To obtain your CNA certification, you will need to pass the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) examination. It costs $102 to take the test for the first time. This CNA exam consists of two parts: a written portion and a skills demonstration portion.
Written Exam
The written component of the CNA exam consists of 70 multiple-choice questions. Ten of these questions are not scored; they are strictly for statistical purposes. The allotted time for this portion is two hours. It will test your knowledge on three domains: physical care skills, psychosocial care skills, and the role of the nurse aide.
If you are unable to take the written portion of the CNA exam, you may elect to take an oral version of the exam instead. This version contains 60 multiple-choice questions on CNA training (the same as the written exam) and 10 additional multiple-choice questions on reading comprehension.
Skills Evaluation
The skills evaluation component of the NNAAP includes a hand-washing test and then four other randomly chosen CNA skills. One of those randomly chosen skills will be a measurement of some kind. The allotted time for this portion is 25 minutes. A nurse aide evaluator conducts this portion of the exam. They will hand you an instruction card that lists the skills that they will test you for. The necessary equipment will be provided. All five skills must receive a satisfactory score in order to pass.
If you do not pass the test on your first try, you can retake CNA exams. The fee to retake written/oral CNA exams is $32, and the fee for the skills retake is $70. After three attempts, you must go through training again before you are allowed to take it again.
You can receive your test scores at the test site or online.
At CynaMed we want to see nurses and future nurses thrive in their careers. If you would like to know more on the CNA exam and other nursing resources, please visit CynaMed.
