Dining Assistant

Course Overview

This 8-hour On-Line course is intended to help prepare the non-nursing volunteer or employed staff person to provide dining assistance in a healthcare facility in South Dakota. The healthcare facility must first obtain Dining Assistant Training Program approval from the South Dakota Department of Health. The facility will provide a minimum of a 2-hour clinical precepted by a Registered Nurse to meet the requirements of a 10-hour Dining Assistant Training Program. The On-Line curriculum meets SD DOH requirements for the 8-hour classroom instruction. The healthcare facility is responsible for maintaining training program completion documentation.

The On-Line curriculum goal is to provide instruction for the dining assistant who will provide residents with help in eating and drinking to reduce unplanned weight loss and dehydration. The dining assistant will be able to provide assistance in a safe and dignified manner to residents in the healthcare facility who do not have complicated feeding problems as assessed by the facility nurse.

The Dining Assistant may not assist any residents with aspects of dining until he/she has successfully completed the entire documented 10-hour approved Dining Assistant program (online training and clinical training/supervision by an RN).

Program Design

• Help volunteers and non-nursing facility staff to understand their role in the Dining process including legal and ethical implications.
• Help nursing assistants become knowledgeable to ensure residents’ rights are met.
• Help nursing assistants expand their skills in interpersonal interactions leading to independence.
• Help nursing assistants provide safe dining and related care including infection prevention.
• Provide a training focus on specific skills and tasks while providing a broader understanding on the dining experience in concepts prior to, during, and post-dining.
• Provide training utilizing a variety of learning modes designed to fit the unique way each student learns, i.e. on-line self-paced style and clinical practice of assisting residents with dining, as precepted by a Registered Nurse.

Benefits

In addition to specific content to prepare for the person in helping with the dining process, the program addresses the facility and resident care needs in providing a timely, quality dining experience. The content is designed to comply with federal and state requirements for dining assistance in a variety of healthcare settings.

Forms

• Course Syllabus
• Training Documentation

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