Am I eligible for CNA Exam?

U.S.A. Tennessee

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Hi everybody, I have just completed my first semester of nursing school in an ADN program. I wanted to start working and get some experience in healthcare outside of school and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I'm eligible to sit for the state CNA exam. I' ve heard that this is done in other states.

All posts will be appreciated.

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The TN Healthcare Facilities Commission regulates CNAs, and they will allow to challenge the CNA test without actually taking a CNA course if you provide transcripts from a LPN or RN program that shows you have completed a "fundamentals of nursing" or similar course that includes the same skills as taught in a CNA program. I'm not exactly sure how one would go about doing this, but the CNA division's phone number is 615-532-5171. Good luck.

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Thank you so much for your help.

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Specializes in Float.

I have heard it is possible. There was a nursing home I talked to way back when who said I could bring them my course info and they were going to set me up to take the test.

However - what part of TN are you in? A better option is to get an intern position. Some hospitals require you to be within a year of graduation, but someone let you start after fundamentals. The pay can be close to $20/hr with shift diffs and the duties can be much more varied than a CNA position.

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I live in west tennessee, the hospital in and those surrounding my town don't offer any nurse intern positions. The closest hospital that does is 2+ hours away, so that's not really an option. Thank you for the information though.

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Specializes in Float.

I am in West TN too. Are you 2+ hours from Memphis? Jackson offers nurse intern positions too but not as much $.

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