Wisconsin CNA

Two parts: a written knowledge test of multiple-choice questions and a hands-on skills demonstration. The knowledge test checks your understanding of nurse aide theory across the nine content domains; the skills portion asks you to physically perform selected procedures while an evaluator scores each step against a checklist.

Those figures could not be confirmed from the official Wisconsin sources available when this page was written. Rather than rely on a number that may be out of date, check the current candidate handbook or ask your training program director for the question count and time limit before test day.

The passing standard was not verifiable from the source material available here, so treat any number you hear secondhand with caution. Confirm the current passing score, and whether the written and skills portions are scored separately, with DHS or the approved testing vendor handling your exam.

Retake rules, waiting periods, and any fees were not confirmable from the official pages at the time of writing. Ask your training program or the testing vendor which sections must be repeated and how soon you may reschedule, since policies on partial retakes differ and change over time.

Most candidates find the skills portion more stressful because it is timed, observed, and sequence-sensitive. The common failure mode is skipping a step that feels optional, such as hand hygiene, privacy draping, or identifying the resident. Practice each skill aloud in order until the sequence is automatic.

Not the knowledge itself, but omitted safety and infection-control steps under pressure: forgetting to wash hands at the right moment, failing to lock a bed or lower it, or leaving a resident unattended. Evaluators score what they see, so narrate and perform every step rather than assuming it is understood.

Start with infection control and safety, because those principles are embedded in almost every other skill and question. Then work through communication, resident rights, and role and ethics, which are largely recall-based. Finish with personal care, restorative services, mental health, and cognitive impairment, where clinical judgment matters most.

Use your program's official skill checklists and rehearse with a partner who reads each step while you perform it. Focus on setup and cleanup as much as the procedure itself, since supplies, hand hygiene, privacy, and resident communication are scored. Run each skill three times correctly before moving to the next.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services nurse aide pages returned errors when this page was prepared, so none of those administrative details are stated here. Go directly to dhs.wisconsin.gov and search the A-Z index, or contact your approved nurse aide training program, which tracks current requirements.