Nurse Aide

The Nurse Aide programme is offered via traditional delivery and prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for the provision of basic care to residents in long-term care facilities. In as little as five weeks, students study safety and emergency measures, infection control, resident rights, and effective communication; build core skills in restorative services, basic nursing care, body mechanics, safe transfers, positioning, and documentation; and put it all into practice during a supervised clinical at an approved long-term care facility.

Students train in a mock laboratory setting representative of the equipment and supplies used in care facilities and must provide a watch with a second hand. Graduates will be able to provide basic care, communicate with sensitivity to residents’ psychosocial needs, help residents attain and maintain maximum functional independence, protect resident rights, and function as a member of the healthcare team.

The programme includes 20 hours of hands-on lab work, 40 hours of on-the-job clinical training, long-term care and mental health and social services training, full-time day classes, the chance to sit for as many as two certifications, and up to four career skill competency badges. The Certified Nurse Aide exam fee is included in tuition if taken within three months of completion; Basic Life Support is available at additional cost. Some SCI campuses are approved Prometric Nurse Aide testing sites.

Southern Careers Institute was founded in 1960 and received its initial accreditation from the Council on Occupational Education in 1991. It trains students at eight Texas campuses and online, and its campuses are authorized testing sites for the National Healthcareer Association and Certiport. Students earn skill badges as they progress, and SCI Connect, the school’s career services portal, lets students build a profile with their resume, skill badges and videos of them performing job tasks for employers who post jobs there.

Before you start. Prior to the start date, you must visit the school and tour the campus (if you are enrolling in a programme with on-campus classes) and complete an interview with a licensed representative in the Admissions department.

Age and education. You must be at least 16 years of age. An applicant who is under 18 at the time of admission must provide proof of a high school diploma or GED and have written permission from a parent or legal guardian, who co-signs the enrollment agreement. You must provide verifiable official documentation of completion of secondary education within 21 calendar days of starting school: a high school diploma or transcript showing the graduation date, a home school transcript, a recognised high school equivalency certificate, an associate degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognised by the US Department of Education, or a foreign credential evaluated by a NACES member or a TEA-listed evaluation service.

Criminal history. Prospective students must provide criminal history information. Anyone with a convicted or pending felony violent crime, a convicted or pending serious felony drug crime, any sex offense conviction or pending felony sexual case, or who is a registered sex offender is not eligible for enrollment in any programme. SCI reserves the right to conduct criminal background checks.

English. SCI does not provide ESL instruction; classes are taught in English. Students whose primary language is not English must document English proficiency, for example graduation from an English-speaking secondary institution, a TOEFL iBT score of 61, an IELTS level of 6, or a grade of C in an intermediate ESL course.

SCI admits students without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, disability, or any other factor prohibited by law.

Nurse Aide requirements. Instead of proof of graduation, students document satisfactory completion of at least the 8th grade. They sign a release for criminal history and employability background checks, including verification through the HHS Employability Status Check Search and screening for the offenses in Texas Health and Safety Code Section 250.006, and must pass checks of the Employee Misconduct Registry and Nurse Aide Registry. Students provide immunization records as required by clinical sites (for example PPD or chest x-ray, rubeola, rubella and mumps, flu and/or COVID-19 vaccines) and self-identify the ability to stand for long periods and to lift and support a person weighing at least 100 pounds.

Schedule. The programme takes an estimated five weeks. Nurse Aide day classes run Monday to Friday, in a morning session from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm or an afternoon session from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Clinical hours vary with the clinical sites’ schedules and are generally four hours per day, five days per week for two weeks.

Attendance. Students must attend 100 hours to graduate. Students may not make up more than five hours to remain eligible for the NATCEP exam needed for employment, and students absent for more than five hours will be dismissed.

Tuition: $1,200.00; mandatory fees: $0.00; total: $1,200.00.

Graduates of the programme are eligible to sit for the nurse aide certification exam for Texas. Nurse aides may be employed as nurse aides, providers, or CNAs in a variety of healthcare settings, including long-term care and assisted living facilities and rehabilitation centers, as well as hospitals and home health agencies.

Nurse Aides, also known as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), work under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse to provide basic patient care such as bathing, dressing, feeding, and monitoring vital signs.

Career services. Career Services are available to active students and graduates. Staff strive to meet every student before graduation for an exit interview that includes a customised job-search profile, an entry-level resume and a mock interview; they provide resume and interview help and work with local employers to match their needs with graduates’ skills. SCI does not guarantee employment or a specific starting salary.

Orientation. Before beginning their programmes, all new students attend an orientation session to hear about the campus and the learning experience and to meet the administrative staff, faculty and other students. Campus department directors explain the student support available and clarify students’ responsibilities and expectations. Students registered for distance-education courses also attend an online orientation that introduces the learning platform and the standards for postings, plagiarism, online etiquette and attendance.

Classes. SCI programmes run in three-week modules scheduled continuously (the AAS in Nursing runs in 15-week terms), and the externship module, where a programme has one, is six weeks. Learning new material may require at least five additional outside hours for every 20 hours spent in lecture or laboratory. To graduate you must complete all courses within the maximum time frame and earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0; graduation ceremonies are typically held twice a year.

Support. Student services include tutoring, attendance advising and academic advising, and SCI gives referrals to community resources for housing, childcare, employment, transportation, mental health services and alcohol and drug counselling. SCI does not provide housing. Students receive skill badges to mark milestones and help market their skills.