Courses should be reasonable at the Community College level.
As for the individual States, you may have to check through the state Boards of Nursing or Public Health site for info on CNAs.
Hi all, I have been looking into taking a CNA class in Southern Indiana area, and I have found several nearby that lead to an exam, also they provide some clinical experience. Any advice would be helpful, what kind of questions should I ask the instructors and what cost should I pay for this type of short term class? Also I was wondering what the exam will be like? Is it different for each state? Thanks a lot in advance.
Courses should be reasonable at the Community College level.
As for the individual States, you may have to check through the state Boards of Nursing or Public Health site for info on CNAs.
Katz, I am a CNA instructor in the state of Iowa & also fill in as an evaluator for the state skills competency testing. Many local community colleges and/or continuing education departments of colleges & universities here in Iowa offer the nursing assistant certification classes. The OBRA 1987 legislation was initiated to require all states to have a minimum of 75 hrs of education for all those wanting to be nursing assistants in long-term care. In Iowa it consists of 30 hours lecture, 15 hours of lab & 30 hours of clinical experience at a local facility. After completing & passing both the classroom & clinical portions the students receive a certificate of completion & then are eligible to sign up for the competency tests which one is a computer generated knowledge exam & the other one is a test of skills learned. Each state requires both exams to be taken and passed in order to become certified to work. The information & skills will vary by state. The number of hours of classroom, lab & clinicals will vary also by state some requiring more than 75 hours. Iowa also offers the advanced 80 CNA class for those who have completed the 75 hr course but would like to work in more acute facilities such as a hospital. You do not have retake the competency exams to take this class or work in a hospital if you have already done so. You will only have to pass the requirements of the advanced cna class. The cost for our CNA classes where I work is $395 plus $45 for the book. The cost for the state written test is $45 and the state competency test is $75. You will find out where you can sign up for these tests during your class. The price varies for the actual class at different institutions as well as the price of the competency exams will vary state to state. Just contact the facility you would like to take a class at & they will gladly answer your questions. Also contact your state board of nursing & they will gladly answer any questions about requirements & expectations. I hope this helps. I hope you choose to enter a very rewarding career!!
CNA Classes are offered in many schools, colleges, nursing homes and government hospitals or you can also apply for the course on the Internet.