The CNA classes in Erie, Pennsylvania that are being offered as of the making of this page are all state approved programs. Call the phone number for the school to get additional details about enrolling in training, course schedules, and tuition costs.
City of Erie Regional Career and Technical School
3325 Cherry Street,
Erie, PA 16508
(814) 874-6225
Erie Business Center
246 West 9th Street,
Erie, PA 16501
(814) 456-7504
HVA Educational Center
4544 West Ridge Road,
Erie, PA 16506
(814) 833-1609
Manchester Presbyterian
6351 West Lake Road,
Erie, PA 16505
(814) 838-9191
Tri-State Business Institute
5757 West Ridge Road,
Erie, PA 16506
(814) 464-1101
Receiving proper training is one of the requirements that must be met in order to get certified. But before you can start your training, you need to undergo the criminal background checks with fingerprinting. No aspiring nurse aide is allowed to enroll in a program without the check results. All approved programs are required to look for the background check results prior to accepting an aspirant for training.
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.
CNA training in this state lasts a minimum of 80 hours of instructions. All training curriculum must allocate 37.5 hours of the total training time for supervised clinical practice. Both classroom/laboratory instructions are done concurrently with the hands-on training. However, before the students take care of the patients, they must first spend 16 hours learning about infection control, interpersonal skills and relationships, safety and emergency care, basic nursing procedures, and patients’ rights and independence.
Nursing students and graduates, including registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who can provide proof of their education and training such as a diploma or an official transcript of records can skip training and immediately apply for the CNA exams. They’ll need to get a letter of Authorization to Test from the Department of Education, and submit it along with their application forms.
All application forms, as well as payment fees, must be sent to:
American Red Cross
1804 North 6th Street,
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Taking the CNA exams is the final step in becoming a full-time nursing assistant. According to the law, only registered nursing assistants are allowed to work in a federally certified nursing facility. A nursing assistant will only get registered on the Nurse Aide Registry if he or she is able to pass both parts of the test within 24 months after completing a training program. If a candidate fails to pass within that time, then he must go through retraining. Each test applicant receives three tries to pass both tests. To find the nearest testing location you should call the American Red Cross at 1-800-795-2350.
The exams consist primarily of a written test and a manual skills demonstration. Candidates are given 2 hours to answer all 70 multiple-choice questions and 30 minutes to demonstrate all required nursing skills. Candidates, who have trouble reading, can request to replace the written exams with its oral version. They will still be given the same amount of time to answer all questions.
Workers are required to renew their certification every 2 years. Those who are certified to work can do so in hospitals or nursing homes under the supervision of a licensed nurse. To continue your listing in good standing you will be required to submit work verification of having worked one eight hour shift as a nursing assistant, every 24 months.
The re-certification process for this state is handled by Pearson VUE. To help make the process a lot easier the Pearson VUE Uniform Licensing Solution for E-Government, or PULSE, has now allowed on-line registration. CNAs just need to visit www.pulseportal.com. You can call also contact Pearson VUE directly at 1-800-852-0518.
The city of Erie is the county seat of Erie County. The name of the city was derived from both the Native American tribe and the lake that is located in the area. Erie is also known as The Flagship City, The Bay City, and The Gem City. With a total population of 101,786 residents during the 2010 census, this city is the 4th most populous city in the state. It has a total area of 28.0 sq miles and a population density of 4,631.7 / sq mile.
Health care providers that are found in the city include Harbor Homes Medical Clinic, Cove Forge Behavioral Health, Priority Care, Research Health & Pain Center, Rehab Solutions, Gambro Healthcare Acute Dialysis Unit, Millcreek Community Hospital, Family Foot & Ankle Care, Healthcare Ventures Alliance, NovaCare Rehabilitation, Healthcare Light, and Psychological Health Services. photo attribution: ufv