Do I need a CNA certificate to become a LVN?

kcochrane · Jan 10, 2008

I don't know of any state that requires a CNA certificate before becoming a LVN. But I do know that in a lot of states you can get your CNA certificate after a certain number of clinical hours inLVN/LPN school.

Sally1 · Jan 10, 2008

Thanks for your reply. I only ask because my local community college requires a CNA certificate in order to enter the LVN program. I wasn't sure if this was just for that particular school or not. Thanks again!

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Jan 10, 2008

Better ask someone at the school, preferably in the nursing dept. CNA certs do not take but a few weeks to acquire. Our Literacy Council for our county provides tuition free for many people.

Batman24 · Jan 10, 2008

My cc also requires CNA, HHA or PCA certificate for the RN program. The others in the area don't require it. Ask the school to be sure.

gagezoie · Jan 10, 2008

My college required us to complete the cna course but it did not require us to actually take the certification test. I think you need to just call the school and ask them. It is different at almost every college.

pink2blue1 · Jan 10, 2008

I am interested in becoming a LVN (possibly a RN in the future). Do I have to receive a CNA certificate in order to become a LVN? Is attaining a CNA certificate beneficial to my career no matter what?
(Sorry if this is a pretty basic question, I am just beginning my research on this particular career and am trying to find information from many sources. Thank you).

For my LVN program it was required to have a CNA certificate. Personally I find that it helped me A LOT, not only in school, but since I have graduated and begun working on the floor as well.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2008

In my State, its not required but Schools/Universities/Community Colleges can mandate that CNA certificatin is a requirement in order to apply to their nursing schools.

My school (private technical LPN school) doesn't require it.

I have had my CNA since the mid 80's and I can tell you that my CNA experience has only helped me in school. I was much more at ease with patient contact, talking to them, bathing them etc that those in my class who have no healthcare experience.

cmyersRN · Jan 11, 2008

I am interested in becoming a LVN (possibly a RN in the future). Do I have to receive a CNA certificate in order to become a LVN? Is attaining a CNA certificate beneficial to my career no matter what?
(Sorry if this is a pretty basic question, I am just beginning my research on this particular career and am trying to find information from many sources. Thank you).

I'm a RN student at a technical college in Wisconsin and I know that successfully passing the CNA course is required for entry into both the LPN and RN tracks. We however, are not required to get the certification through the state unless we want to.

swee2000 · Jan 11, 2008

I'm a RN student at a technical college in Wisconsin and I know that successfully passing the CNA course is required for entry into both the LPN and RN tracks. We however, are not required to get the certification through the state unless we want to.

Does the above info only apply to your school? Otherwise, I am really confused. See, I also live in WI, attended a local technical college, and graduated from a LPN program. But at my school, it was mandatory for students to be CNA certified before getting accepted into &/or starting a nursing program. And it didn't matter if they were going into the RN or LPN program....both required CNA certification. The only thing not required, although strongly encouraged, was job experience(as a CNA).

Up until this posting, I was under the impression that all the WI technical schools carried the same general requirements & expectations of their nursing students. And I also thought that, in order to be considered a "certified" nursing assistant in the State of WI, one had to complete a state-approved CNA training program, as well as take & pass the state's "nurse aide competency(or promissory) exam". I know I had to....but that was back in 2002. Have things changed(and that drastically) since then? Or am I just plain-old confused? :confused:

cmyersRN · Jan 12, 2008

Does the above info only apply to your school? Otherwise, I am really confused. See, I also live in WI, attended a local technical college, and graduated from a LPN program. But at my school, it was mandatory for students to be CNA certified before getting accepted into &/or starting a nursing program. And it didn't matter if they were going into the RN or LPN program....both required CNA certification. The only thing not required, although strongly encouraged, was job experience(as a CNA).
Up until this posting, I was under the impression that all the WI technical schools carried the same general requirements & expectations of their nursing students. And I also thought that, in order to be considered a "certified" nursing assistant in the State of WI, one had to complete a state-approved CNA training program, as well as take & pass the state's "nurse aide competency(or promissory) exam". I know I had to....but that was back in 2002. Have things changed(and that drastically) since then? Or am I just plain-old confused?

I am too, under the impression that the Wisconsin technical college system has a "state-wide" curriculum, so most requirements for entry should be the same. I double-checked the website of my school (Western Technical College, La Crosse, WI) and it states that LPN and RN students are required to have successful completion of a Department of Health and Family Services approved Nursing Assistant course. That said, in my situation, I completed my CNA course in May 2006 and entered into core classes and clinicals for the ADN in Fall 2006 without having taken the state certification. I did however, decide to get a part-time job as a CNA later on and took the state certification in April 2007. But not being certified did not affect my enrollment into the nursing classes. I hope that clears any confusion up.

kcochrane · Jan 13, 2008

Sounds like a school to school thing. I ditto, call the school and find out. Mine was a local technical school and did not require one, but like I said above, we could test for the CNA certification after the first half of clinical was done.