Challenging the Nursing Assistant Exam

[TuesdayMorning]

In North Carolina a person can challenge the NA exam, which means that the person does not have to have any formal training and can educate at home or within a group and then take the exam and be listed on the registry.

Has anyone done this? I would really like to be listed on the registry so that I may have paid HCE.

If you've done this, do you have any advice?

It would be wonderful if I could be listed on the registry so that I may work somewhere other than a nursing home, but I am worried that I won't be prepared to take the exam.

Money is the reason I do not want to take the semester-long course. I also have two young children so time is also a reason.

It's hard to fit in any sort of certification when I am a working undergraduate with two small children.

Thank you for any advice.

[TThielen]

I took a CNA course in 3 weeks (12 full days). There are opportunities out there that are not a full semester long.

[GingersHuman]

I did this back in April. I have been an active EMT-B for about 3 years but I was hired to work in the Emergency Department and unfortunately at least in NC (Durham County) my scope of practice as an EMT basically ended at the front door of the hospital! So I challenged the NA exam and now work as both. Anyway. You can get the pamphlet thing online easily which will tell you everything you need to know. The written exam is a cinch, I'll bet anyone on this forum could pass it first try. The skills are the tricky part simply b/c they are looking for all these intricate steps for the most simplest of tasks. For example, taking a blood pressure was like 15 steps, cleaning under someone's nails was also like 10 steps - little things that are VERY simple but you just have to know what they are looking for. These are listed on the pamphlet, and I memorized them by first crossing out the redundancies (knock before entering, introduce myself, leave the bed in lowest position w/ call bell within reach, etc etc) Then just learn what they want - exa they want you to palpate a brachial pulse before taking a BP. I can't stress enough that it is simple and do-able but you must study the skills! I studied the lists then I watched youtube videos online (There are zillions of them!) for each skill. For example using a transfer belt to move a patient - I had never seen a transfer belt before in person. It costs $101 but if you fail the skills portion it costs like $75 to retake that so it is worth studying.

However, I recommend looking into job opportunities first, b/c even though I'm on the registry, I didn't go to "school" for it so I may have been less hire-able had I not already been working for my employer. I'm not sure how that works.

THIS and youtube is all you will need! -----------> http://asisvcs.com/publications/pdf/073400.pdf

[gamecaco4]

I don't know about anywhere else, but I believe here in Michigan, one needs to have that course whether it's through a college, employer or the Red Cross before taking the exam. I was told that I would have to show up on the registry that Prometric has saying that I've taken the class and/or show my certificate of completion for the program.

 

As GingersHuman stated above, it's all easy stuff, but the steps involved are ridiculous.

[GaeaAM]

I am currently a CNA in North Carolina getting my HCE before PA school starts in August. I wondered the same thing about challenging the NAI exam, since I already have a bachelor's degree. The end result is the same, if you're only trying to get on the registry. BUT if you're trying to work somewhere besides a nursing home, I would go ahead and take a course because most of the courses have a clinical component. I took a CNA course at CFCC in Wilmington for 2 1/2 months that had a clinical rotation at a nursing home for like $100. It was super easy as far as the tests were concerned, and the interaction with patients was valuable, if only to give me talking points in my interview at the hospital. They liked that I had some experience, however brief. I now work on a critical care unit at the hospital, which I would not have gotten without taking the CNA course. This HCE has been so valuable for learning and being introduced to healthcare, which I would not have experienced working in a nursing home. This HCE was key in my acceptance to Duke PA School. Sorry for the long thought. The CNA class might seem pointless right now, but it doesn't hurt to have an additional bullet-point on your resume.