Nurse's aid requirements in DC?

[littlehelper]

Hello. My friend began training as a nurse in Cameroon but did not complete it before moving here. She has no way of getting her transcripts from her old school, so her prior education at this point is fairly irrelevant. Now she is trying to get a job as a nurse's aid in DC and would like to know the required certifications or tests, and where to get these.

I tried calling the DC Board of Nursing and they were unhelpful. They gave me a phone number to call (but were unable to tell me who the phone number was for) and it turned out to be a nurse's aid temp agency, which, oddly enough, was also unable to tell me what sort of certifications are required, other than that some sort of certification is required. They were also unable to give me the names of any schools in the area where she could get certified (when I look online, I either find links for $19.99 degree mills or suggestions that aspiring nurse's aids "contact your guidance counselor in your votech high school" which is inaplicable in this case).

[HillaryC, RN, CRNA]

Hi,

I had a similar experience when trying to find out about CNA work in DC. All I can think to suggest is to call some of the training programs in the area. I looked in the yellow pages under "nurses' schools", and there are some CNA training programs. Your friend might also try contacting employers directly (like LTC facilities, hospitals) to find out if they all require certification. Since she doesn't have her transcripts and can't prove she's been in nursing school, she may have to start over here. However, I think there are some pretty quick CNA training programs. Perhaps she could get work that doesn't require certification while she works toward getting certified? Also -- would it be possible for her to look into certification in MD or Northern VA? MD's BON website and certification process seems to be pretty organized.

Best of luck,

Hillary

(new DC RN!)

Hello. My friend began training as a nurse in Cameroon but did not complete it before moving here. She has no way of getting her transcripts from her old school, so her prior education at this point is fairly irrelevant. Now she is trying to get a job as a nurse's aid in DC and would like to know the required certifications or tests, and where to get these.

I tried calling the DC Board of Nursing and they were unhelpful. They gave me a phone number to call (but were unable to tell me who the phone number was for) and it turned out to be a nurse's aid temp agency, which, oddly enough, was also unable to tell me what sort of certifications are required, other than that some sort of certification is required. They were also unable to give me the names of any schools in the area where she could get certified (when I look online, I either find links for $19.99 degree mills or suggestions that aspiring nurse's aids "contact your guidance counselor in your votech high school" which is inaplicable in this case).