Nursing Assistant

Overview

Nursing Assistants are in high demand by employers in Whatcom County! Choose BTC’s Nursing Assistant program to train for nursing assistant jobs in a wide variety of medical settings. The knowledge and skills you’ll gain are highly valued by healthcare industry employers such as hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and home health agencies.

Nursing Assistant training meets the Healthcare Experience requirement for entry into the BTC Registered Nursing Program.

The Nursing Assistant Program at Bellingham Technical College is approved by the State of Washington, Department of Health, Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission.

Students who complete the Nursing Assistant program will be eligible to take their state certification exams.

Program Outcomes

Demonstrate clinical competencies as defined in WAC 246-841.
Identify and apply nursing knowledge necessary in the Nursing Assistant role.

Placement Requirements

A completed college admissions application and placement in English and math. BTC uses a Guided Self-Placement process to help you choose the best starting point for your English and math courses. Your selections will determine whether you begin with program coursework or complete prerequisites classes first.

To get started or for help determining your English and math placement, contact the Outreach department at Outreach@btc.edu.

Clinical Placement Requirements

After registering for Nursing Assistant program classes but prior to beginning clinical rotations, students must complete the clinical placement process. Clinical requirements include:

Criminal background check
10-Panel urine drug screening
Tuberculous screening
Required immunizations
Medical Insurance Coverage
Current American Heart Association BLS Provider CPR certification

More information about the clinical placement requirements process is available on the Nursing Assistant website.

Certificate Requirements

Certificate completion requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or high, a minimum grade of C (2.0) for required courses, and minimum required attendance in classroom, lab, and clinical rotations.

Programs

Certificate

Nursing Assistant Certificate