Since it was first developed as an instructional tool at Davidson County Community College in 2005, a nursing assistant instructional DVD for use in college classrooms has become popular in community colleges and high schools across the state and nation.
The instructional DVDs contain hands-on skills demonstrated by nursing instructors and students portraying patients. They teach skills that Nursing Assistant I students must learn and perfect before taking their state examinations.
Money to produce the DVDs came from the DCCC Foundation after Rose Runion-McDaniel, assistant dean of Health, Wellness and Public Safety at DCCC, applied for a grant.
The videos were shot by McDaniel and Marsha Roddenberry and edited by Christopher Ferrell, a former DCCC student. The original intent was to film the learning sequences to supplement DCCC students’ classroom study.
Since then, the five-series DVD set has become useful not only to DCCC students but to other nursing assistant instructors and students at all other community colleges in the state as well as individuals and health care providers for use in staff development training.
“People tell us the DVDs are useful because they appeal to visual and auditory learners,” said McDaniel. “It has impacted health care across the state because it is used as a laboratory aid and a supplemental instructional tool. We hope it has helped increase the quality of care for hospital patients and residential care residents.”
The state requires certain skills sets and the DVD shows steps within those sets so that students have a written and a visual demonstration. They can watch the DVD as many times as they need to understand the concepts of care.
Nursing Assistant I classes are often the first step to other health care careers offered at DCCC. Around 100 to 130 students take Nursing Assistant I classes each semester. The one-semester training program qualifies students to take a state test so they can be listed on the North Carolina Nurse Aide Registry. Day, evening and hybrid classes are offered on the Davidson and Davie campuses of DCCC.
“The Nursing Assistant course is a good entry point for students to see if nursing is a career they would like to pursue,” McDaniel said. “This would be the first step in a career ladder process for nursing.”
For more information, contact Theresa Daniels at 336-249-8186, ext. 6106.