Loading...The state of New York conducts training for Certified Nurse Aid by involving some training, tests, and practice and class room education. Federal laws proscribe the hiring of nurses for the states, which are not listed on the Nurse Aide Registry of that state. So, it is the primary requirement for each state to have its own registry and maintain the constant records to check the updated status of the exam. When an individual would like to pursue the nurse aide examinations of New York, then following points should be kept in mind so that a person can become authorized to work as a nurse aide. The points are:
- An individual must be listed as on the New York Nurse Aide Registry
- The state conducted exam must be cleared by the individual
- Authorized nurse aide training course should be completed.
Eligibility
To become an eligible applicant for the CNA exam, following instructions are to be trailed:
- Applicants must have completed a New York State-approved Nurse Aide Training Program.
- All prospective officially authorized nurse aides in New York State must clear both the New York State-approved Clinical Skills Performance Exam and New York State Nurse Aide Competency Exam.
- There is no minimum age requirement.
Components of Exam
The Nursing Assistant’s ability for examination incorporates two different tests. One among both is a written examination that checks the theoretical awareness of the applicant, and the reverse one is the hand-on examination, whereby the clinical skills of the applicant are identified and verified. Candidates can give the examination in any order.
A candidate will be provided with only three attempts to qualify both sections of the exam. On failing in any part of the examination for three times, candidates can opt for re-training so as to urge permission for re-testing.
Written Test
The written examination of the CNA exam is in a multiple-choice format and comprises of sixty objective type questions, for which each candidate gets the time of 90- minutes to complete the exam. The content outline of the written examination includes the following subject matter:
- Role of the Nurse Aide – 18%
- Promotion of Safety – 18%
- Promotion of Function and Health of Residents – 24%
- Basic Nursing Care Provided by the Nurse Aide – 26%
- Providing Specialized Care for Residents with Changes in Health – 14 %
Oral Test
The written examination can also be given orally by those who have marginal reading skills, reading disability, or for those applicants who regard English as their secondary language. The written exam is also offered orally. The choice for the mode of the examination, i.e., written or oral is chosen at the time of filling the application form, which cannot be changed later.
The applicants, who opted for the oral mode of examination, are provided with a printed exam booklet, headset, and a CD player. The applicant will go through the questions will from a pre-recorded CD. The answers will be given on the answer sheets provided to the candidates. However, in the section of reading comprehension, the applicant is required to demonstrate the minimal English literacy skills that he possesses.
Skills Test
The clinical skill test is scored on the demonstration of the five basic skills while giving the examination- three assigned skills and two additional skills of hand washing and indirect care. Indirect care refers to the safety of residents, communication with the residents, infection control, and resident’s rights and preferences. To clear the clinical skills exam, the aspirant must pass the entire five skills test.
Each skill encompasses a checklist and a series of checkpoints, based on the criticality of safe performance of the skill. To pass the test, it is not necessary to perform all the skills correctly, but to score enough points to exhibit the proficiency of the skill. The checklist is based on the points, which are as below:
- Clinical Skills Checklist
- Nurse Aide Evaluator (NAE)
- Orientation and Instruction sheet
- General Instructions for the Nurse Aide Clinical Skills Test
- Correcting a skill
- Stopping the testing of a skill
- Use of gloves
Points to Remember while Taking Clinical Skills Test
- Each applicant is provided a copy of general instructions on the subject of the nurse aide clinical skills test.
- To qualify the skills test, it is mandatory for the applicant to acquire minimum passing scores in all the five skills.
- The candidate is unconstrained to privacy while taking an exam.
- Other candidates should be provided with a waiting room, where they can wait for their turn to come.
- The clinical skill test room should be well-lit and properly ventilated, and should contain a privacy screen and privacy curtain.
- In order to administer the exam in a standardized manner, it is necessary that all the needed space, supplies and equipments are provided as per the In-Facility Testing Agreement form.
- Resident actor also plays a pivotal role while conduction of the examination, which are:
- Candidates only play the role of the resident, for other candidates who are taking the skills test.
- The candidate, playing the role of the resident is required to speak and understand English.
- Have no physical, mental, medical, any other condition that affects anyone in any way by his/her involvement as a resident actor.
- Resident actor should be willing to have skills performed on him/her, including feeding, grooming, and brushing teeth.
- The most noteworthy point is that if the resident does not allow the applicant to perform any of the skills on him/her, and the candidate could not complete the task, the candidate is liable to fail.
Exam Fee
- $15 — Duplicate certificate
- $15 — Duplicate score report
- $40 — Recertification (to be paid by employer)
- $50 — Reciprocity and New York State RNs and LPNs
- $67 — Oral Test/retesting only
- $57 — Written Test/retesting only
- $68 — Clinical Skills/retesting only
- $135 — Clinical Skills/oral examination (first time)
- $115 — Clinical Skills/written examination (first time)
On the Day of the Exam
To assure the well conduction of the examinations, following safety and security rules are to be followed on the day of the examination.
- Candidates must arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled time, to the venue.
- Eating and drinking are not allowed while the exam is going on. Candidates are directed to the areas in between the exams, where they are allowed to take meal.
- Any kind of reference materials, study materials, dictionaries, papers, textbooks, or calculators are not allowed in the examination area.
- Personal stuff including electronic gadgets, like cell-phones, tape-recorders, cameras, PDAs, etc or other belongings, like purse, backpacks, hat, coat, etc are not allowed in the exam area.
- Candidates while leaving the exam hall must sign out/in on the register. Only one candidate at a time is excused from the exam room.
- Any visitors or family members are not allowed at the exam centre.
- Candidates who are found guilty of any misconduct or cheating in the form of receiving phone, giving or taking any help, viewing the exam of another candidate, using rude or offensive language, etc, will be dismissed from the examination.
Exam Results
After the exam, the answer sheets are sent to Prometric, which are scored by computer to determine the accurate and official results. Official results are then dispatched to applicants within five working days, following the day of the exam.
The skill test or training programmes’ report is mailed within 10 working days, at the end of each week, after receiving reports from the Prometric.
Passing
Candidates, who successfully pass both components of the CNA competency Examination, will be given a New York State Nursing Home Nurse Aide Certificate and a wallet card. The applicant will eventually be listed on the New York State Nursing Home Nurse Aide Registry, and the certifications of initial stages will be issued for the period of two years.
Failing
Candidates, who do not pass the exam will be given their score cards, which contains diagnostic information by content area or knowledge. Candidates who fail will also receive information about their re-test.