Every State in the United States of America is federally authorized to approve CNA training programs and at the same time maintain a comprehensive registry that contains the names of students who are legally mandated to practice as CNAs in hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities. The state of Virginia therefore approves numerous CNA training programs through the Virginia Board of Nursing. For you to be placed in the State Registry of CNAs, which needless to mention will allow you to legally work in any setting in the State of Virginia, you will have to meet the following eligibility requirements.
- You must pass a criminal record background check
- You must pass the CNA qualifiers examination after completing an official, state-approved training program
If you have completed the same training in a different state, you can petition the VA Board of Nursing for possible reciprocity, but of course you must have passed the test from the State you will be transferring from. Further, if you have earned a similar degree from a recognized institution you can request the Board to waive the state-required training program, or at least part of the program as you would have covered most of what is in the program in your previous nurse degree training.
Note that once you complete the state-approved training program and pass the competency test you must apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing so you can be placed on the official registry of CNAs. For you to do this, you must successfully complete class work plus a set amount of supervised clinical work. In other words, once you are done with your classroom hours, you will be given a chance to work in a real clinical setting with real patients but under the supervision of a qualified nurse. This will give you the opportunity to learn invaluable clinical skills which will become of great benefit when on the real job. Some of the skills you should expect to learn from your VA CNA training program include:-
- Basic nursing skills
- Personal care
- Restorative care
- Infection control
- Patients rights
- Mental health needs recognition
- Interpersonal skills
It is important to note that while CNA training opportunities are located at various physical institutions throughout the State of Virginia, the state is yet to fully approve online CNA training programs, hence you should be very wary of any training opportunity that claims to offer accredited and approved programs fully online. You can check with the Virginia Board of Nursing for a comprehensive list of approved CNA programs, but they are generally to be found in adult institutes, community colleges, community centers, nursing homes, and in long-term care facilities