Home health aide training online: complete guide for 2024

What is online HHA certification?

Online home health aide (HHA) training takes place entirely over the internet. You can access the program using any smart device, tablet, laptop, or desktop PC, or our on-campus computer lab.

A typical online HHA training course uses a great deal of multimedia to visualize the educational content, including graphics, audio, videos, and links to online resources. Set quizzes and a final exam are also provided for you to assess your home health care learning.

Taking online classes for HHA certification may be just the right choice for you but you need to clear your head and make the right choice for you.

Keep reading to find out which path you should take: face-to-face instruction or online courses/classes.

Is online home health aide training a right fit for you?

Your sources of training are numerous and include:

Make sure you know the training requirements for your state.

What are online HHA classes?

As opposed to going to your local (or not so local college campus or wherever the courses are offered) you stay at home and complete the requirements of an online program.

You study the material using a computer connected to your school via the internet. Your computer can be a desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone or any other device that has an internet connection and allows you to connect to another location – basically that’s what the internet actually is.

In addition to studying online, you will take tests online, listen to lectures on training to be a home health aide, send and receive email messages well as discussion boards, etc.

It sounds overwhelming and it can be but the schools that offer this training do a good job of making it hassle-free to do all this online – but you will need to find the best one for you.

Ask the questions upfront and even get a demonstration of what it looks like before you commit.

The requirements are the same as if you were actually travelling to the classes everyday so don’t get fooled into thinking this is the easy way out and you do not need to do the work – wrong answer! You’ll need to work just as hard and smart but you can do it!

Perhaps you have been out of school for a while or have never even received your high school diploma – and that’s fine!

You can do this: you need to teach yourself how to study and the learning part will come.

Attaining your certification to be a home health aide from an online program may be the best move of your medical career as it’s not unheard of as it used to be just five years ago – lots of people do it and it is something for you to consider.

What Do The Online HHA Courses Look Like?

While each course/program is a little different this is what a HHA syllabus would look like (at least 75 hours):

More information on the advantages of online training.

Considerations For Online HHA Training

Convenience

Being online for all your courses means you can log on anywhere you have an internet connection so there’s no more jumping in your car or hopping in a bus to get to class.

You can study at your own pace as it fits into your unique situation.

Most students list the convenience factor as the best reason, though not the only one.

Flexibly To Hold a Job

It’s the real world. You may not be able to dive right in fulltime to your home health classes.

Many folks have a job whether part time are full time while they take their courses.

If you went to a campus for your classes then you may not be able to hold down that job and earn money until you get to be a certified home health aide.

HHA Training at Your Own Pace

Choosing an online program allows you to take them at your own pace and according to your schedule not others’. Some programs have a time limit but even those are more than enough.

For example, a program may state that you need to take all your courses within six months.

Well, you may have a lot on your schedule but you should be able to fulfill that!

Everyone’s different and we all learn differently with some faster than others.

Multiple Teachers

When you enroll in your online courses you may be able to reach out to multiple teachers for even more insight and help.

Many programs have a very deep bench of teachers and faculty meaning that you can contact (via email, text, Zoom video conferencing, etc.) another teacher in the program for some help on a particular topic. There is no scheduling a meeting – just send an email or text.

No Attention Deficit

Just because you do not show up at their doorstep doesn’t mean they won’t be give you the time an attention you deserve. These are not, for the most part(!), schools that simply setup online courses overnight – this is what they do and their reputation is on the line.

If you select a reputable school for your classes then you will get the attention you are owed.

After Hours HHA Classes

Here’s a rather obvious statement: your teachers are doing their job just like you. They are not sitting in an empty classroom on a campus waiting for your email. They are out and about working as a registered nurse, teaching another class, preparing a lecture, etc.

You can reach out to them anytime of the day and night – they may not get back to you at midnight but they may on a Friday night at 8PM when a typical college teacher may not. Your teachers will be accessible and available.

Time With Your Family

Candidates to be a home health aide are usually balancing many responsibilities – including family. Imagine the single mother juggling a couple of children, a part time job and taking courses at a college.

Take those courses on the Internet and she’s just freed up a bunch of hours each week to pend with her kids. Sometimes live doesn’t need to be as difficult if we make wiser choices.

Cost Savings of Online HHA Training

An online home health certification program can be much more affordable than an on-campus degree if you find the right one. If you’re like most folks struggling to make ends meet until you get certified then choosing an online program may be your best bet.

Do You Compute?

This may sound silly… but make sure you’re very comfortable reading lots of information on your computer.

Seriously. Everything will be online so that means either it is actually on your computer or you’re connected to the internet and reading from there – either way, you’re reading on your computer.

For some people this is a no-brainer but others prefer to read hard books. Think this through. Everything you see will be on that fancy computer of yours. Perhaps it’s time for an upgrade to your laptop?

Costs of The Online HHA Courses

Some classes / programs may only be a few hundred dollars but investigate these programs very closely. They may be too good to be true.

Most times (not always) you’ll get what you pay for so many of the slightly more pricey ones will give you the extra training you need as a home health aide.

With some of the programs costing about $1,000 you may be getting added bonuses such as:

• help finding a job
• extra study materials
• one-on-one coaching and mentoring
• use of their network of other HHA’s
• career counseling

Ask up front what you will be getting so you are not surprised!

Key Components of the Online Training Programs

You want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck and you also do not want any surprises along the way or, more importantly, at the end of your training.

Make sure you know the major points to look for when making the choice.

Accreditation of Courses

Your HHA training is no different than any other type of education you’ll get in your lifetime: make sure you align yourself with an accredited school.

Accreditation simply means that another company that grades schools has determined that organization to be of the highest standards and lives up to its promises of providing you what you’re paying for.

While this is a formal process that you have no control over it does affect you. The accreditation will help you separate a lousy training program from an outstanding one. Some states mandate that your training is administered by an accredited school.

Some states allow you to take your training from an approved school – not necessarily accredited but it is approved anyway by the state to be adequate for your training.

Some of the advantages of online courses include: flexibility, costs, life balance, focused training and cutting edge technology.

If you need the flexibility and enjoy working somewhat independently then consider an accredited program with a good reputation.

HHA Online Training Courses

Look into exactly what the course load will look like for your training.

Not all will be the same, of course, but they should have the basics and then some.

Following is a good example of what the course-load would look like!

Make Sure Your Online Training is Legit!

Website.

Compare websites of various courses. Don’t some look and feel better than others?

You’ll know right away which ones are more professional than others.

They good sites should have, among other things:

• testimonials from former students
• links for other resources
• articles and posts about home health aide
• contact information clearly positioned and not hidden deep into the site

Phone. Call the phone number on the website. Can’t find one? Go to the next online course on your list. No number – no business!

Take note of:

• who answers the phone?
• if you leave a message how long for a return call?
• are your questions answered?
• do they need to get back to you with answers?
• will they send you anything in the mail?

Accreditation. Super important and do not take this lightly.

Having a training course that is accredited is, in some ways, even more important that having an in person campus accredited.

If you’re online that’s all you have and can only email or phone them. If you run into an issue you may be stuck.

Do your homework upfront to avoid issues along the way. Finding out if an online training program is accredited should be a top priority.

Feedback. This should really be the easier part, sort of.

What do others say about the program? Granted, there may be a couple who have something negative to say but the majority of them should be positive for you to consider the course work.

Do your homework and ask the questions in order to make an educated decision.