Pilot Training Program Produces First Graduates

GREENVILLE—A little more than two months after starting their training at Pitt Community College, the first group of students participating in a new pilot program for nursing assistants has graduated.

Earlier this year, in response to its growing need for skilled Nurse Aide IIs (NAII), Vidant Medical Center (VMC) partnered with PCC’s Continuing Education and Workforce Development Department to create the NA Advancement Pilot Program. The goal, according to PCC Health Care Programs Director Sidette Brown, is to help VMCs Nurse Aide I staff members obtain NAII certification through a course that includes financial support and a curriculum that ensures a healthy “work-life” balance.

“This program is a benefit for Vidant Medical Center, VMC employees, and Pitt Community College,” Brown said. “Vidant Medical Center gains employees with much-needed NA II skills, while its employees gain new skills and higher pay.”

Training at PCC began Jan. 19 and followed a hybrid format that combined online teaching with in-person skills lab instruction and 80 hours of clinical coursework at VMC. Vidant encouraged members of its central staffing office to form the first student cohort.

Brown said nine of the 10 students who participated in the inaugural class graduated as NAIIs on March 31 and registered with the N.C. Board of Nursing.

“Though it’s still a pilot program, the success of our NA Advancement training has once again demonstrated PCC’s ability to provide training that our business partners need for to keep their operations running efficiently and effectively,” Brown said, adding that the next class of VMC nursing assistants will begin training May 10.

04/13/2021