First, as a nurse aide program director, I agree that NA students should be allowed to have clinical hours committed to a hospital setting. Most hospitals only require an entry level NA experience to practice in the acute care setting. 

I do believe that nurses who are teaching in the NA program should have long-term care and acute care experience. These experiences will help ensure a good learning environment for the students and ensure that they are receiving good feedback. 

I do NOT believe that we should decrease the number of students to instructor as 10:1 is the standard for all nursing programs. This number is doable and should be decreased if the facilities and faculty are available to provide a lower student-teacher ratio. Again, we have to think about our resources within our communities. 

Thank you for your consideration of these comments.