CNA Training Class

By Mark Alison
There are so many great reasons to become a Certified Nursing Assistant: plenty of CNA jobs available; choices in work environments; the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives every day; and the ability to earn a good living. The average annual salary for a CNA is almost $30,000.

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.

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The duties of a Certified Nursing Assistant are as varied as the workplaces that CNA’s are employed. A certified nursing assistant might work in a hospital, nursing home or elder care facility, even a patient’s home. The duties you are expected to perform will depend largely on the workplace. One of the main goals of CNA training is exposure to the different functions you will have to master.

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.

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Becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant, or “CNA”, is one of the best career choices someone can make. Not only do CNA’s perform vital, helpful services, but they earn great pay, can always find a job, and have the personal satisfaction and peace of mind that comes from a career devoted to helping others.

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.

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By Melanie Ullman
The CNA skills test and exam is given to students in order to test their knowledge and understanding of the fundamental skills and concepts needed in order to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.

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.

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By Mark Alison
CNA Training offers unparalleled opportunities for those who are motivated and want to make a difference. Do you like to help people make their lives better? Do you enjoy working with people on a one to one basis in their home or at work? With the economy in the tubes and our population aging as we speak the health industry seems to be a great place for employment opportunities. The only problem is that you usually need some kind of training and certification for health care jobs that pay more than minimum wage.

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.

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Who says that there is no such thing as free CNA training classes? Not the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH)! In cooperation with Tulsa Community College and Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education a fund of $371,000 has been established which will cover the cost of training approximately 900-1,000 CNA students in 2010.

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.

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By Melanie Ullman
Taking the CNA exam is one of the final steps before beginning your new career as a certified nursing assistant. The CNA test is given in two parts, a written part in a clinical part, or CNA skills test. To take the exam, you will need to have a volunteer or “model” with you. This is someone that you will use to demonstrate the clinical skills on to the instructor. As far as the written test is concerned, much of it is a combination of the information you learned in your seat and a training mixed with common sense.

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.

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By Brenne Meirowitz, B.A., M.S., M.A.
There are many places to enroll in CNA training class to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, but American Red Cross CNA training is one of the most popular. One of the reasons is that it is widely available, and the quality of the course and instructors is very high. It should be noted however, that the Red Cross CNA class is not free. There are however many places that do offer free CNA training.

As of  September 08, 2009, the American Red Cross will have CNA training available in 36 cities across the U.S. If you are considering a career in health care, this program is a great way to begin. For many, beginning as a CNA (certified nursing assistant) is a steppingstone towards becoming a RN (registered nurse).

All training programs offered at the American Red Cross meet Federal CNA training standards, while each chapter designs its program to meet specific State licensing requirements, including the number of course hours and clinical training standards of practices and procedures. For example, the San Bernardino, California chapter program consists of a 164 hour course, while The ARC of Central Maryland course consists of 114 hours.

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By Brenne Meirowitz
Certified Nursing Assistant, or CNA registration means you must be registered in the state nursing board databases, as well as the Federal database – HIPDB (Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank). This information is compiled and administered by the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing), a non-profit organization, which operates as a collective national nursing board comprised of 60 Member Boards.

Board members include one in all fifty states, Washington, D.C., and all U.S. territories. Founded in 1978, organizers recognized the need to regulate nurses apart from organizations representing professional nurses.

One of the responsibilities of the NCSBN is to inform and enforce a set of nursing standards, and keeping the Nursing Assistive Personnel Registry up-to-date. Licensees in this database include Certified Nursing Assistant I (CNA), Certified Nursing Assistant II (CNA-II), and Medication Assistant-Certified (MA-C). The NCSBN operates as a national watchdog, coordinating issues of discipline, education, and certification. Information, such as disciplinary action taken against a nurse by a state board is shared with the NCSBN, which compiles this information, providing background resources for discipline issues and actions taken.

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By Brenne Meirowitz
If you are considering a career in nursing, you may be eligible to receive free CNA training (Certified Nursing Assistant) through your employer or potential employer. Currently, the U.S. Federal Government offers health industry employers reimbursement for the expense of training for certain occupations through Medicare.

One of these includes training for Certified Nursing Assistants, who by law must meet the Federal requirement that all home health aides pass a competency test. Usually, a home health aide will receive free training before taking the competency test. Additionally, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice offers voluntary certification, particularly in states that require aides to be licensed.

Free training to prepare individuals for the CNA certification test are also offered by some high schools. While most home health aides and Nurse Assistants are generally not required to hold a high school diploma, most do.
The American Red Cross both trains and tests Certified Nursing Assistants. While it is relatively inexpensive compared to other paid programs, the Red Cross CNA class isn’t free. Another alternative is free CNA classes online, however many of these offer courses covering particular topics and skills, and may not cover everything necessary to pass the exam.

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