How to become a CNA: Training and Certification

What does it mean to become a CNA? A CNA or a certified nursing assistant is one of the primary health care providers in any clinical settings. They belong to the unlicensed assistive personnel in a health care setting. They are usually referred as nursing assistants. Still, the government requires them to be at least certified to be able to give health care.

How does one become a CNA?

Before becoming a nurse you need to have training. A CNA isn’t any different. That’s why you need to have CNA training first before becoming one. Here are the requirements you need to become a CNA:

·      GED or high school diploma

·      Physical fitness

·      General health

·      Lack of criminal record

·      Basic communication skills

·      Good mental health

·      6 to 12 weeks of CNA training

To prepare you for the training you need to know the classes being offered. You will be learning about the fundamentals of patient care. Patient privacy is also a subject. In case of emergencies where a licensed personnel is not within reach, basic first aid must be learned. As a frontline member in health care, nutrition and feeding is very important. Also to prevent miscommunication with other allied health, you need to learn medical terminology. Finally, you need to know various nursing procedures.

The beauty about the CNA classes is that you don’t have to be in a physical classroom all of the time. In fact, the minimum 75 class hours can be done in the comfort of your home.

You might wonder if that is legal. Yet it is as the CNA education program has a number of quality control measures to ensure that a CNA is competent in work.

You will have to undergo a 16 hour practical exam. This will test if you can apply what you learned in a clinical setting.

After finishing the training, you are now ready to take the CNA certification exam. It’s that easy!