CDPH Issues: What is a CNA to do?!

KatAlarcon · Feb 10, 2015

Hope everyone's day is going great so far and stays that way!

I recently became certified as a CNA in September of this year. I unfortunately seem to have the worst luck possible.

After passing both portions of the competency exam to become a CNA, we were told to wait at least two months for our certification to come in the mail. Two months passed by, three, and then it was January 2015. After about two months and a half I started contacting the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in order to get in touch with someone about what was going on with my certification.

Nothing but an automated machine telling me that all representatives were busy.

I found the phone number for the CDPH's message center. I left messages but no one ever got back to me. Until finally in February, I received a response to one of the e-mails that I sent out.

Turns out that there was an error on my initial application. I e-mailed right away only to hear from Sylvia a week later telling me that I need to mail another application. That same day I paid for rush delivery for the documents that I needed to sent. Two weeks later, dozens of phone calls and e-mails later, I still have not heard from anyone about addressing this issue.

Because my certificate has not been released, my name is not on the CNA registry. Therefore I cannot even be considered for employment as a CNA. I am in desperate need of a job especially as a college student. I recently had to quit my job because their hours conflicted with the hours that I attend school. I am stressing out because nothing is getting done to fix my CNA status and just prolonging my search of employment.

I've tried applying for numerous facilities and hospitals but I am always asked my certification number. If it's not that, then when I try to explain this situation, I never get a response back from an employer.

What's a desperate yet determined CNA to do? Has anyone else had an issue like this? How did you handle it? How did you possibly do it because I'm stressing out.