FAQs - Educational Providers of America

Frequently Asked Questions

What are course packages for home health aides, nursing assistants, and certified nurse aides?

Educational Providers of America course packages are a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to provide continuing education credit in self-study, blended-learning, or instructor-led settings for your aides or assistants. You can receive the course packages online immediately, 24/7. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 5.0 or higher software in your computer or mobile device to read the PDF-formatted course packages. You more than likely have this software program. If you do not or are not sure, download the latest version for FREE.

Imagine, your aides and assistants can learn whenever and wherever they want when the course packages are used in a self-study setting. No more seminars at inconvenient times and locations. Plus, remember there is no inconvenience related to rescheduling courses due to inclement weather, illness, or scheduling conflict. Never again will you have to reschedule a course with Educational Provider of America courses when used in a self-study setting, making it that much easier for your company and your aides or assistants to meet this annual continuing education requirement. However, the courses can also be used for blended-learning or instructor-led training.

Furthermore, Educational Providers of America self-study courses cost a fraction of what your company would pay to have your registered nurses to develop and present continuing education courses or to have your aides or assistants to sit through a face-to-face seminar. Please see “How/Why are self-study courses more economical than face-to-face courses?” below to learn how and why your company saves money with Educational Provider of America courses.

Can the course packages be used to train staff in a self-study, blended-learning, or instructor-led setting?

Yes, the course packages are perfect for self-study or blended-learning as well as for instructor-led training.

What does each course package include?

Each thought-provoking, time-efficient, and cost-effective course package includes six documents.

The student document contains all the course content, i.e.,

title page
credentials of the instructor
outline
objectives
preface
narrative
references

The instructor not only receives the course content, but also the following five documents:

pre-test
post-test
test answer key
evaluation form
certificate of completion template (just insert the name of the student, the date of the course completion, and the signature of the instructor).

How does it work?

Simply submit the course content, test, and evaluation to your aides or (e.g., email the material to them, put it in their mail bins, or hand it to them on payday). Instruct them to read the course and complete the post-test and course evaluation by the next payday. Or instruct them to read the course and complete the course evaluation by the next payday, at which time you can submit the post-test. You also have the option of providing the pre-test if you deem necessary. The entire course package is mobile device and personal computer compatible, as well as printable. Your aides or assistants can submit the course test results and course evaluation to you via hard copy or email.
Review the test results with your aides or assistants. Each continuing education course package includes a test answer key as well as a certificate of completion template. Voilà! You are all done.
Additionally, you can always use the materials in blended-learning and instructor-led settings.

Train as many staff members as you like (there is no student number limit imposed at your chosen location), and it is all for one low price. Now that is value!

The course packages are in PDF format, which means there are NO special software requirements, NO additional expenses, and NO internet hassles … perfect for self-study or blended learning as well as instructor-led training.

Learn about all the other benefits of Educational Providers of America course packages.

How/why is using the course packages in a self-study format superior to presenting the content other ways?

Although you can use the course packages for blended-learning and instructor-led training, using them for self-study is more time-efficient, less expensive, and highly effective.

The most obvious answer to the question is that self-study does not require your registered nurses to develop and present course content. (But remember, the course packages can also be presented in blended-learning and instructor-led settings.) Think about it. It would take a registered nurse at least one full week (40 hours) to research and develop just one 3-hour course. Assuming the registered nurse makes $27 to $37 an hour, multiply that by 5 days…that is $1080.00 to $1480.00 out of pocket! Compare that to our current low sale price (just $99.99) for one 3-hour Educational Providers of America course package that allows your company to teach as many aides or assistants as you want – all within minutes!* That is a 90% savings! In addition, curriculum development and presentation (again and again) take the registered nurse away from revenue producing activities and creates interruptions in client care.

More time-effective and cost–saving benefits of self-study courses include the following:

Clustering information into 2-, 3- or 4- hour courses decreases the number of interruptions even more. There is no federal mandate requiring aides or assistants to receive just one (1) hour of continuing education each month. Instead, the regulation simply mandates twelve (12) hours of continuing education within each year.
Eliminating scheduling conflicts. Never again worry about coordinating schedules or rescheduling classes, which not only wastes time, but also wastes money.
Offering Flexibility. With Educational Providers of America course packages, your company can educate all its learners at a given location with ease, including part-time, contingent, afternoon/evening, weekend employees − all without requiring additional time of an instructor.*

In addition, self-study learning results in:

Learning when they are ready to learn. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears” is a Buddhist proverb packed with wisdom. No matter how hard an instructor tries, if the learner is not ready to learn, it is probable the student will not learn. The self-study format allows your aides or assistants to learn when and where it is optimal.
Using a learning style ALL adult learners possess, that is, visual learning. The notion that there are three types of learners, all of whom need special treatment when it comes to receiving and retaining information, is simply wrong. We all take in more information through the eye than in any other way.
Eliminating the fear of failing in front of peers. Rather, learners can make errors and retry strategies in private when using the courses in a self-study setting. If needed, learners can receive assistance and remediation by the instructor in private, without the embarrassment of faltering in the presence of classmates.
Retaining more information. There is no evidence retention is better in a classroom (instructor-led) setting. In fact, the contrary is true: the U.S. Department of Education found that learners retain slightly more information through self-study courses than they do in instructor-led courses. Retention is an important economical factor when you consider it results in improved client care, less workplace accidents/safety issues, and decreased employee turnover.
Learning at their own pace. Your aides or assistants can take as little or as much time as they need to master the course content when used in a self-study setting … quickly reviewing areas they do know well and spending more time learning areas they do not.

Learn about all the benefits of Educational Providers of America courses for your company, your instructors, your staff, and your client

How does Educational Providers of America determine course hour credit?

Course hour credit (one hour = 60 minutes study time) is representative of the time required to complete the learning activity (learn the material, take the test, and receive feedback/remediation from a registered nurse) as determined by pilot study results.

Do students have to be online to complete the courses?

No, Educational Providers of America does not require your aides or assistants to read the courses from its website. For your company’s convenience, download and save/upload the courses to your computer, mobile device, or cloud account. Then, when you are ready, submit the courses to your aides or assistants. They (or you) can also print the courses for added flexibility and portability, which also allows your aides or assistants to refer to the courses in the future.

What is the length and format of each course test?

Each course package contains 15 true-false or true-false and multiple-choice combination question pre-test (optional use) and post-test.

What is a passing score for each course test?

While it is up to your company or you to determine if 70% or 80% is a passing score, keep in mind that most state and federal guidelines require a passing score of at least 80%.

How many hours should I provide?

The promulgations of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) states home health aides, nursing assistants, and certified nurse aides who work with Medicare patients receive at least 12 hours of continuing education during each 12-month period. The mandate does not state that the aide or assistant receive only one hour per month of continuing education. For example, you may provide one 3-hour course per quarter to meet the annual 12-hour requirement, which means even less frequent interruption to client care.

Are Educational Providers of America courses accredited?

Educational Providers of America courses meet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services continuing education requirements; however, whether provided in a self-study, blended-learning, or instructor-led setting, a registered nurse should provide feedback, answer questions, and remediate if necessary. Please contact us about accreditation or contact the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for complete information pertaining to home health aide, nursing assistant, and certified nurse aide continuing education requirements.

Again, Educational Providers of America courses meet the federal mandate that home health aides, nursing assistants, and certified nurse aides who work with Medicare patients complete 12 hours of continuing education per year. Some states have specific or additional requirements, e.g., California, Delaware, Florida, Texas, and Washington. Please contact these state regulatory agencies for more information.

Does Educational Providers of America offer college courses/degrees or initial aide or assistant certification?

No, Educational Providers of America is not accredited to offer college courses or degrees. Furthermore, Educational Providers of America does not offer initial certification courses for home health aides, nursing assistants, or certified nurse aides. Educational Providers of America provides continuing education unit courses for home health aides, nursing assistants, and certified nurse aides as well as other unlicensed and licensed professionals.

Do you accept credit cards by telephone or mail?

Sorry, our agreement with the credit card company limits credit card purchases made directly on this website. The cost, equipment, and labor associated with credit card purchases by telephone and mail would result in higher course fees for your company – and who among us likes paying more than we must, right?

Do I need special technical skills to order online courses?

Not at all, the process is an easy one. The entire ordering process will only take a minute or two. However, we do recommend that you read the simple instructions in each window of the ordering process and download the course packages once prompted to do so. Please contact us at (313) 355-9132 if you have any questions regarding the ordering process.

What can you tell me about the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) / basic life support (BLS), and/or first aid (FA) instructor certification programs?

Please go to American CPR and First Aid Institute for information on the OSHA- and Joint Commission-compliant CPR/BLS and FA programs for home health agencies and nursing homes. For questions regarding acceptance or approval of the CPR/BLS and FA programs, please click here. If you still cannot find the information you are looking for on either one of those pages, please contact us. We are happy to help you!

* Please contact us online for multi-location discounts.