CNA Classes In Pennsylvania

Are you ready to start an exciting career path in the medical field? If yes, take the CNA training program in Pennsylvania and work as a Certified Nursing Assistant. There are a number of healthcare facilities looking for CNA’s and they offer great benefits. If you are interested in this rewarding career, know where to take the training program. The state of Pennsylvania requires 75 hours of classroom sessions and 100 hours of clinical exposure for those who wanted to become Certified Nursing Assistants. If you want to pursue this career, it will just take you 13 weeks to complete. Hence, taking the training program is a good start to become a CNA.

Certified Nursing Assistant positions are increasingly popular in the state of Pennsylvania and they continue to fill an important role in the healthcare community, by providing vital care to patients in healthcare field. CNAs also offer significant support as facilitate the workload of nurses, by taking vitals, recording medical histories, in controlling infection, preparing, proper operating and maintaining medical equipment. They work directly under a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse in a hospital, clinic, or nursing home setting.

Community colleges, vocational schools offer approved training programs by Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing that are designed to train students to be eligible to pass CNA certification exam and begin a career as a certified nursing assistants in Pennsylvania. There are some hospitals, nursing homes, hospices or other healthcare facilities offering their own training programs and a job position upon completion of the education. Finally, the American Red Cross offers online training classes that make it easy to access the experiential learning. All the approved programs meets Pennsylvania’s guidelines and the Federal regulations.

CNA Training Requirements

A student must be at least 18 years old, needs a high school diploma or GED, a physical exam and two tuberculosis tests and should have clean criminal record before registering in a CNA training program that has been approved by the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing.

Those who qualify must attend at least 75 hours of classroom instruction and clinical/hands-on training, with 30 different subjects that are covered during the training, including hygiene and patient care, human biology, infection control, interpersonal and communication skills, patient rights, emergency procedures, nutrition, to handle and use medical equipment properly and other essential nursing skills.

Other topics covered are patient care, vital signs taking, infection control, interpersonal skills, proper nutrition, safety and emergency procedures, medical terminologies, basic anatomy and many others. It will also expose you to the clinical field so that you will be able to practice your profession.

These programs lasts for about six to nine months and upon the completion, a comprehensive examination must be given in order to pass and receive your credentials.

After completing the training, students have 24 months to take an certification exam before added on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry, otherwise should take lessons again.

The good thing in becoming a CNA is you have a lot of opportunities to look forward. You can be a LPN or RN if you take some college credits for advanced studies. However, if you simply want to remain as a CNA, you can upgrade your skills and earn more. Before all these things are conceptualized, you need to take CNA classes first in a state approved facility. There are several facilities in the state of Pennsylvania that offers CNA training programs. A full list of accredited CNA classes in Pennsylvania can be found on Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing website.

Pennsylvania CNA Examination

In state of Pennsylvania, the final examination (NNAAP) consists of two sections administered by the American Red Cross and taken through Pearson VUE. The first section is a written multiple-choice test consisting of 50 questions, which assess the technical understanding of being a nursing assistant and the medical concepts involved. The second section is a clinical evaluation consisting of five randomly skills and are selected from a list of 25 essential skills that were taught to the trainee during the 75-hour training program.

Trainee must pass both sections in full within three attempts to become Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), before re-take a training program.  Once you passed it, you will be required to complete certain documents. The state and federal government will require a criminal background check and fingerprinting. If you had a criminal offense in the past, you will not be certified. Only after these steps can the candidate be added to the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry, that contains the record of all the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) of the state.

The certification must be renewed every two years and CNA must fill out the paperwork sent by the state. Also, must has worked at least eight hours in healthcare field during certification period.

CNA Salary & Job Outlook in Pennsylvania

[divider]CNA Salary in Pennsylvania [/divider]

If you become a Certified Nursing Assistant in Pennsylvania, you will have no worries in finding a job. There are a lot of nursing homes, hospitals and long term healthcare facility looking for CNA’s so you will always have the chance to get employed.

CNA can work anywhere, in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, hospices, government agencies and other healthcare facilities in the state including the Albert Einstein Medical Center, Saint Luke’s Hospitals, Temple University Hospital and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Daily duties include feeding, bathing, dressing, toileting, administering medication, light housekeeping duties, basic treatment care and maintaining a daily patient progress report.

The average pay for a Certified Nursing Assistant in Pennsylvania is $28,460. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the demand for nursing assistants is likely to increase over 18 percent in future years. This means that there will be thousands of new jobs available for those who have completed the training.

All Pennsylvania State Approved CNA Programs.