Nursing assistants who complete 75 hours of state-approved training may take a competency exam to become certified. Those who pass the exam are placed on the state registry of nurse aides and are qualified Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA's).
Vocational schools, community colleges, hospitals, the National Council for State Boards of Nursing, and other health care organizations offer certification programs. These programs last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months and provide clinical experience and training in anatomy, nutrition, physiology and patient care.
If you have completed a nurse assisting program through a reputable institution, you should be adequately prepared for the exam. However, study aids and practice exams are widely available on the Internet.
Exams consist of a written portion and a practical exam. The written portion will test your comprehension of the medical concepts and care-giving techniques that you learned during class lectures or through reading.
For the practical portion, you will be asked to perform specific duties, which may include positioning the patient in bed, giving a bedpan, taking a patient's temperature and grooming a patient. The examiner will also look for details such as proper hand washing and dignified treatment of the patient.