The CNA certification online programs, which are also dubbed as the hybrid programs intend to give the CNA-wannabes an opportunity to complete the theoretical part of the CNA coursework thoroughly online (and even at a leisurely pace) while their clinical skills training classes would be done in person through the campus or, usually, at local hospitals or nursing homes, where the CNA-wannabes would get to have hands-on clinical training under the supervision of senior nurses or other medical practitioners.
What Would Be Online & What Wonât Be Online? Facts about CNA Certification Online Programs!
If you have the mindset that you would be able to get your CNA certification completely online, then, I may have to disappoint you since through the CNA certification online programs, you are given the facility to complete only the theoretical portion of the nursing coursework entirely online.
But, the clinical training portion as well as the Nurse Aide Competency Exam or the CNA certification test would, no doubt, have to be attended in person.
As a tradition, the CNA certification online programs would make you take internship in the local hospitals or some nursing centers, where you will have the opportunity to hone CNA skills in you, under the supervision of the senior nurses.
Brief Information On How to Get CNA Certification Online:
You can complete CNA Certification program online from accredited colleges and universities on your own pace. These are some of the steps to become a certified nursing assistant.
1st Step: Enrolling in a Good CNA Certification Online Program!
Get enrolled in a good online CNA program, which guarantees to provide you with all the education requirements that are demanded by your stateâs CNA licensing authority.
For your information, the online CNA certification programs, which have bagged accreditation from the NNAAP i.e. National Nurse Aide Assessment Program, would have the provision of offering state approved CNA training classes.
Merits of enrolling in the accredited online CNA certification programs!
Those online CNA schools which have got accreditation are regarded as top grade CNA training programs. In essence, you should know that an accreditation is like a green signal, which tells you, "Hey, these online CNA courses provide all the CNA education requirements demanded by this stateâs CNA licensure provision!"
Whatâs more, an accredited online CNA certification program also gives its graduates the facility to transfer their credit hours when applying in nursing schools, college and universities for advance nursing educations (like associateâs or bachelorâs degree in nursing).
But, in case, you could not get your hands on an accredited CNA program, then your remaining alternative would be to enroll in a reputed online program that provides a clinical internship or has job-placement facility.
2nd Step: Completing the online nursing coursework!
Generally, the online CNA schooling takes about 3 to as much as 8 weeks for completion unless it is a self-paced CNA program. Also, keep note that the accredited or, rather say, the good online CNA programs require their CNA students to have regular interaction with their online CNA instructors throughout the CNA schooling period.
On completing the online CNA program, i.e. both the required credit hours of theoretical and clinical nursing classes, you will be honored with the Certification in Nursing Assistant.
3rd Step: Registering for passing the CNA licensing exam!
Once you bag the Certification in Nursing Assistant, your next priority is to pass the CNA certification/licensing test, which is also referred to as the Nurse Aide Competency Exam.
Needless to say, this licensing exam is the final step for becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant and, therefore, every CNA graduates, whether from CNA certification online programs or from in-campus programs, would ultimately have to face this CNA certification test in order to get licensed by the state.
Your CNA program manager would generally complete the registration process on your behalf and schedule the date, place and time for your state certification exam.
However, in case, your CNA program does not schedule your licensing exam, then you would, no doubt, have to complete the registration process on your own and take participation in the CNA certification exam.
Afterwards, if you have successfully passed the exam, then you would be officially acclaimed as a Certified Nurse Assistant and your name would also appear in the Nurse Aide registry.
Now, if (unfortunately), your results come in negative i.e. you have failed the licensing exam, then, worry not since your state does believe in giving second chance to the failed CNA candidates. So, according to the retest policy of your state, you may take the CNA certification test again. But, letâs hope one try is enough. After all, taking retests is not good for reputation!
The Benefits of Taking On Line Classes: What Makes CNA Certification Online Programs More Interesting?
Flexible Schedule: CNA aspirants generally enroll in the online CNA programs to benefit from the flexible schedule offered by these programs.
Due to the flexible program schedules, even the so-called busy people would get the opportunity to attend the online CNA classes in their suitable time periods. Whatâs more, most CNA certification online programs give the CNA students the facility to complete the online training in a self-paced manner.
Use of video tutorials and web contents: The CNA students of the online programs get to complete their theoretical nursing coursework entirely online. The lectures and other theoretical part of the CNA coursework are made available in the form of videos and web contents of these online CNA programs.
Besides the theoretical portion, the online programs also provide video tutorials of the clinical skills, which would help prepare the CNA students for their clinical internship.
Now, in case, you want to get your CNA certification online, then, itâs time you initiate a hunt for good online CNA courses, which would help provide you with the theoretical and clinical trainings that meet the requirements issued by your stateâs CNA licensing authority.
Since the provisions on CNA licensing requirements basically varies from one state to another, it is recommended for you to first get enlightened about your stateâs CNA education requirements, on the basis of which you may start looking for online CNA certification programs.
Best Ways to Find Good (or even free) CNA Certification Online Programs!
There are several hospitals and government sponsored programs that help to pay CNA Certification Online Programs.
Make an inquiry at your stateâs Nursing Board or the Department of Labor
If there is anybody that really knows about good online CNA certification programs available in your state, then it is your Stateâs Nursing Board. As a regulatory body of CNAs and other such nursing personnel, your stateâs Nursing Board would certainly have information on good online CNA certification programs that provide state-demanded CNA training to the interested applicants.
Besides the Nursing Board, the Department of Labor and the Nurse Aide registry do also provide information regarding the online CNA certification program. You may also contact these agencies in your state in order to fish out a good online CNA certification program.
Participate in the online discussion forums regarding CNA programs
CNA forums are reckoned as the most popular means to find out about CNA programs, be it online or in-college based. After all, these online discussion platforms provide the CNA-wannabes an opportunity to interact with and get suggestion from other CNA aspirants, CNA students and even the CNA professionals.
Just participate in the online CNA discussion forums and you will be able to glean information on which nursing schools have the provision of offering online CNA certification classes and whether a certain CNA certification online program is good for your enrollment.
Nowadays, the appeal towards the online education programs is significantly great. This is not really a surprising thing since the online education programs present a golden opportunity for the ambitious people, who are unable to continue their education due to a busy life. Now, if you are anxious to know whether there are any online CNA certification programs, then the answer isâ Yes, there are!
However, it is believed that not every online CNA program is good. And, naturally, the graduates of these not-good-enough online programs usually find it an ordeal to get a job. This is one of the reasons for why you should consider the following factors before enrolling in any online CNA certification program.
Enroll only in those online CNA certification programs which have got accreditation!
While searching for online CNA programs, make sure to keep your eyes on their accreditation. If a particular online CNA program has got its accreditation from the NLNAC (which stands for National League for Nursing Accredited Commission), then you have found the green signal for enrolling in it. However, enrolling in an unaccredited CNA college will be considered a waste of time and money. So, check the site nlnac.org to find out whether a particular online CNA school is accredited or not.
Advantages of enrolling in an accredited CNA program
As a side note, let me also inform you that if you have graduated from an accredited CNA program, then you will find less or naught difficulty for getting jobs in the hospitals or other nursing homes.
Besides the job, you will also have no trouble in gaining enrollment in further level nursing programs such as Licensed practical Nurse (LPN) and Registered Nurse (RN). Whatâs more, the subject courses you have completed in your accredited CNA program will not be ignored too.
Contact your state licensing board to learn about the education requirements & other specifics to become licensed as a Certified Nursing Assistant!
Most online CNA certification programs are not quite fortunate enough to bag the accreditation from the NLNAC. So, in this case, the alternative is to seek for online CNA programs offered by reputed nursing schools and universities, which promises either job placement facilities or complete clinical and theoretical credit hours required to give you eligibility for seeking the CNA state certification.
For your information, the credit hours required for gaining eligibility to sit in the state certification exam is generally different in each state. This means that you will have to contact your State Licensing Board or the State Nurse Aide Registry for gaining information about the training and education requirements you should fulfill to become a Certified Nurse Assistant.
Additionally, you can also inquire professional CNAs in your local hospitals or other nursing facilities to recommend an online CNA program.
Benefits of Enrolling in Online CNA Certification Programs!
Who says job and education canât go side by side? Once upon a time, these two factors might have had some difficulty in getting along with each other. And, indeed, whenever people wanted to continue their education, with a view to further up their career, they had to sacrifice their jobs in order to manage time for their education. But now, the presence of online education programs speaks of a completely different story.
You see, one of the best things about the online CNA certification programs is their flexibility in study schedules, which means that you can manage your study hours in the way you like.
This way you will be able to complete your CNA training program without having to forgo your job or your family responsibilities. Whatâs more, the money earned from your job can also used for aiding in your education budgets so that you would not have to get burdened with unnecessary loans.