As a home health aide, you’ll be providing quality care services to patients, in the comfort of their homes. You’ll be visiting them at home, and taking care of them there. They are valued for having practical skills and for being compassionate towards patients. You’ll be caring for the elderly, the sick, and the disabled. Caring for patients in their homes allows you to fill a vacuum in the healthcare industry.
Should you want to become a home health aide, you’ll need to get certified. Doing your research on how you can get certified can give you an edge when starting your career.
Why Do You Need To Be A Certified Home Health Aide?
When you’re certified as a home health aide, you’ll have received training in the field that enables you to provide quality services. Your certification helps you learn how to care for people who have chronic health conditions or live with disabilities. You’ll be trained in providing care for patients within their homes. Your certification course will teach you:
- How to monitor and record the vital signs of the patient, as well as watch their food intake.
- How to let your supervisor or the doctor know about any changes to the patient’s health.
- Provide care to the patient while grooming, bathing, dressing, and also feeding them.
- Learn how to track as well as administer medication to the patient.
- Care for wounds and infections better.
- Perform light chores around the house, such as cleaning, washing dishes, folding laundry, and more.
- Help the patient travel to their medical appointments and other places.
- Provide patients with companionship. You’ll need to talk to them and provide them with emotional support.
How Can You Get Certified As A Home Health Aide?
Being certified isn’t necessary for every home health aide. However, if you are certified, then this can give you an edge in your career. This is because you’ll be able to understand as well as apply crucial skills that home health aides are expected to have.
With certification, it can also make it easier for you to search for a job. When you have proper credentials, attracting employers is easier as well. But how do you exactly get certified? Here are the four steps that you should follow, to get certified as a home health aide:
1. Enrol In Training Courses
You’ll eventually need to take an exam to get certified as a home health aide. However, before that, you’ll need to complete your training period first. This training should come from an institution that’s accredited. In case the organization you work for is linked to Medicare or Medicaid, you’ll also need to complete a program that’s been approved by the state. There’s an evaluation at the end of the program as well, that you need to pass. You can participate in training once you get your job as well. You can work next to an experienced home health aide, and learn from them.
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2. Written Exam
There’s a written exam that you’ll need to pass. In your exam, you’ll be asked between sixty to seventy questions, which cover around thirteen topics. These include monitoring vital signs, caring for patients, and more. You will be provided with ninety minutes within which to finish your exam. You may need to get around 70% to 80% of all your answers right, depending on the state you’re giving your exam in.
3. Exam On Practical Skills
On your practical exam, you’ll be tested on up to six skills. The moderators of the exam pick these skills at random. You could be asked to check the vital signs of the patient or to bathe them. This test lasts for around thirty minutes. You’ll need to score at least 70% or 80%, depending on your state, to pass this exam.
4. HHA Registry Record
After you complete your exams, you should approach an HHA registry. Here, you can record being verified. It’s the Department of Health And Human Services that controls this registry in the US. You’ll need to contact them and provide them with your exam scores.
Conclusion
After you’ve given your exams and have recorded your passing scores, you’ll be allowed to add your certification to your resume and job applications as well. Being certified can help you learn essential skills you’ll need on the job, and also help you to attract more work. Use this guide to learn how you can get certified as a home health aide.
