CEU Changes in CA

[Clarifier S'il vous]

I became a CNA in Dec 2014. All of my classmates and I are/were pre-nursing students. We were told at that time by our instructors that our nursing prerequisite courses would count toward our CEUs. At least 12 of the required 48 units had to be completed within the first year and the rest in the second year.

I was on my way to take anatomy and physiology the first year after I received my certification, so I thought I was golden. I landed a home care job soon after I became certified and didn't worry about CEUs after that, since I still had three major science classes to complete at that point.

After about a year and a half, I got a job as a CNA in a LTCF, partially to help fulfill my need to work as a CNA in a facility to maintain my certification, and partially to get my foot in the door with this company.

This is when I found out that the pre-nursing classes I had taken during the first year no longer count toward CNA CEU requirements by the state in order to renew my certification next year. Basically, I will have to challenge the exam and take the entire thing over again. I have no idea where that will take place, it may be several hundred miles away and I won't have a choice as to testing sites. I have to keep my CNA certification current in order to be admitted into the nursing program I am on the waiting list for.

I am most concerned about the fact that real-life CNA work is not always a text-book situation. I am annoyed that I will have to take the exam again and hope I can pull off the skills portion. I am not worried about the written part. A little studying will go a long way, but the skills make me kind of nervous. Plus, it is a major inconvenience.

Anyway, just a little vent, as well as a heads-up, to keep up with any recent CEU requirement changes in your state.