the part of facilities. Sign-on bonuses are risky. If there are few applicants, there could be a very high turnover because the workload placed on new CNAs results in a fast burnout rate. Additionally, facilities need to focus more on a long-term strategy to meet the growing demand for CNAs over the next few decades. Fortunately, there is a solution to overcome staffing challenges for the here and now, as well as the future.
Scaling Back Incentives and Focusing on Accessible Training
There is no shortage of people who want to become CNAs and provide care for others. The issue is finding accessible training. By making CNA training courses more accessible, the talent pool can grow exponentially, and staffing issues can be remedied without having to offer incentives. This may seem idealistic at first, but the solution is already in practice and yielding very positive results. CNAonline offers training courses online, thereby allowing students to take courses on a platform that fits their schedules, without having to arrange their lives to locate and commute to physical classrooms. CNAonline works with facilities so students can schedule lab and clinical work days, and all students must take proctored exams. By having access to training online, and making source material and lectures available 24/7, more students are able to enter the workforce as CNAs and fill the staffing needs of facilities. The side benefit of the training offered by CNAonline is that facilities do not have to budget for sign-on bonuses, or set aside time, space, and human resources to provide in-house training.
CNAonline casts a wider net to those with the passion and drive to become CNAs and provide quality care to people, which produces more certified nursing assistants to help facilities overcome staffing challenges. Contact CNAonline today to learn more about our training program and how it can benefit your facility.