Demystifying the Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA Examination
Are you anxious of taking the certified nursing assistant or CNA certification exam? They say that anxiety is the fear of unknown. So blast away that fear about the CNA exam by educating yourself!
The certification of CNAs started when hospitals began hiring nursing assistants or NAs. The NAs worked under the supervision of a registered nurse. Unfortunately, there were a lot of incidents and reports regarding NAs. Most of them were unfamiliar with nursing procedures. Some proved to be a danger after using their self-taught knowledge in actual patient care. The government then created the CNA program in an effort to provide qualified health workers.
Therefore, the exam is very difficult for those without CNA training. The CNA exam is divided into two parts. Understanding the parts will help you decide whether you need CNA training or not.
Theoretical or Written CNA Exam
The first part is the written examination. Theory about patient care will be tested. There will be also questions about some common diseases and disorders, basic anatomy and laws regarding CNAs.
The written portion of the exam is multiple choice questions. That’s a 25% of getting the right answer. Examiners will allot two hours to complete this test. Only those that have completed this part will move on the next part of the exam.
Practical or Skills CNA Exam
The second part is a bit difficult. This will test if you actually had training to become a CNA. Theory can be learned, written exams can be cheated. So this portion is the deciding factor. Nursing procedures will be tested. You are also asked to perform various procedures of a certified nursing assistant. Skills will be graded with the use of a scale. Of course, you can’t do all of the procedures. The procedures that you will be demonstrating will be randomly given.
That doesn’t seem to be too hard. Now that you know about the CNA examination, you can now enroll in CNA classes. It will help you with the exam and in the future when you become employed.
The certification of CNAs started when hospitals began hiring nursing assistants or NAs. The NAs worked under the supervision of a registered nurse. Unfortunately, there were a lot of incidents and reports regarding NAs. Most of them were unfamiliar with nursing procedures. Some proved to be a danger after using their self-taught knowledge in actual patient care. The government then created the CNA program in an effort to provide qualified health workers.
Therefore, the exam is very difficult for those without CNA training. The CNA exam is divided into two parts. Understanding the parts will help you decide whether you need CNA training or not.
Theoretical or Written CNA Exam
The first part is the written examination. Theory about patient care will be tested. There will be also questions about some common diseases and disorders, basic anatomy and laws regarding CNAs.
The written portion of the exam is multiple choice questions. That’s a 25% of getting the right answer. Examiners will allot two hours to complete this test. Only those that have completed this part will move on the next part of the exam.
Practical or Skills CNA Exam
The second part is a bit difficult. This will test if you actually had training to become a CNA. Theory can be learned, written exams can be cheated. So this portion is the deciding factor. Nursing procedures will be tested. You are also asked to perform various procedures of a certified nursing assistant. Skills will be graded with the use of a scale. Of course, you can’t do all of the procedures. The procedures that you will be demonstrating will be randomly given.
That doesn’t seem to be too hard. Now that you know about the CNA examination, you can now enroll in CNA classes. It will help you with the exam and in the future when you become employed.
