HIGH Demand for CNA's

The medical field is an ever growing career opportunity, and this is especially true in Richmond, VA. Positions can't be filled quickly enough and if you're a qualified individual with a CNA certification you won't have too much of a hard time finding a job. Yes, you do have to come from a good school and no this type of job is not for everyone. What we can tell you though is that if you're a hard working individual that is looking to make more money, this could be a great opportunity for you! 

Our school is: 

Affordable

Our program is less than $1,200. You read that correctly! It's much cheaper than a lot of the programs that local universities offer and because we are a smaller school that ONLY specializes in CNA and Med Tech, you receive individual attention that you wouldn't otherwise get anywhere else. We also offer payment plans to accommodate budgets of all sizes. 

Quick

The program takes a total of five weeks. It can be intensive and a little tiring but you'll be in and out before you know it. You get to know your teachers and peers really well and once you come here, we consider you family. This is another reason why offer a cash reward for each one of your referrals. Every student that you refer to us will earn you $25.00. There is no limit to how many of these credits you get and you don't even have to be enrolled anymore, so this applies to our graduates too!

Locally Recognized

When we see a student excel in our program we'll make sure we refer them to employers so they can easily find a job. No other school in the area offers the kinds of connections we have, in fact, hospitals and patient care facilities look to us for our brightest students. Graduating with job security in five weeks is something that you won't find anywhere else. 

We are now enrolling in classes for 2017! What are you waiting for? Call today and enroll! 

Join the Virginia School for Nurse Aides team!

We're constantly looking for the cream of the crop and if you can answer all of the questions below, you should look into applying to Virginia School for Nurse Aides. We only graduate the BEST CNAs in town and we're looking for teachers up to the challenge!
 
Registered Nurses

Must be able to answer “yes to ALL of the following questions in order to submit an application with Virginia School for Nurse Aides. DO NOT submit an application if you cannot answer “yes” to ALL questions.

1. Do you hold a current unrestricted Virginia license as a registered nurse?
2. Do you have at least two years of experience as a registered nurse within the past five years?
3. Do you have at least one year in experience as a registered nurse in long term care? This experience may include: employment in a nurse aide education program, supervision of nursing students in a nursing facility, geriatrics department, chronic care hospital, home care or other long term care settings.  Experience should include varied responsibilities such as direct client care, supervision and education. This experience must have been within the past three years.

LPN’s
Must be able to answer “yes to ALL of the following questions in order to submit an application with Virginia School for Nurse Aides. DO NOT submit an application if you cannot answer “yes” to ALL questions.

1. Do you hold a current unrestricted Virginia license as a Licensed Practical Nurse?
2. Hold a high school diploma or equivalent?
3. Have two years of direct patient care experience as a LPN?
4. Have a least one year of long term or assisted living experience in the past three years?

Click here to apply

Make more $$$ by taking our Med Tech course!

Guess what? Your training doesn't just stop as a CNA! You can earn even more by becoming a Certified Medication Aide. The average hourly rate is $11.81 according to Payscale.com. Yes becoming a CNA is a great thing, but our Medication Aide program is even shorter than our CNA and costs less! Yes, you read that right, you can get even higher pay in less time for less money. It's a no brainer really and a lot of our students enroll right after they graduate. If you're one of the people that did not enroll, there's no time like the present. Trust us, it's the next natural step in your career in healthcare. Now enrolling from December 5th! Call us today and reserve your spot (804) 353-1747

Earn $25 TODAY!

We have a lot of graduates from Virginia School for Nurse Aides, in fact there is over 1,200 of you out there fulfilling jobs all over Richmond in the medical field. Your employers have high praise for all of you but your rewards don't end with your current employer. Do you know of any friends or family that are trying to start the New Year fresh at a new job and with higher pay? There is still time for them! All they have to do is give us a call and enroll for our class on November 21st, they can also do it on our website at www.virginiaschoolfornurseaides.com. You will earn $25 for each referral, and no there's NO LIMIT to how much you can earn for your referrals. You don't even to have graduated yet, this applies to our current students.

 So why becoming a CNA? There is a shortage of nurses in Richmond, and employers are always looking to hire. It can be a flexible work schedule so if you have kids or are completing a four year degree this could be the perfect career path for you. Just in case you need another reason, the national average for CNA pay is $11.5 an hour. Don't think those are good reasons? Well the program is ONLY 5 weeks. There really isn't anything out there like this that can get you career results so quickly.

Virginia School for Nurse Aides is....

"Where the good ones come from"

*offer only valid for current and past students 

NightOwl, Full Time Job, Not A Morning Person?

At Virginia School for Nurse Aides we understand that not everyone can come to our classes in the morning. In fact, a lot of people can't afford to stop working while they are attending school. If you have a day job, you may not attend school at all! This is why we have developed our program to also be taken at night. The classes are small so our teachers can have the most 1 on 1 time with you and they are still only five weeks.

We think it's important to note that our course only takes five weeks because the average degree or certification usually takes much, much longer than that. Five weeks is just a little bit over a month - and it can mean getting a significant pay raise if you are working for minimum wage. We've covered how much more money you can make by taking classes as Virginia School for Nurse Aides - and we're trying to make it as easy for you as possible to do just that!

We believe in higher education but we DON'T BELIEVE it should cost and arm and a leg or take many years to complete. We want you to be successful NOW! How many schools can say that? Yes, other schools offer night classes but not at our prices. At the end of the day, Virginia School for Nurse Aides is "Where the good ones come from!".

Going to school this fall? Find a part time job that pays more!

So you're going to VCU, University of Richmond or another school for higher education this Fall? Paying for education has never been harder. Most students will graduate with great debts if their parents can't help them out. What's worse, student loans may not cover all your expenses while you're in school.

Yes, you could have a job on the weekends working retail or in the restaurant industry. That type of labor can be quite intense, especially if you have a full load of classes. They also don't add much to your resume and they are known for not paying particularly well.

During this summer, you could take our 5 week course and become a CNA. By the time you go back to school you can get paid anywhere between $8.00-$12.00 depending on which facility you work in. This can be much higher than minimum wage and it is a job that you can work nights, if you go to school during the day, or day if you want to go school at night. You're not giving up weekends like you'd have to do if you work retail or restaurants. Most importantly, it is a job that adds to your resume and will look good to your future employers, no matter what industry you decide to work in.

Is this the first time a college student decides to do our program to support themselves through college? Not at all, in fact, there's plenty of VCU students headed to medical careers that KNOW that this is the best place for them to start. Again, you don't have to be a medical student to take advantage of this program - you just have to be hard working, interested in making more money and willing to do our five week course.

Why Virginia School for Nurse Aides? Simple. We offer payment plans, we are an accelerated course and we are just one of the best. Just watch all of the videos our students have made on our Facebook page as testimonials. Other schools take longer, are more expensive and don't have as high of a success rate as our school.

Supporting a great cause

We had the opportunity to come out to Nacho Mama's Bar and Grill to support the Alzheimer's Association of Richmond. It was a fantastic event and we're always excited to be a part of anything that raises awareness and money for diseases like this. We are in the industry of patient care and we know the importance of this particular cause. Can't wait until the next event! 

 

What's Med Tech?

We're well known for our CNA program - a lot of our students come here, graduate, get a job and some come back to get their Med Tech certification. If you're not in the industry you may be wondering what "Med Tech" actually means. In lamest terms, it is a way for you to enhance your CNA certification quickly and also make a little bit more money in the process.

Having a Medication Aide Certification allows a CNA to administer drugs to patients that they are taking care of. The types of medications that they are allowed to administer is limited to just certain types are typically medications that must be administered daily.

We found a great description of what you can expect when working as a Medication Aide from Learn.org.

"As a medication aide, you give prescribed topically and orally administered medications under a nurse's supervision. You make sure that the six rights of medication administration - correct person, drug, dose, time, route and documentation - are followed. You will chart the medication, dosage, time and date of administration on the patient's record. Refusals to take medications will also be charted.

You may be responsible for picking up or taking delivery of medications from pharmacies. If required, you take blood pressure readings, temperatures and heart or pulse rates. Your job duties may include providing support with hygiene and grooming."

Not all CNA schools provide this training and for most of our students, it seems like a natural step after graduating. After graduation students have built their confidence as CNAs and it is easy for them to transition into Medication Aide. We never stop learning and this is a great way to get some continuing education and get paid more without requiring going back to school full time. For more information about becoming a Med Tech visit our website Virginia School for Nurse Aides.

It's All About Your Skills!

Students always ask - what does it take to be a CNA? Is it easy? and, can I do it? Honestly, a big part of it is reading and lecture. Our teachers sit down with our students in intimate settings and teach a certified course for about a week - but it doesn't really stop there. 

Practice makes perfect! And there is no other way to put what you have learned to good use other than actually practicing it. Our teachers first demonstrate, then students practice on a dummy and also on each other. They are being mentored and monitored by our teachers for a week. This is where our students get comfortable and ask many questions. What's so great about the size of our classes is that our students can feel comfortable and confident with interacting with others. They get to know each other pretty quickly and are able to not only rely on their teachers but also each other. 

Once you're done with this portion of the program, students go to clinicals. Clinicals are real life situations where they help real patients. Students travel to the site everyday and put their skills to use. Teachers are always there to supervise and ensure that if they have any questions that those are answered. This really is essential to the success of our students. In order to be successful, students must have great teachers, proper training and most importantly the drive to be successful. Having the right school is going to make all the difference to your success. So make sure that you choose wisely! The better CNA you are, the better pay you'll get! 

The National CNA Average Pay Is....

How much money do you currently make an hour? Becoming a CNA is not only something that can fulfill you as a person but it can also help you make more money per hour. On the low end, a CNA can expect to get paid $8.55 per hour, the minimum wage in Virginia currently stands at $7.25 per hour, that's over one dollar more per hour. Let's say that you work 4 weeks out of the month and you work full time - at minimum wage that's $1,160 before taxes. If you become a CNA your salary per month would be $1,368 - that's $208 MORE every month and that's assuming that you are getting paid on the low end of CNA work. If you get paid the median wage your monthly income would be $1,846.40 or $686.40 more every month!

Becoming a CNA doesn't have to take a long time, in fact it takes 5 weeks with Virginia School for Nurse Aides which is a lot shorter than a lot of other colleges that offer this program. It costs a little over a thousand dollars to become a CNA with us and we offer payment options for those who need it. When you look at the big picture though, one thousands dollars doesn't sound like a lot of money when you have the potential of making $686 more every month if you're making minimum wage. It is an intensive 5 week course - but the reason why we decided to make it 5 weeks is because we know that people have busy lives and they may need to make more money fast.

People become CNA's because yes, they want to make more money, but more importantly because they want to have a better career and better future. Sometimes being a CNA is something that people do so that they can put themselves through school or maybe they just have a family to support and need to pay their bills, whatever the reason being a CNA can put you in a totally different path in just 5 short weeks. So what are you waiting for? Give us a call and change your future today!

More info on CNA salaries and job opportunities

Day or Night - Our Students Succeed

Some of these night students have families, jobs and other responsibilities but they want a better future for themselves so they choose to go to Virginia School Nurse Aides and become the best they can be. If you've thought about a career in healthcare, make sure to visit our school and find out more.

Learning About The Human Body

Even though we all learn about the human body at some point in school, our students receive comprehensive training on how the body functions. Who says that learning can't be fun though? We teach our students in engaging ways. Check out some of the latest projects that they have come up with! 

Work in a #Rewarding Career

Being a CNA can be financially and emotionally rewarding. Learn how to help others today! 

The #VSFNA Difference

When we think about our future, how do we pick which direction to go? Maybe you've decided to become a CNA because you know that a level entry position can earn a few dollars more per hour by taking a five week class. How do you pick which school to go to? There is after all a bunch of different options when it comes to CNA schools.

How do you pick from all of these different options? Here's a few things you probably want to look out for when picking a CNA school. 

Registration with the Board of Nursing

The school that you ultimately decide to enroll in has to be registered and accredited with the Virginia Board of Nursing. Why? Because that is the standard that hospitals and other medical facilities will require to be eligible. Most schools will be accredited but watch out for the ones that aren't. Check their website and ask around for information. Better yet, call the Virginia Board of Nursing to verify that school you're going to is registered and accredited. 

Established Relationships with Hospitals and Assisted Living Facilities

CNA's can find employment in many places but the two main places they will find jobs is Hospitals and Assisted Living Facilities. Sometimes these places will have built relationships with schools and will proactively check with the schools to see if they have any graduating candidates fit for a job they may have available. Even though schools can't guarantee employment, they can certainly put in a good word for students if they have excelled in their program. Having these relationships will ensure that students have a good chance of being hired. 

Small Classes

Pick a school that specializes in CNA training and nothing else. The reason being, big schools can mean high staff turn over. When there is high staff turn over it makes it difficult for students to have one point of contact to which they can get answers from.  It will be in your best interest to have a school that has smaller classes so you get individualized attention from the teachers. In some cases, it's worth paying a premium just for this kind of attention. Make sure that you're being taken care of right away when you have questions and concerns, this is usually an indicator if the school is going to be the right match for you. 

Avoid Schools That Let Anyone In

Schools that are very inexpensive or that require little to no paper work could be a waste of your time and money. Schools that hold their students to higher standards not only will they prepare you well for your new career but it could also mean additional pay for you because of your training. There are schools that pass all of their students but when it is time for them to take the State Board Exam, they don't perform as well as they should have because they have not been properly trained. It's better if it is tougher during class and easy during real life than the other way around.

Financial Aid
Don't let finances come in the way between you and your future. Schools that actually want to help you will offer different payment options. Make sure that your school offers payment options - schools that offer payment options are usually well established unlike newer schools that don't have any experience doing the job.

Ultimately it is your future that is at hand and it is important that you make decisions carefully.

For more information about Virginia School for Nurse Aides please visit our website by clicking here

From First Day to Skills

Out students spend seven days out of their five week training learning their CNA skills, this gives them proper training and preparedness when it comes to real life situations. 

TORNADO

Due to actual Tornado Touchdowns and warnings, Virginia School for Nurse Aides night class and evening activities are canceled.  We urge all of you to be safe and take proper coverage if need be.

Assignments-
Night students should be prepared to test on chapters 13, 14, 21 and chapters 19, 20, 23 tomorrow. Continue to monitor the website for updates.

One Hour Delay

All classes at Virginia School for Nurse Aides will begin at 10am today, Tuesday February 16, 2016.

Classes canceled

All classes at Virginia School for Nurse Aides are canceled today Monday February 15, 2016.  New day and evening students should read chapters 1-5 and 7 in your textbooks. Current day students that are in skills should prepare for exams 2 and 3 in addition to studying skill according to you schedule.