How to Find a Program that will Train You for Your CNA License

A Certified Nursing Assistant helps care for physically and mentally ill patients. CNA's also attend to persons who have been hurt in an accident, or who are disabled or infirm. Without a CNA license nursing assistants can do only certain patient care tasks, and cannot work at certain facilities. Once you receive the license you can attend to several patient needs and you would be quailifed to work at more health care facilities.

As a nursing student, you’re required to take seventy-five hours of state-approved training and additional clinical experience in order to obtain a CNA license, or certificate as it is called. Once you graduate, you will receive a certificate upon completion of the program, which will allow them to work in one of several types of medical facilities:

• Assisted living centers
• Intermediate care facilities
• Skilled nursing facilities
• Adult foster care homes
• Hospitals

Student Requirements

It takes between eight and thirteen weeks to complete the program for your CNA license. The program comprises at least 75 hours of classroom teaching and 100 hours of practical experience. Most schools have special requirements before you can start training. You may be required to have a valid Social Security number. Schools may also ask students to take a tuberculosis skin test. Some schools run a criminal background check on prospective students. Others have no requirements besides a high school diploma and ID verifying you’re at least 18 years old.
 
Before You Start

Any certificate program that leads to you getting a CNA license should be properly accredited. As a student you will learn such things as basic sanitation, caring for patients, bed making and food serving. Students may also learn charting, safety precautions,, infection control, preventative care, and observation procedures.

Before you can get your CNA license, you must do a lot of hands-on training. You must demonstrate the proper procedure at all times, even for something as basic as making a bed. Students also learn how to collect specimens following the proper procedure. The student must also know hospital terminology, and be able to communicate with the nursing staff using mainly medical terms.