The CNA certification process starts when you enroll in a certified nursing assistant (CNA) training program. The acronym CNA may also stand for certified nurse’s aide and certified nurse’s assistant. The actual term varies from place to place, but what they have in common is CNA certification. With the supervision of a licensed practical nurse, the CNA helps people with health care needs to do the activities of daily living and, in taking care of them, performs basic nursing tasks like taking their vital signs or administering CPR.
In a professional context, CNA certification lets you use this acronym after your name, or certain other acronyms depending on the place where you work, such as NAC (nursing assistant certified), nursing assistant – registered (NA/R), PCA (patient care assistant), STNA (state-tested nurse aide). In North America, the CNA certification is awarded when someone has completed CNA training program and passed the certification test.
CNA certification is centralized so that employers can verify CNA applicants’ training knowledge and experience, as well as avoid hiring those who have been taken off the nurse aide list in their state and who have had their CNA certification invalidated. Such people are no longer allowed to work in health care.
The CNA training program that you enroll in should be state approved, to give you the best opportunity of acquiring the relevant knowledge and specific set of skills that are vital for CNA certification. State-approved CNA training consists of a minimum of fifty hours of theory and a hundred hours of clinical training. Training programs usually take three months to complete. Once you finish the training course, your school may give a certificate of completion.
The next part is passing the CNA certification test. Passing scores in the written or oral exam as well as the practical exam are needed for the CNA credential. It is not just the knowledge you got from lectures, class work, and watching educational videos that is tested. The CNA skills learned from demonstrations, lab work, and role playing are an essential part of the CNA certification exam too.
You still have a chance if, on your first try, you do not get the CNA certification. Most states give candidates for certification three tries to take the certification test within the two years after they finished CNA training. Once you have it, maintaining CNA certification requires forty-eight hours of continuing education every two years.
CNA certification can open doors for you to find a job in a clinic, hospital, doctor’s office, nursing home, or a private residence. The certification gives eligibility for at least entry-level CNA positions, and those who have the certification are listed in the nurse aide registry for their state.
Think of CNA certification as a passport in the journey of a career as a certified nursing assistant. When you receive your CNA license, you can have more confidence as you go on your job search. Or you might even have a job waiting for you already, if an employer made you a job offer that required you to pass the CNA certification exam first.
Tags: acronyms, patient care assistant, certified nurse, Education, Assistant
