Thursday, September 27, 2012

Eligibility Criteria to become a CNA

The attractive salaries and increasing job opportunities are attracting many towards the CNA career. Besides these benefits, the career as a Certified Nursing Assistant helps you help the patients who need to be taken care of. If you wish to pursue a career as a CNA, then you need to be aware of the eligibility criteria for the same.

To work as a CNA, you need to have high patience and tolerance levels. You also need to be of caring and understanding nature. The patients in the hospital are entirely dependent upon you to carry out their day-to-day tasks and hence you need to be very patient with them. Many a times, patients are not able to sleep in the nights as they may be experiencing some pain. In such cases, you need to stay by their side all through the night. It may be quite exhausting, but you have to do your duty.

Health care organizations, hospitals, clinics as well as community centers require CNAs. Some CNAs also work independently to assist patients who need 24 hours of medical care. The basic duties of a CNA encompass helping the patients, carry out their daily tasks such as brushing teeth, bathing, combing their hair, feeding them, giving them medicines on time and so on.

Eligibility Criteria to become a CNA 

You need to complete a high school diploma or your graduation in any of the streams to be eligible to become a CNA. This is the basic requirement to pursue a career as a CNA. If you fulfill this eligibility criteria, you can enroll for the CNA certification course. The course duration may range from 6 to 12 weeks. The University conducts the CNA course. However, even community colleges offer these courses; and they are also available online.

A theoretical training of 75 hours as well as medical training of 16 hours needs to be completed for the CNA certification. This training is carried out in hospitals or health care centers. In most of the states, the basic exam pattern is nearly the same.

When choosing an institute for CNA training, it's important to learn if it is accredited by the State. You can get these details from the state aid registry as well as from the licensing program.

The fees for the course are quite reasonable and by paying a small amount of money, you can receive the CNA training. You need to then clear the exam which is held by the state government health registry. The exam is divided into 2 sections: theoretical and medical. Once you have cleared these examinations, you can start working as a professional Certified Nursing Assistant.

There's a huge demand for nursing assistants to provide the medical care facilities to patients in hospitals and clinics. Other than taking care of the daily tasks of the patients, these nursing agents are also well trained to maintain hygiene, deal with traditional medical equipments and instruments, measure the vitals of the patients such as their blood pressure, heart rate, sugar levels and record the same.

Eligibility Criteria for CNA Training 

In order to be successful in the nursing career, you need to develop passion and willingness to serve the patients who need care. The basic eligibility criteria for the CNA training is a 10th grade diploma or GDA. You also need to be physically fit in order to lift the patients. You need to undergo a training for 75 to 100 hours in a Training School that is approved by the State.

The CNA training schools are situated in community as well as vocational colleges, where in the CNA training is in accordance with the State approved training program. A traditional Class Room system is followed while conducting these training programs. The CNA training differs as per the State. CNA training is also available online which provides all the theoretical knowledge for several modules. The online training, however, needs to be approved by the State Health Board.

Once the students complete the CNA training either via Class Room training or through the State approved online training, they need to undergo a clinical practical training. This clinical training is carried out at a real time health care facility and is arranged by the CNA training schools. Then the students need to appear for a theory test as well as a practical examination to demonstrate the clinical skills that they have been taught. These examinations are conducted to evaluate the competencies of the students to become a CNA.

Once you clear these examinations, a certificate is awarded. The particulars are then registered with the State Health Registry. This CNA certification is valid for a period of 2 years and you need to renew it within 24 months. Once you get the certification, you can work in hospitals, clinics or health care centers under the Registered Nurse's supervision.

License for CNA 

According to the U.S. Federal law, having a CNA license is mandatory if you wish to practice as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Certified nursing assistant are in great demand in hospitals as well as clinics, and they work as per the directions given to them by the Registered Nurses (RN).

CNA license is extremely essential for you to practice as a nursing assistant and hence it's better that you have all the necessary information about the following details about the license:

  • What is the eligibility for the CNA license 
  • How to acquire the license 
  • What is the procedure for renewal of the license 
  • Verification process and transfer of licenses

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