Certified Nurse Assistant Training Requirements through OBRA

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA) was enacted to standarize the minimum requirements for certified nursing assistant (CNA) training programs and evaluation competency training. The Act was created to address requirements of care for nursing homes receiving Medicaid and Medicare funding. To work in a Medicare or Medicaid-funded or partially funded facility, a CNA must obtain OBRA-regulated training. Most state-offered CNA training courses now meet OBRA standards, whether you work in a nursing home or in another setting.

Training

• In most states, CNA schools require that an individual be over 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or GED (see Resources to search for CNA schools in your area). Classroom instruction can last between 75 to 150 hours depending on state. Students also must perform roughly 24 hours of supervised training in a nursing setting, most commonly a nursing home or long-term care center, again depending on state and geographical setting. A CNA must be certified by the State Board of Nursing in the state in which he works within four months of the hire date.

Basic Duties and Training

• During class instruction, you will be trained in a variety of skills, which include but are not limited to dressing and bathing a patient or resident, helping individuals transfer from bed to wheelchair or vice versa, making and changing beds, measuring urine output, answering call lights and helping with feeding when necessary. The CNA will also be required to show adequate skill in taking vitals, which include blood pressure, pulse, respiration and temperature.

Testing

• To become a certified CNA, you must take part in testing with State Board of Nursing panels. A written exam may contain between 55 and 70 multiple-choice questions designed to determine your knowledge regarding basic standards of patient care, residents' rights and quality of care issues. The CNA must also take a clinical "hands-on" exam, during which the CNA will be given approximately six skills to demonstrate on patients or mannequins. Such skills may include making a bed with a patient in it, cleaning a catheter, measuring urine output or feeding a patient.