Skip to main content

Masthead

  • Member Login
  • Join Mass Senior Care
  • Contact
  • Search
    Advanced Search

Main navigation

  • About Us
    • Learn More About MSCA
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff Directory
    • Newsroom
      • Mass Senior Care Press Releases
      • Mass Senior Care in the News
  • Education & Events
    • Webinars / Education Programs
    • Education and Seminar Policies and Procedures
    • 2025 Leadership Conference - Attendee Registration & Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Save the Date for Mass Senior Care's 2025 Annual Meeting & Trade Show
  • Member Resources
    • E-News Updates
      • Past Newsletters
    • Member Updates
    • Preferred Vendors
    • Quality & Wellness Initiatives
      • Fight the Flu Campaign
      • The Massachusetts Healthcare Safety and Quality Consortium
      • Sepsis Smart
      • Care Transitions
      • Culture Change
      • End of Life Care
      • Falls Prevention
      • Reducing Off-Label Use of Antipsychotics
    • Regulatory
    • Policy Committees
    • Other Resources
      • MassMAP (LTC Mutual Aid Plan)
      • Activities Professional (MassCAP)
      • AHCA/NCAL Bookstore
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Center
    • Respect & Protect Nursing Home Caregiver Wages
  • Careers
    • Career Opportunities
    • Care For The Aging
    • Find a Job
    • Members Post a Job
  • For Consumers
    • Care Options
    • Find A Facility
    • How to Choose a Facility
    • Health Care Planning
    • Our Senior Care
  • Foundation

Massachusetts Resident Care Assistant Training Course

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Member Resources
  • E-News Updates
  • Massachusetts Resident Care Assistant Training Course
June 10, 2022

The Resident Care Assistant (RCA) role continues to be a critical entry-level position to recruit and retain the direct care workforce essential to meet the care needs of residents living in Massachusetts nursing facilities. RCA is a non-certified position created to support existing nursing staff, assist with resident care and create an accessible pipeline to future employment as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs.) Currently, RCA hours worked are counted towards the state’s HPPD requirement. Since 2020, more than 1,000 RCAs have been trained and hired in nursing facilities across the Commonwealth. Critical to ensuring a stable and qualified workforce, members are encouraged to provide training opportunities and develop pathways for RCAs to achieve certification to become CNAs.

 To establish the RCA role in member facilities, Mass Senior Care Association (MSCA) has worked with American Health Care Association, to update the 8-hour Temporary Nurse Aide training for RCAs. The Massachusetts Resident Care Assistant (RCA) 8-hour training course is now available free for MSCA members. This online training program provides initial instruction to new RCA recruits. After successfully completing the online training, RCAs receive additional onsite resident care training at the facility and undergo skills/competency assessment by the facility prior to beginning work.

Mass Senior Care has member resources on how to implement the RCA role within a facility and a guide to develop CNA training in-facility or through partnerships with local training providers.

  •  Resident Care Assistants Onboarding Toolkit (Updated)
  • CNA Training Guidebook

Nursing facilities can continue to hire RCAs and use the Massachusetts Resident Care Assistant (RCA) 8-hour training course after the end of the 1135 waiver on training and certification of nurse aides, as long as RCAs hired after June 6, 2022 comply with both state and federal regulations and complete CNA training and certification within four months of employment. 

Upcoming Education & Events

calendar icon
Jun
5

June 5 at 11:00 am

Patient Self-Determination Act and Health Care Proxies – What Health Care Providers Should Know

Jun
16

June 16 at 2:00 pm

2025 Leadership Conference

View Entire Calendar

Find a Facility

Recent News

newspaper icon
May 29, 2025
CMS Increased Oversight on States Using Federal Medicaid Funding for Health Care for Illegal Immigrants
May 29, 2025
May 29, 2025
View All Recent News

Find a Preferred Vendor

msca logo

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

State Affiliate Of

American Health Care Association Logo
National Center for Assisted Living Logo