CNA skills course or exam prep?

Alliedhealth · Jul 12, 2012

Hello,

No employer is going to see any skills course you've taken. However, many employers ask for the certificate from the school as well as your certification from the state when applying.

somekindofstrange · Jul 13, 2012

I advise if you are in the state of Florida you go through a certification program. I learned this lesson the hard way. Despite having a CNA certification, I know have to go to another class because the employers around my area ask for a certificate from a 120 hr CNA program. I cannot vouch for other areas but in my region its very hard to even get a CNA position without an accredited 120 hr program.

ddl77 · Jul 13, 2012

That's really good to know! Thank you for the advice.

somekindofstrange · Jul 14, 2012

Let me emphasis that the instructor of your program should not only be 120 hrs but also have a registered nurse as the instructor! This is important ! Donot waste your money on 40-75 hr programs.

ddl77 · Jul 16, 2012

Okay, I now have one more question. Ideally I'd like to work as a Patient Care Assistant in a hospital, rather than a CNA in a nursing home, though I wouldn't mind doing the nursing homes if that was my only job offer. I'm looking at the requirements for PCA jobs on my local hospital website, and it says you need either your CNA or have completed first semester of nursing school.

I'm a bit confused because now I've also seen specific PCA courses offered that are a bit longer in length than CNA courses (290 hours vs 120), and am wondering if CNAs are able to work as PCAs in hospitals, or if in general, not having the PCA course is a disadvantage?

Alliedhealth · Jul 16, 2012

Well I don't know how it is in FL. But in NY you can be either or. Pct's (patient care techs) because pca are totally different here, are trained to do phlebotomy and EKG. CNA's are usually hired in nursing homes or home care. However, there are many that do get hired in hospital settings. Usually many agencies hire for hospitals after doing 1 1/2 to 2 yrs LTC. I found an agency that hires as long as you have healthcare experience. I work in a hospital as a cna from agency,we work with one pt. a day if they're admitted; however, we may work with many in one day if it's an ED/ER assignment.

Alliedhealth · Jul 16, 2012

My suggestion to you would be to take both classes if you can afford to do it (meaning time and money). Especially if you plan on doing the pct position through school. Ask the school what are their employment rates for the PCA program before you join and you would have an idea of how well their programs really are.

RmCU_nA · Jul 17, 2012

dcs1107:if you have equivalent training from a different state you may challenge the state exam like me..i finished a nursing program in PHIL but couldnt find any jobs when i moved here in CAL so I applied for CNA exam and waiting to take it..

ddl77 · Jul 17, 2012

I haven't received training in a different state, this would be my first time taking any CNA prep. I think I'm going to just try to do the CNA skills course, not the PCA course, because I don't really have time to do both and I'm hoping to get accepted to an ABSN program by next May. I've heard that once you've completed your first semester of nursing school you can work as a PCA, so I don't think spending the time or money on the extra course now would be worth it, since I'm hoping to get into school in less than a year. Thanks for the comments, though! I'm new to all of this - switching from a MA in art history and working in an art museum to nursing.