Job corp's CNA program moves towards the cutting edge

Programs update with new industry standards

Nurse Educator Martha Wong knows her stuff.

Wong, a registered nurse for the past 31 years, orients new nursing staff to the Samaritan Healthcare way of doing things and helps nurses maintain skills in basic and advanced life support.

She left the medical field briefly for the birth of her youngest child, returning within weeks. It's safe to say she hasn't missed much in nursing.

Understandably, Wong turned out to be the right person to help the Columbia Basin Job Corps update its training achievement record competencies, or TARS, for the certified nursing assistant program.

"I was really thrilled to be able to help job corps," Wong said. "I want to help train them, because some of them can be potential employees for Samaritan."

The CNA program's TARS was immediately examined because of the constant changes in medicine, in addition to the nationwide nursing shortage.

Wong said that job corps had "great stuff" in place, but geared towards senior care and not acute care, where patients are all ages.

The timing was such, that Wong had just finished updating Samaritan's CNA standards in the medical/surgical area. While updating job corp's TARS with Samaritan's standards, Wong examined both lists line-by-line, comparing each item and making additions.

Job corps was looking for ways to make the TARS current for the industry, ensuring they met industry standards.

"Our industry standards change with research and technology," Wong said.

One of those changes came in the form of the temporal artery thermometer, a brand-new piece of equipment used to take temperatures. Even Samaritan has only used the thermometer for a few months and now job corps plans to purchase the equipment for the CNA program.

For the students wanting another option in addition to working with the aging population, the TARS update is beneficial.

"It's going to be for those who want to go into a hospital setting, not everyone wants to go into geriatrics," said Teresa Erickson, a health occupations instructor with job corps.

Center Director Tom Zender explained the rationale behind the TARS updates.

"The standards are national, but because they're somewhat generic, they want cutting edge," Zender said.

Business Community Liaison Bonnie Eagar agreed and said that job corps was grateful for the community's support in reviewing the TARS.

Another area job corps recently reviewed was the TARS for the welding program. After conversations with a representative from the Portland, Ore. manufacturing plant Gunderson Inc., it was found that job corps needed to buy new equipment.

Now, because Gunderson and job corps are so in sync, Eagar said her workplace is jokingly referred to as the Columbia Basin campus of Gunderson University.

"Because we do that, it's a win win situation," Eagar said. "They get employees trained to their specific standards."

Job corps is having the facility maintenance program's TARS looked over by Western Polymer and the Moses Lake School District.

Zender said that job corps will continue to look at TARS in all their trades and see if they're "hitting the bullseye."

The Columbia Basin center's move to having local businesses contribute to the TARS could be a trend in other job corps centers. Statewide, there are centers in Yakima, Sedro Wooley and Republic.

Tom Melancon, program manager for the Pacific Western Region Office of Job Corps out of Seattle, said that job corps centers do share best practices with one another.

"We want the other centers to be proactive and see what those employers want," Melancon said. "We see that as being a real reciprocal relationship with the job corps centers and employees."

Job corps offers training in carpentry, painting, cement masonry, plastering, facility maintenance, welding, culinary arts, business technology, CISCO systems, pharmacy technician and certified nursing assistant.

Eagar invited area businesses to review the TARS. Contact Eagar at (509) 793-1683 for more information.