CNA - Jessica W.

Jessica Woodling:

• Disclaimer: I attended a program in Santa Ana called QBICS Career College after graduating from UCSD. However, from my understanding, most CNA programs work similarly.

• Cost: $1800 which included 1 pair of scrubs, the textbook, blood pressure cuff, gait belt, stethoscope, and the fee for the state exam.

• Length: 5 weeks if you go Monday through Friday from 8am to 3pm. Most schools also offer weekend only classes but these are typically 10 to 12 weeks.

• The class was split into a didactic portion and a clinical portion. We spent the first week and a half in the classroom reading from the textbook and practicing skills on one another. Then each week was split so that we were in the classroom for 2 days and at the clinical site for 3 days.

• Clinicals are always done at a nursing home rather than a hospital.

• The didactic portion included about 20 quizzes, one small project and a final exam.

• The state test has a written section and a skills section. The passing score for the written section is approximately 75%. The skills section tests 5 skills and all must be done to the grader’s satisfaction in order to pass.

• My school scheduled the state test for us and the earliest I was able to take it was 4 weeks after the end of the class. After passing the test, it took another 4-6 weeks to receive my physical certificate in the mail. The physical certificate is usually required at most jobs.

• Throughout the course, representatives from various companies gave short recruitment talks but most of these companies were either homecare (which does not count as PCE for PA school) or nursing homes.