By profession
For CNAs, dietary aides and caregivers: spot weight loss, dehydration and swallowing risks, serve the right IDDSI level and report changes within your role.
For: Certified nursing assistants (CNAs), nursing assistants, dietary aides, assisted-living caregivers and home health aides who serve meals, help residents eat and drink, or record intake.
Learn how to recognize the early signs of malnutrition, unintended weight loss, dehydration and swallowing problems in older adults, and what to do about them on your shift. You will practice checking trays against IDDSI food and drink levels, helping residents eat safely and with dignity, recording intake that is actually accurate, and reporting a change in condition using SBAR.
This course is built for the people who are at the table and the bedside at every meal: CNAs, nursing assistants, dietary aides, assisted-living caregivers and home health aides. It explains the federal nursing home rules behind meals and nutrition care, including 42 CFR 483.25(g) and 483.60, in plain language, and makes your scope of practice clear: you serve to the order, observe and report, and you never change textures, drink thickness or diets yourself.
Every module opens with a realistic US care situation and ends with practice: a branching lunch-shift scenario, two spot-the-error exercises on a real-looking intake record and lunch tray, an IDDSI sorting activity, a reporting decision tool, an SBAR builder and a self-assessment. You leave with a mealtime checklist, an SBAR and early-warning template, a reflection worksheet and an in-service sign-off record you can use at work.
What you’ll be able to do Monday morning
6 modules · 19 lessons · about 2 contact hours
Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check
Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check
Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check
Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check
Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check
Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check
Try it now, no account needed
A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.
Practice activities
Job aids you keep
This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not currently approved or accredited by any board of nursing, state nurse aide registry, state agency, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) or any other continuing education accreditor. Your employer decides whether to accept it as part of its in-service program, and some states add their own rules for nurse aide training. It is awareness education and does not replace a hands-on competency check of feeding assistance or positioning by a qualified nurse or therapist. Check with your employer, staff development coordinator, board or registry whether this course is accepted for your requirement.
Pathways we may pursue include use within facilities' nurse aide annual in-service programs (42 CFR 483.95(g) requires at least 12 hours per year, planned by each facility), nursing continuing education through an approver recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and continuing professional education recognition for dietetic professionals through the Commission on Dietetic Registration. None of these approvals exists today; the course page will show an approval only after it is granted.
Our full approvals listIt awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours. It is not approved or accredited by any board, registry or accreditor. Nurse aides in certified nursing homes need at least 12 hours of in-service a year under 42 CFR 483.95(g), and each facility decides what it accepts. Ask your staff development coordinator or employer whether this course fits your program.
CNAs, nursing assistants, dietary aides, assisted-living caregivers and home health aides who serve meals, help residents eat and drink, or record intake. It suits new staff and experienced aides who want a refresher on dysphagia, IDDSI levels and reporting. Nurses and supervisors can use it to plan unit in-service, but it is written at the aide level.
No. This is awareness training. Aides never change food textures, drink thickness or diet type; only the clinical team can change a diet order. The course teaches you to serve exactly to the order, recognize warning signs, and escalate to the nurse, speech-language pathologist or dietitian. Hands-on skills still need a competency check at your workplace.
The course teaches the federal nursing home rules that apply in every state, including 42 CFR 483.25(g) and 483.60. Assisted living and home care rules are set by each state, and state nurse aide rules define your exact tasks. The course tells you what to check locally, but it is not a state-specific edition.
Plan for about two hours, including six short modules, interactive practice and a 23-question final assessment with an 80% pass mark. After passing, you receive a certificate of completion showing the course title, contact hours and completion date, plus four downloadable job aids.
No. The course is general education. It does not diagnose, treat or recommend diets for any person. Always follow the resident's care plan, your facility's policies and the instructions of the nurse, physician, speech-language pathologist or dietitian. In an emergency, follow your facility's emergency procedure or call 911.
This course is general education and training awareness from CE Courses Hub on nutrition, hydration and dysphagia in long-term care. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies, your licensing board's rules, the resident's care plan, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.