Virginia CNA

They cover the same knowledge content. The written version asks you to read and answer multiple-choice items on your own; the oral/audio version has each item and its answer choices read aloud through a headset so you can answer by pointing or selecting. Candidates with reading difficulties or whose first language is not English often choose the oral format.

The current number of written items, the time allowance for each portion, and the clinical skills time limit are set by the testing vendor and can change. Check the vendor's candidate handbook or the Virginia Board of Nursing website for the figure in effect on your test date rather than relying on secondhand numbers.

A nurse evaluator observes you perform assigned skills and scores each step as correct or incorrect against a standardized checklist. Certain steps, such as hand hygiene, are critical and can fail a skill outright if missed. You are typically given a set number of skills to demonstrate, and at least one may be randomly selected rather than announced.

The two parts are usually scored separately, so you may be able to retake only the portion you did not pass. Retake rules, waiting periods, and fees are set by the vendor and the Board of Nursing; confirm the current policy on the official site before you reschedule.

Skipping hand hygiene at the start or end of a skill, breaking sterile technique, forgetting to identify the resident and explain what you are doing, omitting privacy draping, and forgetting safety steps like lowering the bed or applying the call light. Practicing skills in the exact order the checklist requires prevents most of these losses.

Start with the two domains that carry the most weight - personal care and activities of daily living, and safety and infection control - because they overlap heavily with the skills test. Then add basic nursing skills and vital signs. Save role/legal content and psychosocial care for later; they are smaller and mostly memorization.

Expect to show government-issued photo identification and your training completion documentation, and to arrive with clean, short fingernails and appropriate clothing for providing care. The vendor's handbook lists exactly what is and is not permitted in the testing room, including whether a watch with a second hand is allowed.

Placement on the registry is typically valid for two years, and renewal generally requires documented nursing or nurse aide employment during that period. Renewal requirements and deadlines are set by the Virginia Board of Nursing - verify your own expiration date and work-hour rules on its license lookup before it lapses.

Fees are set by the testing vendor and are separate from any Board of Nursing application fee, and they differ for the written versus oral format. Because the amount changes periodically, check the current fee schedule published by the vendor rather than budgeting from an older figure.

That depends on your employment situation and Virginia rules. Many candidates are hired as nurse aides under a limited window while awaiting testing, but the specific time limit and conditions come from the Board of Nursing and your employer. Ask your employer's HR department and confirm the rule on the Board's site.