AF Aid Society, Airman and Family Readiness Center help Air Force spouses succeed Published March 16, 2007 By Amanda Creel 78th ABW/PA Robins Air Force Base, Ga. -- The Air Force Aid Society and the Airmen and Family Readiness Center are joining together to empower Air Force active-duty spouses to pursue a career as a certified nursing assistant. The partnership, which was renewed recently, will allow a fourth class of 15 Robins spouses to complete the program and use the training to secure a job in the medical field. Along with paying for the instructional hours, the Air Force Aid will also provide a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, textbook, liability insurance and CPR training. Registration for the 15 spots will be Thursday through March 27 at the Airmen and Family Readiness Center and spots will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Officials at the A&FRC were relieved to receive the funding for the programs again this year because the program can be instrumental in giving spouses the tools needed to obtain a career, said Lena Jackson, a community readiness consultant. Robins applied for funding for the certified nursing assistants program because the medical profession is growing in Middle Georgia. To be eligible for the 15 spots, spouses must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent and a negative TB skin test before starting their clinical hours. Students who are accepted must provide a navy or black skirt or pants, a white shirt and white shoes to be worn at clinicals. Another advantage of the training is that it gives spouses an opportunity to see if they are ready to pursue a career in the medical profession, said Jim Brewer, community readiness technician. The course will begin April 2 at Middle Georgia Technical College and should be completed by May 25. The class schedule will be from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with clinicals from 7:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. for two days at a local health care facility. The training will include 99 classroom hours and 16 clinical hours and will enable the trainees to compete for positions at hospitals, doctor's offices, nursing homes, home health services and other providers of medical services. "It gives a lot of spouses who have never had any formal training an opportunity to get some formal training," Mr. Brewer said "This is training they can take with them to every base they go to, because every area you go to needs medical assistants." What to know: Anyone interested in registering for the certified nursing assistants course call the Airman Readiness Center at 926-1256.