Many of the organizations and businesses that offer free CNA classes are nursing homes or long term care facilities. There are some hospitals that may offer this type of training but it is rare. A person that is interested in becoming a certified nursing assistant through a free program would have to contact the nursing homes and long term care facilities in the area to find out which ones offer this type of program. Not all facilities offer free CNA training so you have to do a little research in order to locate the places that do. You may be able to contact the State Board of Nursing to get a list of approved CNA training programs. This will help you narrow down the list of places to contact regarding free nursing assistant training.

The nursing homes and long term care facilities that offer free training classes do so with the intention of creating a strong, well trained employee. If you accept the chance to complete a free nursing assistant program then you must realize that the company that provides the training will expect you to accept employment at their facility after certification. They will require that you stay employed at their facility for a specific amount of time. In some cases you may have to sign a contract agreeing to remain employed for a certain length of time.

The free nursing assistant training provided will include both written and practical sections just as any other program. In order for most nursing programs to be state approved they must offer a minimum number of learning hours for both the classroom and the clinical portions of the program. Programs offered through a long term care facility or a nursing home are no different. Participants in the free program will have to participate in classroom learning to gain knowledge of the nursing assistant profession. Likewise, the clinical portion of the program may be performed within the nursing home or long term care facility amongst patients. This is a great way to obtain the needed skills to become a certified nursing assistant.

After completing the program some facilities will allow you to work in their organizations while you are waiting to take the test to become a certified nursing assistant. Some facilities will even pay for you to take the certification test. Upon successfully passing the CNA certification test you will work at the facility that provided the free training. You will be able to work a variety of shifts which will include 8 or 12 hours shifts that will more than likely include weekends. You have the choice of working mornings, evenings or overnight shifts. Committing to work in a nursing home in exchange for nursing assistant training can prove to be very profitable for your future.

With the availability of free CNA training classes, anyone with the desire can enter this exciting and rewarding field, and launch themselves into one of the most worthwhile professions there are. If you’ve wanted to enter the health care field but were concerned about the cost of education, you no longer have that barrier.

The Care-Giver

A CNA is definitely not the most glorified job in the field of nursing, no matter where they are deployed, be it a hospital, clinic, nursing home or whatever. But it is certainly one of the most vital. The daily operations carried out – the duties of a certified nursing assistant – are the basis of what drives smooth operations, and it may be a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. The beauty of being in the front-line is that it set standards for the good well being of the patient in care.

Sick people who are helpless are in general very grateful for the smallest things, just being helped to sit comfortably, or a refreshing bed bath, feels better to some patients than any medicine in the world. Compassion and skill is what sets the CAN apart from the rest and makes them the best. It is this that helps patients enjoy a stress free recovery, or event eh last days of their lives, and being stress free, is like winning the lottery, finally you can relax! This is how important the CNA job is.

The Career

Many of the best RN’s used being a CNA as a stepping stone to enter this career, it is a fantastic entry point into a nursing career. And it doesn’t matter what job you do, having to start from the bottom rung of the ladder always stands a person in better stead in the long run. Why do you think so many big business men start their sons off in the mail-room where they start. Because it is a good life lesson and you don’t come on board with the same arrogance as a hot shot graduate might in an instant management position.

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Programs

Certified Nursing Assistant Programs ensure that the trainee is ready to start working with real live patients in the shortest possible time. They are even able to teach RN graduates a thing or two about working with people when they come onto the wards for the first time after sitting in a classroom for so long.

They require a GED or High School Diploma and the completion of a 6 – 12 week CNA certification. These programs can be found online, in hospitals and at a community college. If you want to start in the “mail room” of nursing and work your way to the top, this is the way to do it. Remember all through your training, you will be salaried, by doing things this way.

In most cases, you will be testing with a group. The written exam is usually given before the skills test, and everyone will take the test at the same time. You will have to answer approximately 100 multiple-choice questions, and are usually given up to two hours to complete them. The written test covers patient care and protocols, patient monitoring and record-keeping, laboratory and testing procedures.

Everything on the written portion will have been covered in your CNA training classes. It is a good idea to review your class materials, handouts, and charts before the certification test, particularly if you won’t be taking it right after completing the course. You can find some sample testing questions for the CNA exam online.

Following the written portion, the instructor takes the finished tests, and then individuals will be called on to perform their skills test one at a time. You may be asked to bring a “model” or helper with you to facilitate the skills testing. This person would act as your patient for you to demonstrate your skills on. The particulars of the skills test will vary, and may not be the same from person to person. You won’t know which skills you will be asked to perform until the actual testing.

You can expect the practical exam to cover the most common skills you will encounter. This might include performing measurements of vital signs – blood pressure, pulse, and respiration; demonstrating the proper way make a bed, both with and without a patient in it; ambulating or moving your patient – helping them dress, moving them in to and out of a wheel chair, etc.; and responding to emergencies such as choking.

You won’t know the outcome of your CNA certification test right then and there; results will be mailed to you. However if you’ve been attentive in class and understand what you’ve been taught, and taken the time to study and review your materials prior to taking the test, you should have no problem passing. Once you have earned your certification, you are then free to work as a Certified Nursing Assistant, Home Health Aide, Nurse’s Aide, or other similar position at any hospital, nursing home, or other facility in your state.

CNA training can be completed in as little as two weeks through a hospital or nursing home, slightly longer through the Red Cross CNA training, or through a community college training program in just a few months. Once training and licensing is completed, a Certified Nursing Assistant can  see an average starting salary between $11/hour and $14/hour.

Exactly how much a Certified Nursing Assistant earns will vary somewhat, depending on geographic location, workplace, experience, and other factors. A CNA working in a hospital in New York, for instance, will earn approximately 8% more than a similar position in  Arizona. Generally speaking, salaries follow COA’s or “Cost Of Living” indexes. The more expensive area’s such as the Northeastern US generally pay higher wages than the mid-West.

The type of position will have a bearing on earnings as well. Hospitals are usually the highest salary, followed by nursing homes, then patient homes. Even within a hospital, pay will vary by department: a nurse assistant working in ICU – the Intensive Care Unit – will often receive a slightly higher wage than a nurse assistant in a lower-stress department.

A working CNA can also expect their pay scale to go up with experience. As a profession, nursing – and Certified Nursing Assistants in particular – have a fairly high ‘burn-out’ rate. As the job often carries with it a great deal of physical and emotional stress and exhaustion, some people find they don’t want to stay in the field. One result is that the numbers of CNA’s with experience diminishes. Another result is that there are plenty of jobs in the field available.

In addition to base pay, most nurse assistant and medical assistant positions offer benefits, such as health coverage and retirement savings plans. While some nursing positions are filled through agencies, and those typically do not have the same types of benefits, most medical facilities and institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, and such do offer excellent benefits packages to their employees.

The medical and health care fields are virtually recession-proof. Even in the toughest economic times, a properly licensed Certified Nursing Assistant rarely has difficulty finding a good-paying job. There were estimated to be over 500,000 individuals employed as nursing assistants, medical assistants, etc. in 2008.  As a profession, nursing assistants are ranked well above average in the field for job growth, job sustainability, and potential. It is expected to remain one of the market’s fastest-growing jobs for years to come.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projection, the projected growth rate for nurses aides and nursing assistants is expected to grow by a combined 28 percent. This is even faster than the medical health care field in general, far outpacing the expected 14 percent growth of LPNs (Licensed Practical Nurse) between the years 2006 and 2016.

By becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant, you take the first steps towards a rewarding and fulfilling career, unlike any other. As a medical professional, you will earn respect, personal satisfaction, job security, and financial safety.

CNA’s, nurse assistants, nursing aids, etc., are all charged with one primary responsibility: patient monitoring and care. Working under a licensed nurse, you are the general caregivers and assist patients in helping them with daily living activities such as bathing, eating, dressing, walking, and other procedures such as taking vital signs, intake admissions and release, other activities as well as specialized and routine care and other activities during a 24/7 shift rotation. They also give patients emotional and social support along with telling the nurse in charge about each of their assigned patients and other vital important information on a patient’s condition.

A certified nursing assistant working in a continuing care or nursing home facility must take care of the elderly or geriatric patients, as well as the disabled. Nursing home patients are there for a long time and the certified nursing assistants are their primary care giver. As a team member, you get to know your patients and develop an ongoing relationship with them in a positive and caring attitude.

The duties of a CNA in a hospital may be very different. In a hospital setting, it may involve everything from taking vital signs and recording them, to helping feed, clothe, and bathe patients, moving them between departments, and providing general monitoring and recording of their condition.

Certified nursing assistants must have to have a good bedside manner, communicate well with people and patients, act accordingly in an emergency, keen observation skills, stay calm in difficult or stressful situations and able to work with people, patients and co-workers.

A CNA must be observant and report any changes on a patient’s condition, be able to move patients and turn patients, report and to respond according to an emergency, be able have communication skills, patient and compassionate to people and to their patients.

As a certified nursing assistant you generally work a 40-hour a week, working holidays and weekends. A certified nursing assistant requires no previous experience as you are trained on the job, need a high school diploma or GED, and pass a state nursing assistant exam to become certified. A nursing assistant must complete a minimum of 75 hours state-approved training and pass a competency test and some states require a nursing assistant to be licensed.

Certified nursing assistant is not an easy field and you must be able to work with people and to give care to patients. Because nursing is such a demanding field there is a high turnaround but with experience and confidence, you find that taking care of patients in need is a very rewarding job.

The duties of a certified nursing assistant carry great responsibility, but offer great rewards as well. In terms of careers, it is one of the most rewarding things a person can do. You are a professional, in great demand, receiving good pay for your skills and services, and at the end of the day, you know you are engaged in a profession that helps others and truly makes a difference in people’s lives.

CNAs are a vital part of an effective organization. On a daily basis they provide care to the elderly, chronically ill, and individuals who may require special care in nursing homes or long term care facilities. It has been shown that in the next twenty years there will be a need for an additional 700,000 CNAs in the United States. It is important then that CNA Training programs provide an individual with all of the tools they will need to thrive in their career as a CNA.

Each state has different requirements that must be met before one can take the CNA exam for certification. The training includes both an educational component and a clinical component.

The length of time it takes to complete training varies depending on who is teaching the courses, where the clinical training is taking place, and the state requirements for certification. Contacting the State Department that certifies Nursing Assistants will help one to find out what the requirements are for certification.

When a person makes the decision to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, they will find that there are many opportunities available in their local area to take the necessary classes and get the clinical training that is needed. Programs can be found through local hospitals, nursing homes, and community colleges. There are also Red Cross CNA training programs available in most states.

There are two phases in the CNA Training that must be completed before one can take the examination, the written test and the skills test.

There are many courses in the educational part of the CNA Training. These include medical terminology, Fundamental of Nursing, and other healthcare topics that will make sure that the individual can understand and work in the clinical environment. The state also requires that one receive a first aid certification which counts toward the educational requirements for the examination.

Clinical experience is gained through work at a facility. States differ on the number of clinical hours that an individual must work. The hours can range from a few weeks to a month to attain the required hours of clinical training. Some facilities pay a person who is working on their clinical hours and then hire them when they have passed the certification examination.

The examination can be scheduled after all of the requirements have been met. One submits proof of completion with their application and the test is scheduled. The test will cover both the educational and clinical work that has been done. It is important that if a long period of time has elapsed since taking the eduational courses for the CNA that they take a refresher course to prepare for the test.

After a person has completed the training and passed the examination they have become a Certified Nursing Assistant and can work anywhere in the state where they are certified. If they move to another state however they will need to complete a Request for Reciprocity.

The CNA exam is normally comprised of two parts – the written test and the practical skills test. The written portion basically concentrates on the overall medical procedures and concepts that have been learned while the student was in training.

Enrolling in a strong nursing assistant program such as the Red Cross CNA classes will help ensure that you will be well prepared for the exam. This type of course may last anywhere from several weeks to 3 or 4 months which includes the classroom training portion and several practical training classes as well, where you will learn the basics of clinical application uses to apply the skills you have been taught during your classroom time. Normally the clinical training is done by a registered nurse or nursing staff and involves directly working with patients.

Most of the individuals who passed the practical portion of the test say that the written part of the CNA exam is actually quite simple and fairly easy to pass if you have studied the books and manuals that are provided with the course.

However, the second portion of the exam, the CNA skills test, can be a bit more challenging; some places require that you bring someone with you that can act as your “visual aide” or “model” for you to perform your test on. You will be expected to demonstrate how well you know your skills set by using your aide as an example of the different things that may be required. During your Certified Nursing Assistant skills test the examiner may request that you demonstrate many different skills that you have learned during the course.

As a general rule they will ask that you complete anywhere from three to six different clinical skills which may include tasks such as repositioning your patient, taking their temperature, washing your hands, changing the bed linen or even holding the bedpan as part of your certification text.

Every step that you attempt and complete will be closely observed by the person that is giving you the exam; small things such as not knocking on a patient’s door before entering, washing your hands incorrectly or any other small detail may result in you not passing your Certified Nursing Assistant Exam. Remember to always remain composed and calm as your examiner will be checking to make sure that you are able to remain this way under true life stressful situations.

The CNA skills test and written exam is also observed by your state examiner, who carefully evaluates your performance. Many times they will also give you mock cases and then ask you to perform certain skill sets relating to that particular case. If you remember to pay attention to all details while studying then you should have no trouble passing the exam.

If you have a desire to get into health care and do not have a college degree getting Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA training online is the way to start. All you need is a GED or high school diploma and access to a computer with internet on a regular basis for four to eight weeks. Finding a school that offers training online is really pretty simple. Type in CNA training online and you will find over one million results. Once you have looked at the various programs available you will want to make sure that the institution you choose is accredited so that if you want to continue on to become a nurse your course credits will transfer and count towards your graduation requirements. You will also need to find a course that also has some clinical aspect to it because the majority of certification programs involve having a certain number of clinical hours to get certified in addition to passing the exam for that state.

You will need to check with your particular State Department of Health to determine exactly what the requirements are for CNA certification. CNA training class will go through the basics of patient care including bathing, feeding, dressing and monitoring (blood pressure, pulse, etc.). Some online courses include a streaming video section going over just what is required and others recommend you spend time at an affiliated medical facility before taking your certification exam.

There is a site called CNA Training Course Online and St. Augustine Nursing Assistant School offers a six to eight week course designed by doctors and nurses. Other places to get CNA training are your local community colleges, technical schools and local medical centers. Most of these courses want a total commitment of seventy five hours of training (combination of class and clinical) before gaining your certification. Online courses want you to take your certification at a monitored facility.

Some of the coursework you can expect to take includes classes in physiology, nutrition, anatomy, basic nursing skills and infection control. As the population ages and more people enter assisted living facilities and nursing homes certified nursing assistants are going to be more in demand than ever. The average salary for a certified nursing assistant begins at a bit under $20,000 and tops out at around $40,000 depending on the facility and how many years of service you may have. If you decide you want additional training many times the facility you work for has tuition reimbursement and you can work towards becoming a registered nurse ($50,000+) with your boss’s money.

CNA training is something you can do in very little time. The rewards are endless: job security; exciting and varying workplace environments; the opportunity to work in either a high-energy, fast-paced environment or slower, easier setting; excellent pay and benefit opportunities, and the knowledge that you’re truly making a difference in the world!

The money to provide free training classes comes from penalties collected from nursing homes that were fined by OSDH for delivering substandard care. It is possible that Certified Nursing Assistants from these very same nursing homes will be turn out to be beneficiaries of the scholarship, which has aims of improving overall patient care in long-term care facilities. The core of the free CNA program is to upgrade the skills and knowledge of nursing assistants to a level CNA 2. Tulsa Community College also offers more advanced training for those nursing assistants who wish to advance to the CNA 3 level, but this level is not currently funded.

To fund the program, the OSDH is using civil monetary penalties collected by the agency from nursing homes that were fined for delivering substandard care. CNAs who work with long-term care patients in nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities are eligible to apply for the OSDH-funded training. The aim of the program is to serve as a career ladder for working CNAs – appropriately named the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Career Ladder Program. The new course blends online learning with traditional classroom and lab work geared towards passing a CNA skills test. All students must have already completed online coursework and have reliable computer access in order to participate in this program.

All applicants to the program must be already accepted to Tulsa Community College. However, admission to the college does not guarantee admission into the free CNA training program, nor a guarantee of funding. Early application is encouraged, as funding and space is limited. In order to be eligible for funding consideration, all applicants must take and pass the College Placement Test (Reading and Sentence Skills only). The minimum score that an applicant must achieve is 80. Additionally, all applicants are expected to have completed a minimum of 12 college credit hours, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Additionally, all applicants must have worked in a health care facility for a minimum of six months. All applications must include a letter of recommendation from their administrator.

The free CNA training classes consist of 30 hours, comprising of 11 modules, each three hours long. The five full days of training will focus on safety, teamwork, aging and illness, communication, nutrition, quality of life, dementia care, the importance of family, culture change and restorative care, spirituality, and dying. Students will then need to take and pass the state exam to receive their CNA certification.

Within the state of Oklahoma, there are approximately 66,000 individuals on the CNA Registry certified or entitled to renew their licenses as long-term care aides. Most of the 66,000 are considered potentially eligible to apply to this free CNA program. Therefore, the competition is potentially very high, since only 900-1,000 students will be funded in 2010. If accepted, students will be notified by mail, which will also include information and instructions about immunization requirements, a criminal background check, and a drug screening test.

In addition to Oklahoma’s program, there are other free CNA training classes, some of which are available online. Be certain to check whether the training programs are specifically designed as preparation to take the CNA exam, or for general informational purposes.  Note that the Red Cross CNA classes are no longer free.

“Free CNA Training Classes” written by Brenne Meirowitz, B.A., M.S., M.A.

Most people preparing for their test become nervous, since this is where all the training comes to its fruition. Even though you’ll be anxious, the reality is that most people find that written exam to be a breeze. Of course it helps to prepare prior to taking the exam by going over your notes and what ever other material you hopefully saved from your CNA classes.

Some general test taking tips might help you. On multiple choice questions, if you aren’t sure of the right answer, try subtracting the answers you know are not correct. That may leave you with an easier clearer choice. Also, trust your instincts. More often then not, your first answer will be the right answer.

The clinical portion will include many of the skills you learned and practiced in your training. You will probably be asked to demonstrate basic nurse assistant skills such as taking vital signs. Remember to take your time. Spending a few moments calming your self can help a great deal. When you’re trying to get an accurate measure of blood pressure and pulse wall being monitored by the test proctor.

You may also have to demonstrate other clinical skills such as the proper ways to move a patient, demonstrating proper hygiene such as hand washing, and possibly even changing and making a bed.

If you went through the ARC or Red Cross CNA training, you will be well prepared for testing. Another way, you can prepare and boost your chances for success on that test, is to spend some time looking through some of the free CNA classes online. Taking the exam online is also smart because you can work around the hours that you want to work around.

Being involved in an online study group can help you tremendously when you sit down to take the actual exam. Look for forums with others who are either practicing Certified Nursing Assistants, have recently taken the exam, or are studying for it like you are.

The CNA exam shouldn’t be intimidating or frightening. After all, the worst that can happen is you don’t pass. You can still sign up to take it again. And remember what it’s all for. All the classes and studying have given you the skills, knowledge, and confidence to become a professional Nurse Assistant, and open the doors to life-long job security, good wages, an exciting work environment, and the satisfaction of helping others and knowing that your chosen career makes a real, and significant difference to the patients you are charged with caring for!