Although the nurse aides are an important part of the healthcare industry, they cannot practice in various patient care settings if they did not have a valid CNA license. These professionals have to work with different types of patients and ensure their safety and well-being. They should be aware of the various legal issues that can come up even if they practice with a good intention. So for all this, they require a professional training, which makes them not just industry ready, it prepares them for a career.
In order to get licensed as a nurse aide, you should take up a course as a nurse aide in a program that has been approved by the state. This program would have minimum number of hours approved by the state. Although the federal law specifies that the nurse aides should have at least 75 hours of training, most of the states have made it mandatory for them to take training for more number of hours. This training should include conventional classroom training and clinical skills experience. Though the classroom training can be taken by students in regular classes or as online courses, most of the states make it mandatory that the skills training should be done under the supervision of a CNA instructor.
Although most of the states do not specify any minimum education for the CNA aspirants, many training programs require that the candidates who apply for these programs should have at least a diploma in high school or an equivalent GED. They also require these aspirants to take a test to show that they can read and write English and can solve basic Math. Some centers might conduct a round of personal interview to shortlist candidates.
After you get accepted into a training program, you should complete it successfully to be able to sit for your competency exams. In fact, you should get a certificate from your center to show that you have completed your course successfully. This is one of the important CNA license requirements.
Another requirement of getting CNA license is that you should pass the competency exams, which consists of a written test and a skills test. After you pass the test, you will have to send fingerprints cards to the nurse aide registry of your state so that they can verify that you do not have a criminal background. Those who have criminal background or have even been accused of substance abuse will not be considered for certification.
After you get licensed as a nurse aide in your state, your license will remain valid for the next two years. A few weeks before your license expires, you will get a reminder from the nurse aide registry of your state that your license will expire. You should renew your license before it expires. In many states, if you fail to do so and your license expires, you will be required to take the training again and get yourself placed on the registry.
If you want to transfer CNA license to another state, you need to apply for reciprocity. Your license will get transferred if it is active in your current state and is in good standing. If it was suspended in your current state, it will not get transferred. Some states do not accept license of other states if the nurse aides have trained for less number of hours specified by them.
Although you might practice as a nurse aide in good intention, there may be instances when your license can get suspended. If you are found stealing the property of the patient or neglecting or abusing a patient and found to be guilty, your license can be suspended. If you are accused of any criminal charges, your license will be suspended immediately