School Objectives and Rationale
The opening of CNA Preparatory School is supported by the necessity to effectively prepare applicants for state examination that has to be passed in order to obtain the license of the Certified Nurse Assistant. The major objectives of the school include:
- to give students the idea of health care field occupied by nursing assistants;
- to introduce basic competencies that are required to obtain the license;
- to provide students with specific knowledge in narrow areas of application for them to become specialized professionals;
- to give students guidelines that would be necessary to align with national and state laws for getting access to the nursing assistant positions in health care institutions;
- to ensure the opportunity to continue education and acquire new knowledge and skills after completing the initially required program.
School Mission
The mission of the CNA school is to provide educational opportunities that are focused on both theoretical knowledge and practical skills that would give students the notion of their duties and responsibilities to provide high-quality health care.
The school recognizes the importance of proper preparation that develops not only professional but also personal qualities such as self-confidence, dignity, ethical standards, etc. Thus, the mission of the school also includes individual development.
The Keys to Success of the School
While searching for the best possible variant of a CNA school, future students may encounter a lot of various options as a huge number of colleges and universities offer nursing preparatory courses. The following factors should serve as keys to the popularity and success of the school I am going to open:
- the school will be certified by the state and offer its students certified curriculum answering all the standards;
- it will provide clear and comprehensive programs without attempting to confuse students with a huge number of different titles for a nursing assistant that mean one and the same thing; the emphasis will be put on quality, not on the seeming variety;
- the school will ensure the opportunity to learn and work under the supervision of a registered nurse or a doctor;
- it will give students a chance to obtain practical experience through helping patients in various settings including hospitals, nursing homes, day healthcare institutions, and even at their homes;
- the CNA school will encourage research projects that will be aimed to track the dynamics of the patient’s condition and deduce theoretical implications of the changes that take place;
- the school will not only teach students to provide care and supervise treatment but will also give them practical skills that are contiguous with their direct responsibilities (e.g., assisting patients in bathing, toiletry, making their beds, tiding their places, putting on and taking off their clothes, etc.)
- theoretical classes will interchange with practical tasks for students to be able to establish connections between practice and theory;
- classroom instructions provided by the school will include not only an introductory course to healthcare but also information on psychology, patient safety, nutrition, readmission, risk groups, intensive treatments, etc.;
- the school will give students an opportunity to have the latest immunization in the process of a physical examination that will have to undergo;
- the tuition that the school is going to charge will also cover additional accreditations courses so that students will not have to pay extra for them;
- the duration of the preparatory program will be flexible (from four up to eighteen weeks according to the individual needs), which means that students will be able to regulate the duration of their practice in clinical settings;
- all the students will be prepared to pass the required state examination;
- online training will be offered to those who cannot afford the tuition or cannot be present in person.
Target Market and Segmentation
The target market of the school will include women aged between 25 and 55, possessing a high school diploma. The school will be situated in Florida, which means that the population will be able to pay fees set by the school for the quality of the education. Moreover, the area is characterized by the increasing number of individuals who are looking for the position of nurses, which creates the demand for education.
The market is going to be segmented:
- geographically;
- by race;
- by age;
- by education (no high school diploma, GED certificate, high school diploma, etc.);
- by income;
- psychologically.
Industry Trends and Competition
There is a growing demand for higher education in the region; however, most schools do not specialize in nursing training and offer a number of different courses in lots of areas.
It means that most students will be eager to join the school as it will give them a chance to become CNA in the short term. There will be very little competition because of the narrow specialization of the school.
Competitive Pricing of the Program
The pricing of the program will be identified by the costs of its promotion and the profit that is expected. In order to allow the school to stay competitive, the price of the course will include not only preparation but also two attempts of the examination.
This way, students will have more trust in the program because of the extra chance to pass the accreditation and will have to pay less for the course as the total sum will cover the cost of the examination.
Advertising Strategy and Methods of the School
To win the target audience, the school will invest in advertising via social networks and influential search engines such as Google. Moreover, placing an advertisement in local newspapers may also be applicable to the situation.
A campaign will be launched to visit schools and encourage high school students to join the profession. Therefore, the methods will include both direct and indirect contact with the target audience.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
The price of the course will cover all the required expenses, which means that the students will not have to pay extra. This approach will simplify the process.
However, this strength can be undermined because of the flexible curriculum as most schools adhere to the fixed period of training (app. 3-4 weeks), which allows them to have a bigger number of students.
If the school is successful, there is an opportunity to open several others in the neighboring regions for students to be able to choose the most comfortable location. The venture may be threatened by the decline in the popularity of the profession as well as by the absence of the required number of educational specialists.
Competitive Edge and Marketing Strategy
The competitiveness of the course will be maintained by the quality of the education that it is going to ensure. Moreover, the program will be taught in a considerably different manner as compared to other CNA schools since it is going to be individualized.
The payment plan will also provide a competitive advantage. The marketing strategy will be aimed at and informing potential students why the conditions and pricing are much more profitable than those proposed by other institutions. The emphasis will be made on flexibility, advanced technology, qualified educators, and the opportunity to study online.
Enrollment Strategy and Forecasts
The enrollment strategy will depend on demand. If the forecasted number of students will be exceeded, it will be necessary to introduce competition in the form of preliminary tests. Another option is to create a waiting list for those whose preparation is not so urgent. However, with the opening of other schools, the problem is likely to be resolved for good.
Milestones, Accreditation, and Program Approval
Milestones are going to mark specific points of the project timeline. The first significant milestone will be the state exam after the preparation. Another one will come with the results of the second try when the mistakes of the previous course are taken into consideration.
The school will seek state accreditation and approval of the curriculum in order to ensure the quality of the preparation. For this purpose, the state committee will be invited to assess the correspondence of the institution to the national standards.
Personnel
The educators for the school will be selected among the nurses and nurse educators that have already had the experience in preparation of students for the state exam for them to know the peculiarities of the procedure.
Breakeven Analysis and Revenue
According to the preliminary estimations, the business will be able to cover all the expenses in about two years as the startup costs for educators’ salaries, technology, and program development will have been covered by this moment. The revenue is going to be small in the next 3-5 years but is expected to grow.
Emergency Cases or Debt
In case of emergency or bad debt, the school will be able to continue its operations online until the debt is paid or the normal functioning is restored.