Career Center

Neurology, Epilepsy, and Spine

Free Care Partner Training - Earn While You Learn !!!

Interested in caring for patients but have no prior experience or formal healthcare education? Begin a new career as a Care Partner at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), recognized as a leader in global healthcare, and one of Tennessee's largest employers that continues to expand.

What is a Care Partner?
At VUMC, Care Partners provide care to patients in the hospital setting under the supervision of a registered nurse. Care Partner is a "non-licensed" position, meaning no specialized degree is required and minimal qualifications need to be met to be considered as a candidate.

We call these team members Care Partners, but other organizations might call them Nurses Aids, Nursing Techs, Nursing Assistants, Patient Care Techs, etc.

What does a Care Partner do?
Care Partners assist with the personal care of patients (adult and/or pediatrics), including:
- bathing, feeding, toileting, and changing beds
- aiding in daily activities (walking, sitting, etc)
- taking vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing)
- documenting computerized patient information

Care Partners are not responsible for:
- giving medications
- patient assessment
- managing an independent patient assignment

Vanderbilt Care Partner Academy (VCPA), developed to create confident Care Partners:
At VUMC, we want all our employees--including Care Partners--to be successful in their careers.

We created Vanderbilt Care Partner Academy (VCPA), a five-week orientation program, to acclimate individuals without previous healthcare experience to be comfortable interacting with patients while providing safe and compassionate care in the hospital setting.

Before working with patients directly, participants are hired as Care Partner Trainees and must complete VCPA. After successful completion of the program, Care Partner Trainees will be transferred into a Care Partner role and begin working directly with patients as contributing members of the VUMC healthcare team.

Earn while you learn! VCPA offers paid training (no tuition or fees to participate in the program). Care Partner Trainees are considered full-time and eligible for benefits (including health, dental, vision) and additional perks that come with being a Vanderbilt employee.

VCPA is open currently only to VUMC employees in support of our Internal Mobility initiative.

What does the five-week VCPA program cover?
VCPA is offered monthly (excluding December).
Weeks 1 through 4 are Monday through Friday, 7am to 3pm, consisting of:
* 3 weeks of classroom instruction, including skills practice on mannequins
* 1 week of clinical skill training/practice in a clinical area
Week 5 (schedule will vary):
* unit-specific orientation with a preceptor

After completion of VCPA and transitioning roles from Care Partner Trainee to Care Partner, shifts may vary by unit.

What type of training does VCPA provide?
* Basics of patient care
* Use of commonly used hospital equipment
* Functioning as an important member of the nursing team
* Communicating with patients and their families
* Medical terminology
* Caring for a diverse patient population with a variety of health issues
* Training on VUMC's Electronic Record Documentation System (E-Star)
* Certification in basic life support

Post-Program Completion includes:
* Coaching
* Ongoing opportunities to continue to learn and build skills

What are the qualifications/requirements to be considered for VCPA?
* Open to VUMC Staff and Non-VUMC Staff
* No previous healthcare experience required
* Non-licensed position; no specialized healthcare degree required
* 18 years or older
* High school graduate or GED
* Will need to pass a background check
* COVID vaccinated (VUMC can provide at no charge)

Interview Process and Acceptance into VCPA:
* One of our talent specialists will contact you to schedule an interview.
* Interviews are done either in-person or virtually (via phone or computer).

Achieve the Remarkable:

Learn more about VUMC Nursing:

• Nursing Careers: http://www.vumcnursingcareers.com/index.html

• Benefits: http://www.vumcnursingcareers.com/benefits.html

• Our Nursing Philosophy: http://www.vumcnursingcareers.com/philosophy.html

• Our Nursing Leadership: http://www.vumcnursingcareers.com/leadership.html

• Shared Governance: http://www.vumcnursingcareers.com/shared-governance.html

• Education & Professional Development: http://www.vumcnursingcareers.com/professional-development.html

• VUMC Nursing: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=vanderbilt-nursing

High School Diploma or GED (or equivalent experience)

Licensure, Certification, and/or Registration (LCR):

None required

• Physical Requirements/Strengths needed & Physical Demands:

  • Occasional: Chemicals and Gasses: Medications, cleaning chemicals, oxygen, other medical gases used in work area.

  • Frequent: Pathogens: Risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens and other contagious illnesses.

  • Heavy Work category requiring exertion of 50 to 100 lbs. of force occasionally and/or up to 20 to 50 lbs. of force frequently and/or up to 10 to 20 lbs. of force continually to move objects.

• Movement

  • Occasional: Lifting over 35 lbs: Raising and lowering objects from one level to another, includes upward pulling over 35 lbs, with help of coworkers or assistive device

  • Occasional: Carrying under 35 lbs: Transporting an object holding in hands, arms or shoulders, with help of coworkers or assistive device.

  • Occasional: Bending/Stooping: Trunk bending downward and forward by bending spine at waist requiring full use of lower extremities and back muscles

  • Occasional: Climbing: Ascending or descending stairs/ramps using feet and legs and/or hands and arms.

  • Occasional: Kneeling: Bending legs at knees to come to rest on knee or knees.

  • Occasional: Crouching/Squatting: Bending body downward and forward by bending legs and spine. Reaching above shoulders: Extending arms in any direction above shoulders.

  • Occasional: Reaching above shoulders: Extending arms in any direction above shoulders.

  • Occasional: Fingering: Picking, pinching, gripping, working primarily with fingers requiring fine manipulation.

  • Frequent: Sitting: Remaining in seated position

  • Frequent: Push/Pull: Exerting force to move objects away from or toward.

  • Frequent: Lifting under 35 lbs: Raising and lowering objects under 35 lbs from one level to another

  • Frequent: Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing, crouching or maneuvering self, patient and equipment simultaneously while working in large and small spaces

  • Frequent: Reaching below shoulders: Extending arms in any direction below shoulders.

  • Frequent: Handling: Seizing, holding, grasping, turning or otherwise working with hand or hands.

  • Frequent: Bimanual Dexterity: Requiring the use of both hands.

  • Frequent: Standing: Remaining on one's feet without moving.

  • Continuous: Walking: Moving about on foot.

  
  Sensory:

  • Frequent: Communication: Expressing or exchanging written/verbal/electronic information.

  • Continuous: Auditory: Perceiving the variances of sounds, tones and pitches and able to focus on single source of auditory information

  • Continuous: Vision: Clarity of near vision at 20 inches or less and far vision at 20 feet or more with depth perception, peripheral vision, color vision.

  • Continuous: Smell: Ability to detect and identify odors.

  • Continuous: Feeling: Ability to perceive size, shape, temperature, texture by touch with fingertips.