CNA Certification Requirements

The certification exam for aspiring nursing aides is the last step toward becoming a full-fledged certified nursing assistant (CNA). You must obviously pass the two parts of the CNA certification exam before your name can be added to the state's registry of nursing aides. You are then required to renew your certification every two years subject to certain provisions, which may or may not include advanced CNA training as part of the continuing education mandate for all professionals in the healthcare industry. Did you know, however, that there are two routes toward taking the CNA certification exam?

Straight to Formal Training Path

The first obvious path, not to mention the most common, is via a formal CNA training program. You can enroll either in a brick-and-mortar establishment like technical-vocational schools and community colleges or in online sites with similar curricula. Your choice largely depends on your needs and wants (i.e., budget, distance to school, and lifestyle).

The training program consists of two parts, namely, classroom instruction and clinical work. During classroom instruction, you will be taught about the principles and practices of patient care along with anatomy and physiology, code of conduct and communication skills, and emergency procedures and hospital protocol, among others. During clinical work, you will be exposed to the actual working environment of certified nursing aides in settings like hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The training period range from 6 to 12 weeks depending on the school or site. After successful compliance of the requirements for graduation, you are then eligible to take the CNA certification exam.

Pass the Certification Examination

The second path is less obvious but more hands-on in more ways than one. This is known as the CNA challenge where qualified individuals can take the certification exam without taking the entire training program. In short, if you qualify for the CNA challenge, you can skip schooling but certain criteria must be complied with.

To mention a few of the special criteria for the CNA challenge, which are in effect in states like Missouri:

• Individuals who have completed a course on Fundamentals of Nursing during a RN or LPN program; said course must include clinical rotation within the last 5 years

• Individuals who have failed the RN or LPN licensure exam

• Individuals who have completed their nursing degrees outside of the United States and are in the process of taking their RN licensure exam

• Individuals who have been employed and trained in long-term care health facilities for at least 12 months

• Individuals with CNA certificates from another state who wish to transfer their certification to their present state of residence.

Regardless of which path you take toward your CNA certificate, just make sure that you will live up to the demands of the profession.


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