Providing Opportunities for Growth
In response to major concerns about the shortage and turnover rate among nurse aides in 2000, the CNA Mentor Program was born. Iowa CareGivers Association (ICA) partnered with several community colleges in the state of Iowa to provide direct care workers with education and training, opportunities for advancement, and longer and more meaningful career orientations.
The CNA Mentor Program surpassed all expectations. Empirical evidence suggests that the CNA Mentor Program has resulted in the following positive outcomes:
» CNAs perceive benefits of enhanced professionalism and increased status of their
profession.
» Providers report retaining workers longer which creates a more stable workforce and
increased quality of care.
» Patients and consumers ultimately benefit from the increased quality of care.
To learn more about the success of the CNA Mentor Program, please feel free to download the Summary Evaluation of the CNA Mentor Program.
Home Care Aide Mentor Program
The ICA Direct Care Worker Mentor curriculum “A Call to Mentoring” was modified for the home care setting as part of the Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) grant program. The program was tested with four of the BJBC home care agencies. Thirty-nine HCAs have successfully completed the two-day program since 2005.
The Home Care Aide Mentor program provides an opportunity for experienced, qualified HCAs to share their expertise with new staff by serving as their mentors. New and existing staff benefit from better communication and support of each other and more meaningful orientations.
