Preparing for the Certified Nursing Assistant Exam

Getting into a nursing assistant career can often times be exciting. Training to become certified can last as few as 4 weeks and can last as long as 3-4 months. This depends on the amount of classes you need to attend, and each state requires different skills and certifications before you are able to enter the field. The minimum requirements are 75 hours worth of training and you will also have clinical or hands on experience as well. You are additionally going to have to take and pass a certified nursing assistant exam in order to become certified in this field.

There are many states that require you to register and take the exam at no later than 90 days after being trained and also completing all material and coursework assigned. Your coursework and cna training classes are going to be based on fundamentals and skills needed to successfully work in the field as a nursing assistant. If you are ever unsure of something, you will be responsible for asking for clarification before you register for the certified nursing assistant exam.

Requirements will vary from place to place as far as states go, but the base of the exam and training is all the same. Your training is both made up of clinical and written aspects. Your written part is just that; coursework out of textbooks and learning about the procedures needed in the field.

Your clinical part of the test is going to ask for you to show how well you know your skills and you are going to be asked to demonstrate anywhere from 3-5 skills at the time of your state test. You are going to be critiqued very strictly to ensure that you know your stuff. This part includes hands on techniques and can include:

• Making a bed

• Re-positioning

• Range of motion

• Grooming

• Denture care

• Catheter care and many more

General skills you are going to need to know include washing your hands and standard precautions to help protect you and the patient from unknown diseases. Making sure that the patient confidentiality is kept is crucial as well.

This part of the nursing assistant exam is often times nerve wracking as well as frustrating as you cannot become certified unless you do. There are several resources that can help you to know your stuff, and most times, people just get so nervous that they forget things, but in actuality they know what to do.

The person giving you your exam understands that these types of exams can be stressful at times, and therefore as long as you show an overall knowledge of what to do and how to care for a patient, they are going to score well so you pass your cna training.

Passing your Nursing Assistant exam is very important. Some employers will hire you once you have completed the program, but you must provide verification that you also passed your state exam within a specified timeframe to maintain that employment. Most states will allow you to find out right after the exam if you have passed or not. You will have the opportunity to retest if you don't pass the first time. There are rules regarding how many times you can take the test, the length of time between each testing, and the cost to retest. These things all vary by state guidelines.

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