Tennessee CNA study plan
Tennessee CNA · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Basic Nursing Skills and Infection Control
Demonstrate the correct sequence for donning and doffing PPE, including hand hygiene before and after glove removal
Explain the chain of infection and identify at least one break point for each link across five given care scenarios
Perform temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure measurement and state the accepted adult ranges for each
Distinguish clean technique from sterile technique and list three care situations that require each
Describe standard precautions and transmission-based precautions for a resident with a suspected communicable illness
Your checkpoint
Score 80% or higher on a 40-question Domain 1 quiz and complete a hands-on skills checklist for hand hygiene, PPE, and vital signs with every step signed off.
Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living
Sequence the steps of a complete bed bath, partial bath, and perineal care, naming the privacy and dignity measures used at each step
List in order the steps for oral care, denture care, and shaving for a dependent resident
Describe correct body alignment and positioning for at least four bed and chair positions and identify the support devices used
Explain how to assist a resident with eating, including aspiration precautions, positioning, and intake documentation
Describe bowel and bladder care, including toileting schedules, incontinence care, and specimen collection
Your checkpoint
Produce a written skills-sequence sheet covering bathing, oral care, positioning, feeding, and elimination care that passes a 20-item accuracy rubric with all 20 items correct.
Safety, Emergency, and Restorative Care
Identify fall risk factors and describe three interventions that reduce fall risk for a resident with limited mobility
Demonstrate the steps to take when a resident is choking, from recognizing the signs through activating the emergency response
Describe seizure precautions and the aide's actions during and immediately after a seizure
Explain how to apply a gait belt, transfer a resident safely, and lead restorative range-of-motion exercises
Describe the aide's role in fire, disaster, and elopement situations, including the RACE sequence and when to move a resident
Your checkpoint
Complete a 25-question safety and emergency scenario set with 100% on choking, seizure, and fall items, plus a return demonstration of a gait-belt transfer scored on a skills checklist.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills & Basic Nursing Skills and Infection Control
Restate a resident's message and ask open-ended follow-up questions across three role-play conversations
Adapt communication style for residents with hearing loss, vision loss, aphasia, and slurred speech
Report a change in condition to the nurse using objective, non-judgmental language in a short verbal handoff
Demonstrate respect for cultural, language, and religious differences during care, including when to request an interpreter
Re-run the Domain 1 skills checklist to confirm retention of infection control steps
Your checkpoint
Role-play three resident interactions scored against a communication checklist with no critical misses, and submit one written objective report of a change in condition.
Resident Rights and Independence Promotion & Mental Health, Social Service, and Care of the Cognitively Impaired
List the rights of residents in a long-term care setting and match each right to a specific caregiving behavior that protects it
Explain how to promote independence in ADLs while keeping the resident safe, using two examples per ADL
Describe how to respond when a resident refuses care or files a complaint without infringing on rights
Identify the signs of abuse, neglect, and misappropriation of property and state the aide's mandatory reporting obligation and time frame
Describe how to protect resident confidentiality, including handling of records, conversations, and social media
Your checkpoint
Complete a rights-and-reporting worksheet, scoring 100% on the abuse, neglect, and mandatory reporting items and at least 85% overall.
Mental Health, Social Service, and Care of the Cognitively Impaired & Resident Rights and Independence Promotion
Distinguish delirium, dementia, and depression by onset, course, and presenting behaviors
Apply validation and redirection techniques to three scenarios involving a resident with dementia who is agitated or repeating questions
Identify behavioral triggers and describe non-drug interventions for wandering, sundowning, and resistance to care
Describe how to support a resident's social, spiritual, and recreational needs and how to recognize signs of depression or suicidal ideation and report them
Explain how to honor advance directives and end-of-life preferences within the aide's scope of practice
Your checkpoint
Write a behavioral care plan for two dementia scenarios that names the likely triggers, three non-pharmacologic interventions each, and the specific observations that must be reported to the nurse.
Basic Nursing Skills and Infection Control & Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living & Safety, Emergency, and Restorative Care & Communication and Interpersonal Skills & Resident Rights and Independence Promotion & Mental Health, Social Service, and Care of the Cognitively Impaired
Review every missed item from weeks 1 through 6 and write a corrected one-line rationale for each
Complete timed 25-question mixed sets in all six domains, scoring 80% or higher in each domain
Practice 20 hands-on skills drawn from the state skills list under observation
Re-teach the two weakest domains using flashcards or a peer explain-back
Rehearse the order of steps for the ten most commonly tested skills without notes
Your checkpoint
Submit an error log of at least 40 missed questions, each with a corrected rationale, plus a skills checklist showing at least 80% of practiced skills signed off.
Basic Nursing Skills and Infection Control & Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living & Safety, Emergency, and Restorative Care & Communication and Interpersonal Skills & Resident Rights and Independence Promotion & Mental Health, Social Service, and Care of the Cognitively Impaired
Complete two full-length practice exams under timed, test-day conditions
Re-test every previously missed item two days after review to confirm retention
Rehearse test-day logistics, including identification requirements, arrival time, and computer-based testing controls
Condense remaining weak spots into a one-page personal review sheet and read it aloud twice
Re-demonstrate any skills still unsigned on the checklist
Your checkpoint
Two timed full-length practice exams both scoring 85% or higher, with every skills checklist item signed off and the one-page review sheet completed.
Milestones
Week 2: Domain 1 quiz at 80% or higher, and vital signs performed within accepted ranges on at least two of three attempts.
Week 4: Score 75% or higher on a 60-question cumulative exam covering Domains 1 through 4.
Week 6: Score 80% or higher on a 50-question exam covering Domains 5 and 6, with 100% on abuse reporting items.
Week 8: Both timed full-length mock exams at 85% or higher and all hands-on skills checklist items signed off.