2 week CNA prep course

[flwannaB]

Ok all you nurses, I need your feedback. I am waiting for my LPN class and decided to do CNA in the interim. One class I looked into is a 2 week prep class. I am a little weiry. There is a 95% pass rate but no clinicals at all. I am a fast learner but I can't see how they can teach you what you need to know in 2 weeks. Most CNA courses are average 120 hours. I don't want to make a big mistake and waste $300. Any one experience this?

[leopold]

You really need clinicals. Usually only 4-5 days but so very important. My experience of courses is that they last at least one month, 4-5 days a week. It's very easy to pass the academics of CNA.

[jaacosmom]

My CNA course was 11 days. You got 6 days of orientation on the floor then you were on your own. The course was not to hard - lots of stuff to remember. Afterwards you could get your certfication. You should be able to get your certfication after you take your med/surg course. I forgot to mention I took this course at a LTC, got paid for going after the fist two days of class. Got a pay raise after finishing the course and another after I recieved my certification.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I have found that the hours would be basically the same in the sense that a 5 week program may have you attending classes part time (say 2-3 hours a day, 4 days a week). I would like to ask you if these classes are all day long, and do they give you the test to certify you as a CNA. If they do, most of the time, they teach you skills; about 30-40 of them, and the CNA exam is two parts (at least when I took it about 15 years ago) a practical, where they will ask you to perform 5 out of those skills (and you have NO hint of what they may be, but in most cases, they will include vital signs and handwashing), then, if you pass that portion, they will allow you to take the written exam (IOW, if you don't pass the skills portion, they will send you home without taking the written, and you'll have to retake the test again). I would think that even if you don't receive a clinical, they should set time to the side to train you on the skills you may be asked to perform. I remember them stating that we had to come with a partner or they would assign us one (usually another candidate that is also waiting to take the exam). I came alone, and because I didn't have anyone, they chose skills for me that I could do without another person. I did have to partner with someone who took my vital signs, and once, I escorted a friend of mine in that was assigned to brush my teeth (now THAT was a hoot...LOL). Just make sure that they certify you and find out if they will teach you the skills that you may actually have to perform. What may be happening if there is no clinical, is that they may be hooked into people that have set skills that they will ask at all times (unbeknownst to you, of course).