Certified nursing assistant jobs are one of the fastest growing employment opportunities in the medical field. Demand for nurse aides is expected to continue to be high for the next twenty years, and deciding to become a CNA can be a smart career choice. CNA requirements for certification to be placed on the nurse aide registry in most states are not difficult to complete, but prospective students need to know how the system works.
Why Become a CNA?
CNA jobs cover nearly every aspect of the medical field, from personal care for patients in nursing homes to neonatal care in NICUs to office medical assisting in private practices. Anywhere that nurses work, certified nursing assistants generally work as well, covering duties that do not involve medical judgment but that are critical for proper patient care. For those potential students thinking of using a CNA job as a stepping stone to a nursing or MD position, the CNA classes are a perfect way to test the field.
Certified Nursing Assistant Classes Help with Requirements for Certification
Every state has slightly different CNA requirements, but all programs for certified nursing assistants must involve a minimum of 75 classroom hours and 16 clinical hours. Many certified nursing assistant classes require far more hours.
Potential sites for gaining CNA requirements for certification include courses held at:
- Online CNA classes through colleges
- Nursing homes and assisted living centers
- Red Cross CNA training
- Community colleges
- Four year colleges
- Hospitals
- Private CNA training centers
The basic CNA requirements for certification include:
- No felony convictions
- 18 or older (some states allow 17 year olds provisional status)
- Ability to read and write in English
- Ability to help lift patients
- Passing score on the state CNA exam
Some parts of the country are experiencing such extreme shortages of certified CNAs that nursing homes, hospitals, and state agencies are offering free CNA training.
Get on the Nurse Aide Registry
After completing a certified nursing assistant course and passing the CNA exam in the state, a newly-minted CNA is placed on the nurse aide registry. This certifies that the nurse aide is, in fact, fully certified and has met basic state requirements for this job within the medical field.
Certified nursing assistants who move from one state to the other need to check the new state's nurse aide registry requirements to be sure that certification can be transferred. Some states may have higher CNA requirements and the transferee might need to take continuing education courses or sit for the new state's exam.
Starting this new career can be a wonderful way to enter into the medical field, gain steady employment, make a solid salary and develop valuable skills. Whatever the motivation may be for choosing to become a CNA, knowing how to proceed through the sequence of steps will help prospective nurse aides to complete their goals and become certified – and employed.
Related Resources:
To learn more about how to become a CNA, please read the following articles:
Free CNA Training – learn how to find free classes at nursing homes, assisted living centers, and through state programs to gain CNA certification tuition-free.
Online CNA Classes – crunched for time, or finding it hard to get to a class? Learn about online courses for prospective nurse aides, with the majority of the work done from the comfort of home.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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