For the town of Coalinga, California one can locate the available nursing assistant schools below. If you want to know more about anything regarding their state recognized programs you can go to the address mentioned or try to call them for additional information such as class times and program cost.

West Hills College
300 CHERRY LANE
Coalinga, CA 93210
(559) 934-2000

California is one of the best places to train to become a nursing assistant. Working as a nursing assistant means that you will be under the watchful eyes of the registered nurses and the members of the medical team. The tasks that a nursing assistant perform are based on what are delegated by the nurses. To work in this state as a nursing assistant you will have to be certified by the Licensing and Certification Program’s Aide and Technician Certification Section.

To get certified, you must be able to pass all the tests of the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program exam. This exam is conducted by the Pearson VUE. It consists of a written knowledge test and a skills evaluation exam. For those who have difficulty in reading English, they can request to have an oral examination instead. Candidates will be given 2 hours to answer all 70 multiple-choice questions and 25 minutes for the skills evaluation portion of the exam.

The only individuals who are allowed to take the exam are those who have established eligibility by completing a CA Department of Public Health. One of the best ways to attain eligibility is to complete a NATP. Depending on which program you enroll in, it can take an average of 4 to 6 months to complete. Your training will be divided into a minimum of 50 hours of lectures and at least 100 hours of clinical practice.

Candidates are only given 3 attempts to pass. All these attempts are only valid within 2 years after completing one’s training. If you fail to get certified within 3 attempts or within 2 years after training, you will be required to complete another NATP before you can reapply. When retaking the NNAAP exam, you will only be required to retake the test that you failed.

Certified nursing assistants in different states can also work in California by applying for reciprocity. When they apply, it is important that their certifications are current and that they were able to maintain a clean record.  CNAs who are listed in the Abuse Registry are not allowed to work in CDPH-approved programs. For more information, you can visit the CDPH website at www.cdph.ca.gov.

Coalinga, CA is a city located in Fresno County. Its population is around 13,380 according to the 2010 census. The city is located southwest of Fresno City with a distance of 52 miles. The city has both the Pleasant Valley State Prison and the Coalinga State Hospital. It also houses the newest mental health hospital in California for the last 50 years.

Other health care centers in Coalinga include the Adventist Health Community Care (559) 935-4282, Coalinga Valley Health Clinics (559) 935-4374, and the C. Valley Family Health Center, (559) 935-9200. Aside from this they also have the Coalinga Regional Hospital (559) 935-4374 which has more than a thousand employees today and gives a wide range of services and health care. photo attribution: westconn