Busy Caregiver? Complete Your Caregiver Certification Online

You may be thinking about building on your existing skills and becoming a certified caregiver by taking a caregiver certification course. This option offers many benefits to both you and your care recipient. 

However, it may have been a long time since you’ve been back to school. Although writing down lecture notes in notebooks, studying at the library, and catching up with friends at lunch may spark some positive memories, going back to in-person learning may not be realistic (or even fun-sounding) to balance with your already hefty list of caregiving responsibilities. 

It’s easy to feel intimidated. You may be telling yourself that you don’t have the time, the energy, or even the space in your schedule for learning new skills. The good news is many classes and courses are offered online–including caregiver certification courses! There are many benefits to an e-learning format for caregiver certification that can help take away some of the stress and burden of an in-person learning format. 

7 Reasons Why Online Caregiver Certification Is For You

Online delivery can be helpful for all kinds of caregivers–regardless of their profession or caregiving background–including:

• New caregivers
• Experienced caregivers
• A family caregiver or unpaid caregiver
• A professional caregiver in caregiver jobs like:
  • Personal Care Aide (PCA)
  • Home Health Aide (HHA)
  • Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• Caregivers working in assisted living facilities, healthcare facilities, or home health contexts

Check out the 7 reasons why many caregivers find online caregiver training to be a format that works for them. 

1. Quality Education & Caregiver Training

Research has shown that web-based caregiver education has been just as effective as in-person options. When taking your caregiver certification course, you can be sure that the quality care skills you’re building are the same ones you’d learn in the classroom. Depending on factors like your state or professional development needs, there may be certain training requirements that the caregiver training program must meet.

2. Works With Your Caregiving Schedule

The best part about online caregiver training is that it’s flexible–you can do it whenever you want! All you need to do is set aside some time. It can be a longer period one day, and a shorter time the next. You can even take some time away from the course if you need to. This means that you can fit in a lesson while your care recipient is taking their afternoon nap, or you can complete your certification exam while they’re at adult day care. Online delivery makes balancing caregiver certification with caregiving duties, family, work, and other commitments much more realistic. 

This flexibility also means you can become a certified caregiver and still learn at your own pace. You don’t have to complete lessons by a certain time or even at the same time as other learners–which many caregivers in research studies have found to be an advantage of online learning. Some lessons may take you less time, and others longer. You’ll likely also have access to course materials whenever you want to see them for review. 

3. Learn Anywhere

You don’t need to spend hours in a classroom to become a certified caregiver. All you need to access an online caregiver certification course is a computer and a reliable internet connection, which means you can do it from the comfort of your own home. For some people, this can help them feel calmer and more relaxed while they complete their caregiver training.

However, if you don’t want to work from home, you don’t have to! This also means that you can work towards your caregiver certification from anywhere you want. Here are some possible places where you can learn on the go:

• A coffee shop
• A doctor’s or therapist’s waiting room 
• The library
• Anywhere with a reliable internet connection while traveling

4. Apply Your Skills Immediately

Since you’re already a caregiver, you’ll be able to start applying your new skills as soon as you learn them. This can help you provide safer, higher-quality care sooner to your care recipient or patients.

You can also test your knowledge in content-based quizzes, which can give you valuable information about where you need to focus your attention and where you’re a pro!

5. Support Your Mental Health & Confidence In Care

In studies on caregivers of people with dementia, research has shown that online caregiver education programs help caregivers in the areas of:

• Self-efficacy (belief in your own abilities)
• Dementia knowledge
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Goal setting

This means that by accessing certified caregiver training, you’ll be building your care skills while also supporting yourself. Whether you work in home health, assisted living, a nursing home, or are a family caregiver, everyone can benefit from increased confidence and mental health support. 

6. Save Money, Time & Energy

Online courses tend to be less expensive and more accessible than in-person options. This means you can save on course materials, tuition, fees, commuting back and forth, and other education costs. By accessing your caregiver certification training online, you’re building valuable skills for less money and less time invested. 

7. Access Additional Caregiver Resources & Support 

Once you complete your caregiver certification training, you may not want to stop there. One of the benefits of these courses is that oftentimes, they can connect you with a whole host of other specialized training courses, educational articles, resources, and opportunities to connect with other caregivers just like you. 

These additional resources can help you:

• Gain additional knowledge
• Learn how to perform certain care tasks from demonstration videos
• Get the answers to important questions
• Practice what you’d do in common care situations
• Save and print helpful guides and tools to use with your care recipient or patients
• Share, support, and learn from other caregivers in live groups, webinars, or chat forums

Trualta offers many of these online resources and tools, which are designed to help you stay up to date with best care practices and continue your education. Many of these resources come in different education formats, which help meet the needs of different learning styles. We also offer opportunities to connect with other caregivers in the form of support groups and our caregiver forum. Check if you have free access. 

Taking The Leap

Which one of the benefits of online caregiver training is the most appealing to you?  

When you’re ready to take the next step in your caregiver professional development journey, check if you have free access to Trualta’s online caregiver certification course. 

References

1. Rottenberg S, Williams A. Web-Based Delivery of the Caregiving Essentials Course for Informal Caregivers of Older Adults in Ontario: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study. JMIR Aging. 2021 Jun 15;4(2):e25671. doi: 10.2196/25671. Erratum in: JMIR Aging. 2022 Aug 31;5(3):e42215. doi: 10.2196/42215. PMID: 34128815; PMCID: PMC8277394.
2. Sztramko R, Levinson AJ, Wurster AE, Jezrawi R, Sivapathasundaram B, Papaioannou A, Cowan D, St Onge J, Marr S, Patterson C, Woo T, Mosca L, Lokker C. Online Educational Tools for Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Scoping Literature Review. Can Geriatr J. 2021 Dec 1;24(4):351-366. doi: 10.5770/cgj.24.506. PMID: 34912490; PMCID: PMC8629496.
3. https://www.nccdp.org/pros-and-cons-of-online-caregiver-training/#:~:text=Opting%20for%20online%20caregiver%20training,limited%20access%20to%20caregiver%20certification.