Course
Descriptions

Course Code: CNA
Course Type: Medical
Clock Hours: 100
Course Description: Valley Medical's nurse's aide program is designed to prepare the students to function in a traditional nursing assistant role in a nursing centers such as hospitals and nursing homes. VMI believes that a legal and ethical necessity exists to provide students with the necessary education and training for safe, effective, and sensitive functioning within the health care industry. Our focus is on nursing assistant skills and functions, safety, and a psychosocial approach to resident care.

The course, which is 100 hours in length, includes forty hours of classroom or didactic theory and sixty hours of hands-on or clinical training. We offer day, evening, or weekend classes. We run these courses every month. We find that the hours and flexibility of our courses fit into most people's schedule.

The course, approved by Connecticut Department of Higher Education and Connecticut Department of Public Health, has been approved since 1994.

Pre-Requisite: High School Diploma, GED or Valley Medical Entrance Exam; physical and Tuberculine test.

Course Code: CNAR
Course Type: Medical
Clock Hours: 30
Course Description: VMI's refresher course is thirty hours long—ten hours of classroom and twenty hours of skills training. We teach days, evenings, or weekends. VMI's refresher course is designed for Certified Nurse's Aides who have completed an approved Certified Nurse's Aide course in the state of Connecticut and whose registration has lapsed. A nurse's aides' registration does not have to be renewed if you worked as a nurse's aide for an 8-hour period of time within a recent 24-month period in a health care environment approved by the CT Department of Public Health. If the registration does lapse the nurse's aide must call the Department of Public Health for advisement. They may ask you to take a refresher if a long period of time has passed.

Pre-Requisite: Must have been registered as CNA with state of CT Department of Public Health; physical and Tuberculine test.

Course Code: DA
Course Type: Dental
Clock Hours: 95
Course Description: VMI's basic Dental Assistant program is ninety-five hours long over four weeks, either days, evenings, or weekends.

The Dental Assistant program prepares the students to be members of the dental team, to assist the dentist in all phases of dentistry. The program includes general and some specialty dentistry, chairside procedures, radiography, and laboratory and business office assisting.

An important and integral part of the educational program is the clinical experience; this is done by rotation through several local dental facilities.

The dental assistant takes on significant responsibility as a member of the dental health care team. Assistants greatly increase the efficiency of the dentist in the delivery of quality care and are valuable members of the dental care team. If you have strong communication skills, enjoy working with your hands as well as your mind, and want a career with responsibility, dental assisting is for you. The Dental Assistant Program is founded classroom didactic teaching and consistent patient care. Our learning environment will stimulate the student with new discovery and techniques that contribute to the health of the public as well as growth of the dental assisting profession. The faculty’s responsibilities are to provide comprehensive approaches to the student that include and encourage critical, independent, and professional thinking. Ultimately we are committed to providing educational programs for a culturally diverse student population to optimize each individual’s growth.

Procedures a dental assistant may perform are varied, challenging, interesting, and responsible—whether sitting chairside or in the business office. In smaller practices, the assistant might work with the dentist as well as managing the business aspects of the dental practice such as scheduling, billing and purchasing. In larger practices, the duties could be more specialized. Many assistants are qualified to take X-rays. In the state of Connecticut you must be certified to take X-rays. That is why we prepare each student for the state RHS exam. In most dental offices, the dental assistant is in charge of infection control procedures, which are closely regulated by OSHA (the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration). This is a very complex and important task and is a real challenge for any professional, requiring constant updates to remain current with registrations.

The Dental Assistant works on behalf of the patient as well as the dentist in helping to assure a high level of professional excellence in oral health care and delivery. 

Pre-Requisite: High School Diploma, GED or Valley Medical Entrance Exam

Course: DAR
Course Type: Dental
Clock Hours: 80
Course Description: The Dental Assistant Refresher course is eighty hours long, taught days, evenings, or weekends. The Dental Assistant Refresher is a course designed for current or past dental assistants who would like to refresh their skills, including radiography and infection control. Similar to our basic program, without the clinical lab. This course would prepare the student for state exams in radiography and infection control.

Pre-Requisite: Proof of being a dental assistant and a letter of recommendation from a dentist is needed.

Course Code: CNA
Course Type: DAXR
Clock Hours: 16
Course Description: A sixteen-hour course, taught days, evenings, or weekends, designed for the dental assistant who is working in a dental environment and has not been certified in radiography technology. This course prepares the student to take the state radiography exam.

Pre-Requisite: Must be presently working for a dentist and present a reference from the dentist.

Course Code: DEX
Course Type: Dental
Clock Hours: 30
Course Description: A thirty-hour externship at one of our dental facilities. 
Pre-requisite: Successful completion of DA01 through DA06.