Care Partner Trainee

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Job Summary:

Assist with the delivery of patient care and maintenance of unit environmental standards under the supervision of a licensed nurse.

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We are now hiring Care Partner Trainees for our January 5, 2026 cohort!!

Interested in caring for patients but have no experience or formal healthcare education? Begin a new career as a Care Partner also known as a Nursing Assistant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

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

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) 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.


What does the program cover?
The training program is offered monthly.
Weeks 1 through 3 are Monday through Friday, 7am to 3pm, consisting of:
• 2 weeks of classroom instruction, including skills practice on mannequins
• 1 week of clinical skill training/practice in a clinical area
• 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.
• Day positions work 6:45 am to 7:15 pm, three 12-hour shifts per week
• Night positions work 6:45 pm to 7:15 am, three 12-hour shifts per week
• Full-time care partners work three 12-hour shifts per week on a rotating schedule, which includes weekends and holidays.

What type of training does the program 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
• Training on VUMC’s Electronic Record Documentation System (E-Star)
• Certification in basic life support

**DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR CNA CERTIFICATION

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

What are the 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

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist with the delivery of patient care and maintenance of unit environmental standards under the supervision of a licensed nurse.

•     Assists with day-to-day delivery of patient care.

•     Facilitates efficient and safe patient care and flow by following work area standards.

•     Serves as a liaison for communication and education of patient and family needs.

•     Supports unit operations and patient flow by maintaining supplies, equipment, and unit environmental standards.               

•     The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

• CLINICAL COMPETENCIES (Fundamental Awareness): Demonstrates sufficient fundamental awareness to assist and perform clinical care including but not limited to vital signs, phlebotomy, specimen collection, and point of care testing as directed by unit standards.
• CARE PARTNER PATIENT DOCUMENTATION (Fundamental Awareness): Has limited experience or training working with clinical applications for patient documentation.
• ENVIRONMENT OF CARE (Fundamental Awareness): Has limited experience or training working with set up and maintenance of patient rooms, supplies and equipment.
• PLANNING & ORGANIZING (Fundamental Awareness) Demonstrates ability to understand basic resource needs, identify discrete tasks, define dependencies, schedule activities, meet deadlines, and organize work for own assignments and responsibilities. Understands and identifies with the basic goals and values of the organization.

Core Accountabilities:

* Organizational Impact: Performs clearly defines tasks and methods described in detail to achieve standardized solutions that impact own performance with regular guidance. * Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Follows a well established process to solve routine problems where solutions are clearly prescribed. * Breadth of Knowledge: Has basic job knowledge of systems and procedures that are common to own job. * Team Interaction: Individually contributes to the team.

Core Capabilities :

Delivering Excellent Services : Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. Solves Complex Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns in a timely manner. Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support. Ensuring High Quality : Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards. Ensures Continuous Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond. Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department. Managing Resources Effectively: Demonstrates Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. Stewards Organizational Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources.Makes Data Driven Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error. Fostering Innovation :Generates New Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them. - Applies Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action. - Adapts to Change: Embraces changes by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :

Less than 1 year

Education

High School Diploma or GED (Required)

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Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.