Course Catalog
Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) - Web Supplemented
Do you want to take a CNA class but would rather take a portion of it online? This web-supplemented course reduces face-to-face time by almost half. Prepare yourself for employment opportunities as a nursing assistant in extended care facilities, hospitals, home health and hospice situations. This course meets the requirements for Idaho certification of nursing assistants. Clinical hours may be outside normal class hours, but students will be provided clinical dates at least one month in advance. This is a time intensive course. Please consider other commitments and use discretion before registering for the course. Face-to-Face dates will be provided the first day of class. Quizzes and lectures will be done online and skills will be covered during lab date. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Clinical facilities may require proof of COVID vaccinations prior to clinical rotations. Note: BACKGROUND CHECK/Drug Screening ISU does not generally perform background checks or drug screening in the CNA program, except in our State Hospital South Course, where both are required. If you have a criminal history that will prevent you from passing a background check you may want to reconsider taking this course as you will not be able to work as a CNA. Please refer to the Idaho Criminal History Unit website at https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/bcu. See ‘denials.’ Once course has begun, you will be ineligible for reimbursement or transfer of course fees. If we are informed of a past crime or positive drug screen during the course, we must inform the clinical agency and allow them to decide if the student can rotate. If denied clinical, the student will be unable to finish the course. This course meets the following requirements for Idaho registration of nursing assistants: 1) 88 hours of classroom instruction (including discussion, videos, hands-on lab experiences) 2) 32 hours clinical experience in health care facilities 3) Guidance preparing for manual skills testing and written exam as required by the State of Idaho for placement on state registry. Additional costs include: Textbooks, BLS Healthcare Provider CPR training, clinical attire, clinical tools and immunizations. Clinical hours may be outside normal class hours, but student will be provided clinical dates at least one month in advance. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Please see registration handout for more information. Accreditation: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Board of Nursing, Idaho Division of Career Technical Education Computer requirements: A computer and hard drive with adequate memory, high-speed Internet access, up-to-date internet browser, basic Microsoft package (Word), Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Phlebotomy Technician - Web Supplemented
The ISU phlebotomy program prepares you to take a national certification exam upon course completion. Topics range from blood draws and laboratory procedures to employability skills and safety. Students must be 18 years of age or over to take this course. Sixty hours of this 160-hour course are completed online. Students will meet twice per week for the skills portion of the course, followed by 40 hours of clinical experience and blood draws with a clinical agency. Clinical hours are likely to be outside of normal course hours due to agency operating hours, but a clinical schedule will be provided in advance. Total clinical hours are dependent on students completing at least 100 blood draws. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Clinical facilities may require proof of COVID vaccinations prior to clinical rotations. Additional costs: Textbook, uniform, immunizations, and BLS provider CPR certification course. Some clinical sites may require a drug screen. Additional requirements: Health Insurance: All students are required to have health insurance before entering the clinical setting. Background Check: All students will complete a background check. Failed background checks will prevent participation in this course.
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT)
The Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) course is an intensive and comprehensive hybrid program which includes online progressive learning and in-person skills labs, clinicals and field (ambulance observation) components. The primary focus of the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician is to provide basic and limited advanced emergency medical care and transportation for critical and emergent patients who access the emergency medical system. This course meets the Idaho and national requirements to apply for certification as an Advanced EMT. This course is a 14 -week course consisting of approximately 220 hours spread between online coursework, 54 hours of in-person lab/skills time, up to five 12-hour shifts in a clinical setting and ride-alongs with an ambulance crew. Pre-requisite: Must have achieved and have a current NREMT certification. Preference for EMT’s with minimum 1 year of experience. Additional Costs: Additional Costs: Textbook, blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, clinical facility required immunizations, drug screening test, MyClinical Exchange account, skills and written certification exams, American Heart Association ACLS training will be during class time but will have an addition fee. AEMT national testing fees are not included in the class. Must be 18 years or older. NOTE: Due to clinical requirements, a current background check is a course requirement. A failed background check will prevent participation in this course. For more information, including additional costs please see the handout for additional costs and course information.
Community Health Worker Advanced Course (CHW Advanced)
The Community Health Worker Advanced course expands student's knowledge and skills and offers experiential learning through community or clinical tracks with a rotation at a preceptor site. This course must be taken after The Community Health Worker Core Course has been completed. The 13-week core course consists of 48 hours of blended, live-online and asynchronous training, and 48 Clinical hours. CHW Advanced courses are offered in a hybrid online web-based classroom. The class will meet in live online classroom three times during the thirteen weeks; evenings, 6pm-9pm—on the first night of class, with the remaining 2 sessions announced during the first class. Weeks 2-6, 8-12, students will be working asynchronous (self-paced) and will also be required to choose from 25+ available asynchronous Health Specific Modules and must complete five new modules by end of class. This course will also consist of 48 clinical hours that can run simultaneously. Prerequisite: Students should have completed the CHW Core course before the Advanced class begins. Some sessions of this course will require an access code for registration. Please visit the ISU Community Health Worker Training Academy for more information, or email chw@isu.edu. Community health workers are a vital component of the state and national public health and health care workforce. "Community Health Worker" is an umbrella term for a number of different job titles, including community health advocates, outreach educators, peer leaders, promotores de salud, doulas, and patient navigators. For many decades, CHWs have made significant contributions to community-based health promotion, disease prevention and maternal child health support. They have also improved the rate of health insurance coverage for underserved communities and individuals. CHWs improve access to and increase utilization of primary health care, reduce costs of care, improve quality of care, and reduce health disparities. For more information about this training curriculum, contact the Department of Community and Public Health at Idaho State University, chw@isu.edu or call (208) 282-2729 or visit the website at: isu.edu/chw/ Idaho State University, in collaboration with the Idaho Statewide Healthcare Innovation Plan (SHIP) project originally developed this training. ISU is continuing to offer this training for those interested in becoming Community Health Workers. Interested applicants are not required to apply and become students at ISU in order to take the training.
Certified Family Home Basic Medication Awareness and Infection Control
The purpose of this course is to educate Certified Family Home (CFH) providers and substitute caregivers regarding medication safety and infection control. Participants will gain a basic understanding of medications including storing and caring for medications, six rights of medication oversight, medication side effects and warning signs, infection control, maintaining medication records and more. This course satisfies the requirements of IDAPA 16.03.19.400.05: “Each staff assisting with resident medications will have successfully completed a medication training under Section 100 of these rules.” That section states under IDAPA 16.03.19.100.03.e: “Unless a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, physician’s assistant, or medical doctor, completion of a Department-approved medications course through an Idaho technical college.”Successful completion of this course will consist of an open-book written test with a passing rate of 80% or greater and participation in the skills demonstration and testing. (Beginning July 7, 2025 this 5 hour course will be in-person.) Successful completion of this course will consist of an open book written test with a passing rate of 80% or greater and participation in the skills demonstration and testing. Spanish course available. Please call 208-282-3372 for details.
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
Prepare yourself for employment opportunities as a nursing assistant in extended care facilities, hospitals, home health and hospice situations. This course meets the requirements for Idaho certification of nursing assistants. Clinical hours may be outside normal class hours, but students will be provided clinical dates at least one month in advance. This is a time intensive course. Please consider other commitments and use discretion before registering for the course. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Clinical facilities may require proof of COVID vaccinations prior to clinical rotations. CNA courses are available with several options: 12 Week–Daytime class: meets 6 hours/session; twice/week14 Week–Evening class: meets 5 hours/session; twice/week16 Week– Web Supplemented Daytime class: meets 6 hours/ skills session; meets every other week20 Week–Daytime class meets 3 hours/session; twice/week;(allows student more time for learning and skill mastery.) Note: BACKGROUND CHECK/Drug Screening ISU does not generally perform background checks or drug screening in the CNA program, except in our State Hospital South Course, where both are required. If you have a criminal history that will prevent you from passing a background check you may want to reconsider taking this course as you will not be able to work as a CNA. Please refer to the Idaho Criminal History Unit website at https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/bcu. See ‘denials.’ Once course has begun, you will be ineligible for reimbursement or transfer of course fees. If we are informed of a past crime or positive drug screen during the course, we must inform the clinical agency and allow them to decide if the student can rotate. If denied clinical, the student will be unable to finish the course. This course meets the following requirements for Idaho registration of nursing assistants: 1) 88 hours of classroom instruction (including discussion, videos, hands-on lab experiences) 2) 32 hours clinical experience in health care facilities 3) Guidance preparing for manual skills testing and written exam as required by the State of Idaho for placement on state registry. Additional costs include: Textbooks, BLS Healthcare Provider CPR training, clinical attire, clinical tools and immunizations. Clinical hours may be outside normal class hours, but student will be provided clinical dates at least one month in advance. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Please see registration handout for more information. Accreditation: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Board of Nursing, Idaho Division of Career Technical Education Computer requirements: A computer and hard drive with adequate memory, high-speed Internet access, up-to-date internet browser, basic Microsoft package (Word), Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Basic EKG Interpretation
This class covers concepts including basic heart anatomy and physiology, cardiac, conduction, rhythm interpretation, distinguishing EKG from cardiac monitoring, and practice interpreting rhythm strips! Students will complete twelve hours of online training. At the completion, an online exam is required with 80% competency to pass. This online course is self-paced. After successful registration, the student will have 90 days to access and review the course. A certificate will be generated after successful completion of course work.
CNA Manual Skills Prep
Do you need additional guidance with the manual skills portion of the nursing assistant’s role? This course includes web videos of each testable skill, a copy of all documents needed to prepare for the CNA manual skills exam, and four hours of one-on-one, face-to-face training with an Idaho-approved nursing assistant instructor. Registration Process: Once registered and paid, please contact our office to schedule a time with the instructor. Either call at (208) 282-3372 or email at cetrain@isu.edu. Intended audience: previously certified nursing assistants who allowed their CNA to lapse and need to retest; people working in settings that don’t require certification, but who perform the work of a nursing assistant; family caring for ill or disabled loved ones; students who don’t feel they mastered the skills within their course; and CNAs wishing to learn the new CNA scope of practice or wanting a review after being away from the field for a time. Course fee for ISU-CNA students is $150 Course for for Non-ISU student is $250
Effective Delegation for Healthcare
For delegation to be appropriate it is necessary to understand the Board of Nursing’s standards, use effective communication skills, and provide instruction that leads to knowledge and competence. In 2014, limits on the role of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), such as the CNA, were removed from the rules of the Idaho Board of Nursing, allowing nurses more freedom in delegating tasks to UAPs. This online web series is a statewide effort intended to clarify how this change will promote high-quality, patient-focused, and cost-effective care in the community environment. Presented By:State of Idaho – Board of NursingIdaho Health Care AssociationIdaho Division of CTEIdaho Department of Health and Welfare This online course is self-paced. After successful registration, the student will have 90 days to access and review the course. A certificate will be generated after successful completion of course work.