Training Requirements and Paid Training

First Choice Employment TrainingFirst Choice In-Home Care has worked hard to develop a culture centered on Home Care Aide Training.  Properly trained Home Care Aides are able to deliver the high quality care services our clients have come to expect. If you have completed your Certified Nursing Assistant program you will only be required to complete the annual Continuing Education requirement.

First Choice provides and coordinates or will organize the scheduling of the following classes and workshops:

  1. Orientation – 2 Hours - this is a two-hour class designed to give you the knowledge you need to properly navigate the employment environment at First Choice and to provide you with an understanding of the proper way to provide client care services.
    1. This class is mandatory for all Home Care Aides
    2. You are paid to attend this class
  2. CPR/First Aid – 7 Hours – this is a seven-hour class designed to provide you with the skills needed to properly assist clients during times of emergency.
    1. This class is mandatory for all Home Care Aides
    2. You are reimbursed the cost of completing this class
  3. Fundamentals of Caregiving – 28 Hours – this is a twenty-eight-hour class designed to provide you five primary learning goals:
    1. Understanding what is required and expected of you
    2. Knowing how and why it is important to protect a client's rights
    3. Using good communication and problem solving skills with a client, family member, and others involved the care of the client
    4. Protecting the health and physical safety of a client and yourself
    5. Correctly providing personal care and other assigned tasks while understanding how a client wants tasks to be completed; Honoring a client's privacy, dignity and differences; Encouraging a client to do as much as he/she can
      1. This class is mandatory for all Home Care Aides
      2. You will be paid to attend this class - To successfully complete this course you are required to attend all classes and pass a written test and skill demonstrations
  4. Nurse Delegation – 9 Hours – this is a nine-hour class designed to provide Home Care Aides with the training and skills necessary to receive special authority from a Registered Nurse to administer some medications or complete various procedures that might otherwise require a family member or other medical professional to be present.
    1. This class is not mandatory for all Home Care Aides, but we highly recommend completing this program
    2. You will be paid to attend this class – To successfully complete this course you are required to attend the class and pass a written test
  5. Continuing Education – 10 Hours – Annual Requirement - This ten-hour program is designed to provide you with an update of your skills and knowledge of providing care to vulnerable adults and children and adults with functional disabilities.  You can participate in either instructor-led Continuing Education or Self-Study Continuing Education Training.
    1. Completing 10 hours of Continuing Education Training is mandatory for all Home Care Aides
    2. A minimum of 10 hours must be completed each calendar year
    3. You will be paid to complete either the instructor-led Continuing Education Training or the Self-Study Continuing Education Training
  6. Additional Training – Specialty Training – Developmental Disabilities Specialty Training – 18 Hours – This eighteen hour class is designed as an introductory training intended for Home Care Aides providing care to individuals with developmental disabilities. The following seven modules are covered with required competency testing included during the course:
    1. Overview of Developmental Disabilities
    2. Values of Service Delivery
    3. Effective Communication
    4. Introduction to Interactive
    5. Planning Understanding
    6. Behavior Crisis Intervention and Prevention
    7. Overview of Legal Issues and Individual's Rights
  7. Additional Training – Specialty Training - Dementia and Mental Health Specialty Training – 12 Hours - This class and other professionally developed and recognized Dementia and Mental Health training programs are recommended by First Choice In-Home Care.  This training provides Home Care Aides with the latest in education and home care techniques, and includes:
    1. Maintain a safe environment
    2. Manage changing behaviors
    3. Provide nutritious meals
    4. Provide mind-stimulating activities
    5. Create social interaction
    6. Supervise daily activities