Initial Registration Requirements
CNAs are valuable members of nursing teams in skilled nursing facilities (NF) and many assisted living facilities. CNAs assist licensed nurses (RNs and LPNs) by providing essential nursing cares that the nurse delegates to the CNA. Licensed nurses are required to appropriately delegate and supervise CNAs. Registration as a CNA requires training and completion of a competency evaluation assessment, consisting of a passing a CNA skills evaluation and knowledge exam. Only persons who are actively registered with the Board may use the title of “Certified Nurse Aide” and the abbreviation “CNA”.
CNA Registration Requirements
1. Complete a Board-Approved NATP
- Approved NATPs are 75-hours in length and consist of an initial 16 hours of education before a nurse aide student is allowed to work with residents.
- Following the first 16 hours, a student completes 43 hours that includes learning content from a book or online; and learning common nurse aide skills in a lab, NF, or comparable nursing setting.
- The common nurse aide skills that an instructor(s) must teach include:
- Handwashing, PPE Use, obstructed airway, moving a resident up in bed, log rolling, positioning on side, use of transfer belt, transferring from bed to wheelchair, assisting with ambulation with cane/crutches, obtaining blood pressure, obtaining pulse and respiration, obtaining weight, completing bed bath, oral care, oral care for unconscious resident, denture care, foot care, dressing and assisting resident with weak side, applying elastic stockings, output measurement and documentation, use of bedpan, emptying urinary drainage bag, urinary (Foley) catheter care, measuring and documenting input, feeding resident, and hydration.
- The common nurse aide skills that an instructor(s) must teach include:
- The final 16 hours of the NATP will be spent in a NF, or comparable nursing setting, allowing the student to perform the skills learned.
- The NATP Program Director or Instructor must submit the NATP Completion Verification Form to the Board to verify a student's completion of the NATP.
2. Complete a Board-Approved Skills Evaluation
- A student is evaluated by an RN Skills Evaluator on 4 randomly selected, commonly performed CNA skills. The RN must use the board’s approved checklist forms. The checklists are very similar to the checklists found in Hartman's Nurse Assistant Care: Long-Term Care (2022); 5th Ed.: Workbook.
- The RN may evaluate the student while in the NATP’s skills lab or at the end of the NATP.
3. Complete a Board-Approved CNA Knowledge Exam
- A student must register to sit for the knowledge exam through SDHCA and have a passing score of 75%. A student may retake the exam two times.
4. Apply to be Registered by the Board as a CNA
- CNA Online Application
- An applicant may monitor their registration status on the Board's verification site: Verify
- An applicant must remember to renew CNA registration before it expires!
- Review renewal criteria to ensure meeting the qualifications: Registration Renewal