CNA certification in Pennsylvania can be gotten through complying with the state-requirements. To work as a nursing assistant in this state, one should be entered on the Department of Health’s Nurse Aide Registry first. The state requires undergoing a state-approved nursing program, completing a criminal background check, and passing the state’s license exam for nurse aides.
The required training for nursing assistants is offered by several entities such as community colleges and healthcare facilities. The applicant should be at least 16 years old and should pass the state and federal background checks. They will also need to undergo a physical exam to determine if they are physically capable of nurse aide work. The training is comprised of both classroom teaching and a practical training in a nursing facility under the supervision of a registered nurse or other qualified health personnel. The subjects covered are communication skills, infection control, medical terminology, checking of vital signs, personal care, emergency procedures, human anatomy and mental health to name a few.
Training is not required for nursing graduates and students who can show proof of completion of nursing fundamentals and practical training similar to that required in CNA training. They can apply for the state exam by submitting documents such as transcript of records and a letter from their instructor. This is also the same with those who have undergone military training as a medic or corpsman.
The state examinations are conducted by Pearson Vue and the requirements are to be submitted to them. They include fingerprint cards, photo ID, passport size photos, negative TB test, and proof of immunizations. One needs to request for a schedule to take the exam first before he can be allowed to take the examinations. The test covers both a skills portion and a written or oral test which consists of 50 multiple-choice types of questions. The skills portion requires successfully passing all of the 5 nursing aide skills that will be tested.
Reciprocity is also offered by the state for those who already have a nursing aide certification in another state. They need to be in a current and active status on that state’s registry list as well as be in good standing. They should not be convicted of any abuse or neglect of a resident and should also pass the state and federal background checks. They need to submit a copy of their certification as a nurse aide and of their training in a state-approved CNA training program. Applicants will still need to take the state exams in before they can be entered on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry.
The certification is renewed every 2 years and requires at least 8 hours of paid work as a nurse aide under the supervision of a qualified health personnel. They also require at least 12 hours of in-service training for each year if you are employed in a nursing facility. Renewal forms are sent by the board at least 2 months before the expiration of the certificate. An expired or lapsed certificate would need to be reinstated. Click this link to learn more about enrolling in certified nursing assistant classes in Pennsylvania.
Before enrolling in a program you will want to make sure they meet the requirements of the PA Department of Health. Classes will teach you a variety of skills including nursing theory, transporting patients, feeding residents & nutrition, resident rights, infection control, measuring vital signs, housekeeping, and catheter care. Upon completion of a class you are required to pass the tests for certification within a twenty-four month period.
Once you have finished your school program you are allowed up to 24 months to complete the certification exams. Exams are split into two parts, a written and a manual test. For the written part you will need to answer 50 multiple choice questions. The manual test is basically a skills demonstration where you will need to perform several of the nursing related proficiencies you learned in training. Each test taker receives three chances to pass both tests. The exams are conducted by Pearson VUE and you can find out more about them by calling 1-800-852-0518.
Before you can take care of the patients you must know all the skills needed. These skills and knowledge include the basic nursing skills, and emergency procedures you need to know while on the job. By enrolling in a nurse aide program you will get classroom training and practical clinical skills practice. During your instruction you will learn primary skills such as: range of motion exercises, measuring vital signs, housekeeping, infection control, safety procedures, nourishment, transporting patients, toileting, catheter care, bathing and dressing residents. All of these will be taught to you when you enroll in classes that has been approved by the state of Pennsylvania.
First of all, one must be at least 16 years old to be employed as a health care provider in Pennsylvania. Secondly, you need to be free of any exclusionary charges in order to pass the mandatory criminal background checks. These checks are a requirement to be accepted into a certified CNA school. Lastly, if you have never been certified as a nurse aide before, then your only option to become certified is by passing the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program Exam or NNAAP exam.
You must be a certified to work as a nursing assistant before you may care for patients in the state. There are a number of requirements that must be met before you are allowed to apply for the nursing assistant license exams. One of the requirements is to pass a CNA training course. You should also pass the background check conducted to see if you have any criminal records that might prevent you from taking the exams.
During the CNA training, students learn various basic nursing skills such as taking vital signs, assisting in catheterization, feeding through NGTs, and do proper documentation. Students get to help residents with their activities of daily living, such as bathing, toileting, dressing, exercising, ambulation, and many more. Students will also be taught various nursing concepts that are important in taking care of the residents, such as infection control, communication skills, mental health, and patients’ rights and independence.
You can start the Pennsylvania nursing assistant certification process by undergoing a criminal background check. You must pass the background check in order to be accepted into a training program that’s approved by the state’s Department of Education. Every aspiring nursing assistant who wishes to work in Pennsylvania are required to undergo the background checks with fingerprinting, including those who are applying through endorsement.
Scope of Work
If you have never been certified as a nursing assistant before, then your only option is to gain entry through testing. There are certain requirements that must be met first before an aspirant is allowed to apply for the certification exams. You’ll need to clear background checks for criminal records, undergo medical examinations, and complete CNA training classes.
Eligibility
What Are the Job duties of a Certified Nurse Aide in PA?
One must establish eligibility first before applying for the NNAAP exams. The most common way that a candidate can qualify for the exams is by successfully completing a state-certified school course. Candidates must complete a program that’s approved by the Department of Education and apply for the exams within 24 months after completing the program. Suitable programs can be found being offered by different health care institutions such as hospitals, and various training schools.
One advantage that CNA training schools have over nursing schools is their affordability. Most of the training facilities that offer instruction cost around $350 to $1,500. A lot of the training facilities will also offer grants to those who are working while they train to become nursing aides. A candidate who is already working for a certified long-term care facility prior to enrolling in a training program may not be charged for training and testing fees. All payments will be paid for by the employer.
The CNA examinations comprise of a multiple-choice written (or oral) exam and a manual skills demonstration. For the manual exam you will be required to demonstrate commonly used healthcare skills in a medical environment. For the multiple choice test you will need to answer questions related to fundamental nursing aide procedures. Each applicant receive three tries to pass both portions. Those who pass are notified of their certification and placed on the nurse aide registry for a duration of 24 months.
The state requires all programs to last at least 80 hours. Both theoretical coursework and supervised clinical training are done at the same time. The program you select will teach you classroom instruction covering the procedures and tasks you will use on the job and provide clinical experience giving you hands-on training with fundamental nursing skills. While in the clinical area, students must be placed under the supervision of a registered nurse aide Instructor at all times. Depending on which school you choose to enroll in, it can take you 3 to 4 months to complete your training.
According to the state rules, people with different educational levels can apply for CNA training; though most training schools require their students to have at least a high school diploma or a GED certification. Different schools have different requirements. Many of them definitely require their students to be in good physical shape and free from any communicable diseases. Passing a federal and/or state background checks for criminal records is a mandatory requirement to get into a certified class.
The Nursing Home Reform Act, which is now part of the OBRA of ’87 requires all nursing assistants to go through the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program or NNAAP. The NNAAP was created as a way to improve the quality of care that patients in long-term care facilities receive and a means to establish a standard of competency that all nursing assistants should have.
Certified nursing assistant schools
Step 1
A nursing aide in the State of Pennsylvania must be at least 16 years old to be employed. He mustn’t have any exclusionary convictions in order to pass the mandatory background checks. The background check result is a requirement to get accepted into a certified CNA school. No nursing aide candidate is allowed to start training without receiving results of the check.
School Instruction
CNA’s work under the supervision of registered nurses. The tasks they perform depend on the needs of the patients and what tasks are delegated to them by the nurses. As a nurse aide, you will be expected to perform the tasks with competency and with the client’s safety and comfort as a top concern. If you have never received any training as a nurse aide, then you better start looking for a school to enroll in.
The road to becoming a certified nurse aide begins by enrolling in a certified Nurse Aide Training Program or NATP. When you enroll, you will spend a minimum of 42.5 hours in the classroom for lectures and 37.5 hours in the clinical area for your supervised clinical practice. Both your lectures and practical training will be taught simultaneously.
A candidate needs to be at least 16 years old upon enrolling in a program. Passing the background checks is a requirement to get accepted into a certified training course. If a candidate has lived in Pennsylvania for the last 2 years, he or she will only be required to get a PA Criminal History Record Information or PA-CHRI. Out-of-state candidates must undergo FBI checks in addition to the PA-CHRI. No candidate may start training without passing the background checks.
All aspiring health care workers are required to undergo and pass the background checks for criminal records. These checks are done to protect the patients from those who have records of abuse, theft, or other similar acts. You must not have any exclusionary convictions on record to pass the checks.
Nursing assistants spend most of their working time interacting with patients, especially when they are working in a nursing facility. To guarantee that the patients will receive quality care, all aspiring nursing assistants are required by the federal and state to complete a certified training program that’s approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Criminal Background Checks
What you need to be a nursing aide
One of the requirements is to complete a CNA training program. The program will be divided into lectures and clinical duties. All programs in Pennsylvania are required to offer at least 80 hours of instructions. It can take around 3 to 4 months to complete. If you don’t want to spend that much time, then you should enroll in the American Red Cross CNA program. The ARC program is approved by the Department of Education, which will guarantee that you’ll be able to proceed to the next step of becoming a nursing assistant.
The State of Pennsylvania won’t allow a person to work in a federal long-term health care facility as a nursing assistant without a certification. Like many states, getting certified will require you to undergo criminal background checks, attend CNA classes, and take a competency exam to prove that you are a good enough to work as a full-time nursing assistant.
What makes becoming a nursing aide so great? Compared to other careers such as nursing, you don’t need to spend years of training before you can work as a full-time CNA. All you need to start working as one is to get certified by passing the nurse aide competency exams right after you complete a state-approved training program.
Even as a student, you will already get the chance to take care of actual patients in a real clinical setting. Don’t be intimidated by this fact because you’ll be under the supervision of a CNA Instructor during the whole time. Students are not allowed to perform or demonstrate any nursing skills without the presence of their instructor. Students are also not allowed to perform a procedure or skill that has not yet been taught in the classroom. The majority of the training classes in the state can be completed within 12 to 16 weeks.
Programs must provide necessary curriculum that includes both theoretical health care instruction and physical hands-on instruction. When you enroll you will learn a variety of fundamental skills you will need on the job. Some of the proficiencies and tasks you will be taught include: resident housekeeping, measuring and recording vital signs, catheter care, feeding & serving meals, safety protocols, infection management, assisting the transport of patients, range of motion exercises, toileting, bathing and dressing residents.
The NNAAP exams in Pennsylvania are conducted by the American Red Cross with the help of Pearson VUE. It is a two part examination that consists of a written test and a skills evaluation exam. The written tests may be replaced with an oral exam if the applicant has trouble reading, or simply just prefer to take an oral version of the exams. Each applicant receives three tries to pass both portions before they must retake a school program. Applicants are required to pass both tests to get on the NAR and receive a Registry Card, which he can show to his employer. Those who pass the test are added to the nurse aide registry for a period of 2 years. The registry is handled by Pearson VUE and can be reached by calling 1-800-852-0518.
The most common way of getting listed on the NAR is by taking the license exams. Before you can take the exams, you need to complete a certified CNA course to establish eligibility to apply. After you complete your training, you will have a maximum of 24 months and three (3) attempts to pass both the written/oral test and clinical skills test.
There are a few requirements that must be completed before you can take on the state nursing assistant license examination. First of all, you must be at least 16 years old to be able to enroll in a nurse aide training program. You must also undergo physical exams to determine that you are capable of taking care of the patients. You will also have to undergo a background check to determine if you have any criminal records that might disqualify you from taking the exam.
To maximize your time while waiting, it would be best if you start looking for a program that would fit your preferences. When seeking a program to enroll in, you need to remember to only choose a program that’s certified by the state’s Department of Education. Approved programs are required to offer a minimum of 80 hours of instructions, of which 37.5 hours are allocated for supervised clinical practice. During the instruction you will receive theoretical coursework and actual hands-on experience in a health care setting similar to what you would find in a hospital or nursing home.
You must successfully complete a state-approved Nursing Aide Training Program or NATP to become a nursing aide. NATPs are there to equip nursing aide candidates with the proper knowledge and skills needed to meet the individual needs of the patients. They will also help candidates prepare for the different scenarios that they might find themselves in once they become full-time nurse aides.
Another advantage of being a nurse aide is that the training is very quick. You can equip yourself with the competencies needed to be a nurse aide in a matter of a few weeks. All you need to do to learn the necessary knowledge and skills is to enroll in a CNA training course. These courses can last 3 to 4 months; some can even be completed within one month. To start you will need to enroll in a nurse aide program that teaches both clinical hands-on proficiencies in a nursing home setting. Course must be accepted by the state to qualify you for the examination.
All training facilities that wish to offer CNA training need to be certified by the Department of Education before they can take any students. Their training curriculum must last at least 80 hours of instructions to get certified. Out of the total number of training hours, 37.5 hours must be allocated for supervised clinical practice. Both lectures and practical training must be done at the same time.
The American Red Cross is one of the best ways to become a nursing assistant if you are on a tight budget. The Red Cross CNA Course, which is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, lasts 4 weeks on instructions. The training courses cost $1,300, which already includes all training and testing costs.
If you have never been certified as a nurse aide before, then your only option is to take the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program after you complete a state certified CNA course. The NNAAP exam was designed as a means to set a standard of competency for all nurse aides in the United States. It consists of a 2-hour written exam and a 30-minute skills evaluation. Both exams are taken on the same day at a Regional Testing Center or an approved training facility.
What’s a CNA?
Nursing assistants have constant interaction with patients. Because of this, nursing assistants must learn how to properly take care of the individual needs of each patient. The education and training needed to be a competent nursing assistant can be acquired by enrolling in certified CNA classes. One can also achieve similar results by enrolling in a nursing school to learn the Fundamentals of Nursing.
The most important thing you need to have to work as a round-the-clock nursing assistant in Pennsylvania is a CNA license. Having a license will prove to employers that you met the federal and state requirements to be certified. Here’s some need-to-know information on becoming a CNA in this state.
The only way for you to get certified is by taking the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program Examination or NNAAP exam. This exam was intended to determine the minimum competencies needed to become a certified nurse aide. It is made up for a Written (or Oral) examination and a random Skills Evaluation. You must pass both parts in order to be listed on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry and get certified.
Step One: Criminal Background Checks
There are two levels of background checks: federal and state. Aspiring nurse aides who have been living in Pennsylvania within the last 24 consecutive months are only required to get a Pennsylvania State Criminal History Record Information or PA-CHRI, which costs $10. Those who are new in the state must get federal-level background checks in addition to the PA-CHRI. FBI background checks cost around $28.75.
High Demand for CNA Employees