Taking The CNA Test

Once you have taken all of the CNA training classes, then you should be equipped to do well on the examination.  This test is a measure to examine your academic qualifications to meet the states minimum passing score.  While you want to do more than just pass with minimum qualifications, the nurse assistant examination consists of two separate exams.

The Written Exam

This part of the test focuses on the essential medical principles and concepts covered throughout the training you received while attending the training program. This is why it is important to enroll in a comprehensive training program that covers each topic at length so you will be ready to pass the exam with flying colors.  A typical nurse assistant course can last a couple of weeks up to several months with solid training that is centered around educating you on all aspects of CNA care-giving.

A comprehensive training course will not only teach you the clinical fundamentals from A to Z, but will also provide period practice sessions in which attendees can demonstrate essential clinical processes and procedures of what they have learned on a practical level. The nice part of the hands-on clinical training is that you get to work with real patients in a facility environment under the supervision of a head nurse (RN or LPN).

Most people freeze up at the thought of taking an exam.  However, you should not have to worry if you took the training seriously. By this, you took the time to take plenty of notes, asked questions, completed you assignments and actively participated in the classroom training sessions.

The Clinical CNA Skills Test

This part of the certification exam is a bit more difficult to pass as this part of the test examines one’s ability to meet the minimum skill sets to pass the test and get certified for work.  When you perm this part of the test, you may or may not be asked to demonstrate certain tasks on a model patient.  This model acts like a real patient designed to mimic a patient.

Here, the examiner will ask you to perform certain clinical duties that you wee taught during your training program when you went through the nursing assistant course. The task may range from demonstrating how to remove a catheter, to assisting a patient out of bed.  As is as that may sound, you could be asked to demonstrate far more such as checking vital signs and a number of different things.  This is why it’s important to be ready. You may want to actually practice as many procedures on a trusted friend or relative before you actually take the exam.  This way, you will be able to rehearse the process in full paying attention to any parts of the practice that you don’t feel sure of.

The test examiner may ask you to demonstrate a number of the 5 basic clinical skills required to perform you job.  These skills include but are not limited to: grooming a patient, washing of hands, taking a patient’s vital signs, changing the bed linen, respect of patient’s rights and using a bed pan.

As you perm each part of this clinical skills test, the examiner will be carefully observing your performance through each step.  For this reason, it is important to get plenty of sleep the night before you take the test. If you are nervous or full of anxiety, this could cause you to forget something as important as washing your hands before and after you handle the practice model, or forget to knock on the door and even pull the privacy curtain.  While these things may seem slight, they carry a lot of significance in your final score and could mean the difference between passing or failing the CNA training test.

During the clinical test, the state examiner may also take you through a number of practice scenarios and ask you to perform as if it were real-world conditions.  This could be a simulated heart attack or choking and you will be asked to do what you learned while in your training class. Also, expect to be asked to demonstrate proper lifting and transfer techniques.  Here, you will be scored on how well you assist with getting a patient out of bed and perhaps, into a wheelchair.  Raising and lowering of bedrails and locking wheelchairs can mean the difference in between a passing score and a failing one.

The conclusion is that there is no need to fret when you are prepared. Take your CNA training for all that it is truly worth – a bright new career into the medical field where many possibilities can unfold.