Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program (BNATP)

The Nursing Assistant Program is approved by:

Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
607 W. Jefferson St.
Springfield, IL 62702-5097
Telephone: (217) 782-6553
Website: www.idph.state.il.us.

The applicant must:

• be at least 16 years of age
• have completed 8 years of education
• submit a completed health-physical form PROVIDED by the South Suburban College Department of Nursing that documents immunity for mumps, measles, varicella, diphtheria, tetanus, tuberculosis, and hepatitis B (or waiver)
• have completed the college placement test and placed into RDG 081 and above

Two programs are available; an eight (8) week or a sixteen (16) week program. For the eight week program, students are admitted every eight weeks during the fall and spring semester. The students complete eighteen (18) hours of lecture, clinical laboratory and clinical practicum per week for eight weeks. For the sixteen week program, students are admitted during the fall or spring semester. Students complete nine (9) hours of lecture, clinical laboratory and clinical practicum per week for sixteen weeks.

The theory and laboratory are held at South Suburban College main campus, Oak Forest campus and once a year at Thornton Fractional Academic and Technology Center in Calumet City. Clinical practicums are held in community long term health care facilities. Attendance is mandatory as prescribed by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Absences will lead to students being ineligible to sit for the certification exam.

The Nursing Assistant Training program is six credit hours. Students pay the current cost for each credit hour along with a lab fee. In addition, students pay for a textbook, workbook and supplies, which include a watch with a second hand, a stethoscope, a sphygmomanometer, white nurse’s shoes and white nurse’s pants. A South Suburban College name pin and blue scrub top are to be ordered though the College Bookstore. Students must provide their own transportation. Any certified nursing assistant employed by a health care facility that receives Medicare funds, may be entitled to tuition reimbursement by the employer.

In 1987 the Congress of the United States passed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA). A major purpose of OBRA is to improve the quality of care given to residents of nursing facilities. OBRA requires education and competency evaluation for all nursing assistants employed in chronic care facilities. The purpose is to ensure that nursing assistants have the necessary knowledge and skills to give quality care.