You can work as a part of a medical team without spending a lot of time in school. Consider working as a certified nursing assistant as a way to start your healthcare career. Training will only last for a few weeks and often only costs a few hundred dollars. Sometimes you can even be eligible for free training options.
Training Requirements and Hours
In order to be able to sit for the exam that certifies nursing assistants in Minnesota, you will need to attend a training program that has been approved by the state. These training courses span a length of at least 75 hours. The course will provide you with the background information you need to work effectively as part of the healthcare team. You will learn how to perform all of the traditional duties of a certified nursing assistant. CNA classes provide you with the training you need to provide safe and effective care for any of your patients or clients. After you complete a training course in its entirety, you will be able to sit for the certification exam. You must pass the exam before you will receive certification.
CNA Certification Renewal
As long as you work at some point as a nursing assistant or in a related job, you will be able to renew your certification every two years. It will be necessary to have worked for at least 8 hours for pay during that time. Otherwise, you will need to take the certification exam again. Take the time to complete your renewal paperwork when it is received. You should receive it two months or more before your certification is set to expire. If you forget to renew on times, you have a 30 day period to get it renewed. You will need to take further steps to renew certification at that point.
Transferring Certification to Minnesota
If you hold an active nursing assistant certification in another state, you can apply to have the certification transferred to Minnesota. You will need to request an Interstate Endorsement Application from the Nursing Assistant Registry in Minnesota. It will be necessary to agree to a criminal background check. Your endorsement application might request forms and verification paperwork. You will not need to complete nursing assistant certification in Minnesota if your application to transfer your certification is accepted by the state of Minnesota. You can then be listed on the Nursing Aide Registry in Minnesota.
Q&A
Q. I want to become a certified nursing assistant but I am not sure how to do so. My main concern is that I know I must be listed on the nursing aide registry in order to be employed as a CNA. What must I do so that I can be accepted onto the nursing aide registry?
A. Before you can be listed on the nursing aide registry, two main steps must be taken. The first thing you must do is to attend a CNA training course. This course must be one of those among the state approved programs. The course will need to be completed before successfully. At that point, you will move on to step two where you will sit for the nursing assistant competency exam. If you pass that exam and meet all other requirements to be a CNA, you will be listed on the registry.
Q. I want to learn more about nursing assistant certification programs in my state. I would like to evaluate more than one location so that I can compare the quality of several different programs. Where are some of the most common places to go for nursing assistant training? I took a few courses at a local college but do not remember seeing any CNA classes there.
A. You can contact the registry for a list of state approved CNA programs in Minnesota. If you do not want to go though an entire list, you can contact a few places in your area that might offer such programs. Community colleges and other vocational schools are often a resource for nursing assistant programs. Local nursing care facilities are another good place to start looking. Sometimes the Red Cross has CNA programs as well.
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