How to Become a Certified Nurse Aide in Oklahoma

(found 321 programs, updated in March 2018)

There is a great demand for Certified Nurse Aides in Oklahoma as the population ages and the variety of facilities offering healthcare services continues to expand. The CNA provides essential basic services to patients and long term care residents, contributing to their comfort, safety and quality of life. There are six types of CNAs, and the certification earned determines acceptable places of employment and allowed duties in Oklahoma.

• 6 Steps to Becoming a CNA in Oklahoma
• How to Keep CNA Certification Active
• Salary and Job Outlook for CNAs in Oklahoma
• Get Certification in Bordering States

6 Steps to Becoming a CNA in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has an unusual CNA certification process compared to most states. Oklahoma State Department of Health established rules for the training and certification for a nurse aide (Title 310, Chapter 677). There are six different types of CNAs or Certified Nursing Assistants, and the certification determines where the person can work and the type of category certification listed in the Oklahoma Nurse Aide Registry (aka Registry).

Following are the steps to becoming a CNA in Oklahoma.

Step 1: Learn the Six Types of Certified Nurse Aide

The Long Term Care Aide in Oklahoma is the closest to the CNA designation in other states. “Deeming” is a term the state uses to indicate the addition of one or more certifications.

1. Long Term Care Aide – Training program is a minimum of 75 hours of training with at least 16 hours of it being supervised practical training
2. Home Health Aide (also called a Home Care Aide) – Training program is at least 75 hours, of which a minimum of 16 hours must be practical training; Long Term Care Aide can complete a Department of Health approved home care skills examination and 16 hours of employer orientation specific to the care of the employer’s type of clients to add certification as a Home Health Aide who can work in a home care agency, or adult care, residential care and specialized facilities as a Certified Home Health Aide
3. Adult Day Care Aide – The aide must complete a minimum of 45 hours of classroom and practical training; Certified Long Term Care Aide, Certified Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide and Certified Home Care Aide can be deemed an Adult Day Care Aide after completing 16 hours of employer orientation in the care of the adult day care population
4. Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide – Training program is at least 75 hours of classroom and practical training; Long Term Care Aide or Home Care Aide can be deemed a Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide by completing a minimum of 16 hours of training specifically concerning developmentally disabled clients; Works in residential care and adult day care facilities
5. Residential Care Aide – Must complete a minimum of 45 hours of classroom and practical training; Certified Long Term Care Aide, Certified Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide and Certified Home Care Aide can be deemed a Certified Residential Care Aide after completing a minimum of 16 hours of employer orientation that is specifically concerned with providing care to residential clients
6. Certified Medication Aide – Must already be certified as a Long Term Care Aide, a Home Health Aide or a Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide in order to get certified as a Medication Aide; Training must be a minimum of 40 hours with a minimum of 16 hours of practical training included; There are also advanced training options requiring additional training to care for people with diabetes, and administration of medications and nutrition via tubes; Can work for a specialized facility, assisted living center, nursing facility, residential care home and adult day care facility

Step 2: Learn the Paths to Certification

There are exceptions to Oklahoma CNA training requirements for certain people like nursing students. People who get approved for an exception via the filing of the Training Exception Application can either be placed directly in the Registry or only sit for the CNA competency exam without completing an Oklahoma training program. It depends on the status of the person applying for the waiver.

A New Applicant

If an applicant doesn’t qualify for any of the other paths, the person must complete training and pass the competency exam. This is the most common path to CNA certification. As previously described, there are different training requirements for different types of CNAs.

A Nurse Graduate

If an applicant is a graduate of an approved RN or LPN program in the United States, Nurse Aide training and competency testing in Oklahoma may be waived by submitting proof of program completion.

A Foreign Nurse Graduate

If an applicant is a graduate of an approved non-USA RN or LPN program, training may be waived by submitting a completed Foreign Graduate Training Exception Application and meeting documentation requirements. However, the person will need to sit for the Oklahoma CNA competency exam.

An Applicant Who Has Not Completed a State-Approved Training Program

If a person has not completed an approved Oklahoma Nurse Aide training program for one of the six certifications but requests to have her or his name added to the Registry as a Certified Nurse Aide, the person must submit the appropriate Deeming Application, Home Health Aide Reciprocity Application, Training Exception Application, Foreign Graduate Training Exception Application or Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program Waiver Application.

An Applicant Who Cannot Meet Requirements for Certification Renewal

If a person has completed an Oklahoma state approved Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program but cannot meet requirements for certification renewal, the person must retake the competency exam.

A CNA From Another State

An Out of state Certified Nurse Aide can become an Oklahoma CNA by submitting a Reciprocity Application to the Oklahoma Department of Health and meeting all requirements. The applicant must be lawfully present in the US, have previously earned valid certification in another state and not have any documented abuse or neglect findings on record.

Step 3: Find the Appropriate Training Program

For those who need to complete a training program, it is necessary to find the one that best fits personal needs. There are hundreds of facilities offering training programs, but some offer training for specific types of CNAs, like the Long Term Care Aide, the Residential Care Aide, etc. Others offer combination training like Home Health and Long Term Care Aide. There are also programs offering Certified Medication Aide training, continuing education for medication aides and Certified Medication Training with medication advanced training.

Local CNA Program Providers

There are 321 CNA classes in Oklahoma offered at various types of institutions that include technology centers, academies, nursing centers, career centers, high schools, nursing homes and other types of educational facilities (updated in March 2018). State approved Certified Nurse Aide programs in Oklahoma are listed in the following table.

Prerequisites

Each educational facility will have prerequisites. They include things like passing a fingerprint criminal background check, showing proof of immunizations, showing proof of having a high school diploma or GED, being 18 years of age and passing a reading comprehension test, to name a few.

Program Lengths and Costs

Program prerequisites are similar, but costs and program lengths can vary significantly from school to school. For example, OSU offers an eight-week Certified Nurse Aide Training Program, and students earn five credits. The costs include $630 for tuition plus another $274 for scrubs, books, health checks and examination fees. The CNA Training Academy offers day and night Certified Nursing Assistant classes. The class takes 96 hours to complete, consisting of 72 classroom instruction hours and 24 clinical training hours. The CNA training takes three-weeks with an additional two days of training for Home Health Aide training. The CNA Training Academy does not post rates online, but the website does say there may be financial aid available. It is always wise to inquire about financial assistance because it could lead to free training.

Step 4: Complete Training

The training program consists of a mix of classroom, lab and clinical training. The State of Oklahoma requires each type of CNA curriculum to cover certain topics. For example, there are 26 sets of skills the student will learn during the Long Term Care Aide training program. They are the typical duties of a Certified Nurse Aide, such as taking and recording vital signs, promoting a resident’s independence, infection control, communicating with residents, transferring residents, positioning, bathing and feeding, personal care and much more.

If a student decides to complete Home Health Aide training at the same time, or any other type of CNA training, there are additional training hours added to the Long Term Care Aide training. For example, the Home Health Aide curriculum adds training on resident rights, caring for a resident who is dying, caring for the cognitively impaired, avoiding the use of restraints and working as a member of a healthcare team member.

An active CNA can add new certifications at any time by completing the required training. For example, a currently certified nurse aide wants to add a Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide certification. The CNA will complete the 16 hours of training as an orientation at the facility of employment on topics relevant to people who are developmentally disabled. The supervisor then notifies the state the applicant has met training requirements, and the new certification is added to the Nurse Aide Registry. Of course, someone who is not currently a CNA is required to complete the full 75 hours of an approved Developmentally Disabled Direct Aide program.

Step 5: Successfully Pass Required Examinations

D&S Diversified Technologies – Headmaster is the Oklahoma Department of Health’s designated provider for the Long Term Care Aide and the Long Term Care-Home Health Aid examinations. The other examinations are administered by the programs. Each of the six types of CNA certifications have various examination requirements.

• Long Term Care Aide – Unless eligible for a waiver, pass written and skills examination administered by Headmaster
• Home Health Aide – Pass written and skills examination administered by Headmaster
• Adult Day Care Aide – Pass written and skills examination administered by state approved program
• Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide – Pass written and skills examination administered by a state approved program
• Residential Care Aide – Pass written and skills examination administered by state approved program
• Certified Medication Aide – Pass written examination administered by state approved entities

The examinations are relevant to the type of certification sought, of course. The Long Term Care Aide exam, considered the CNA exam, has two parts. One is the Written Test with 72 questions pulled from information taught in the training program. The Skill Test is comprised of five tasks. One task is hand washing, while the other four are randomly selected from skills learned during training. Headmaster offers a free 10-question online practice test, a vocabulary list and a practice test that can be purchased.

Headmaster also administers the LTC-HHA Deeming examination. In this case, the applicant will take the Knowledge Exam and the Skill Exam. The Skill Exam will include five skills. Two skills are handwashing with blood pressure, and transferring a client from bed to wheelchair and wheelchair to bed while monitoring vital signs.

To pass the written exam, the applicant must get a score of at least 70 percent. To pass the skills examination requires 80 percent accuracy in skills completion. The applicant can retake the examination three times before retraining is required.

Step 6: Get Certified as a Type of CNA

Whatever entity administers the examination will notify the Oklahoma Nurse Aide Registry of the results. CNA certification in Oklahoma requires the training program supervisor or Headmaster, depending on the type of CNA certification, to provide the Oklahoma Department of Health verification the applicant has passed the required examination.

Back to Top

How to Keep CNA Certification Active

Per Title 310: 677-5-2, a certification is good for 24 months with the exception of the Certified Medication Aide. To renew CNA certification it is necessary to show proof of having worked at least eight hours for compensation within two years prior to certification expiration and the work must be related to the type of certification.

Recertification Requirements

Following is a summary of recertification requirements:

• Long Term Care Aide – Must complete 2 hours of in-service training each month plus work the minimum 8 paid hours in related services in previous 24 months
• Home Health Aide – Home care agency completes an annual performance review and provides a minimum of 12 hours of in-service training each year; Must work the minimum 8 hours in related services over the previous 24 months
• Adult Day Care Aide – Must work the minimum 8 hours in related services in previous 24 months
• Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide – Must work the minimum 8 hours in related services in previous 24 months
• Residential Care Aide – Must work the minimum 8 hours in related services in previous 24 months
• Certified Medication Aide – Must complete 8 hours of continuing education every 12 months, except for the first year after certification; Must have current certification as a Long Term Care Aide, Home Health Aide or Developmentally Disabled Direct Care Aide, which means working at least 8 paid hours in the previous 24 months

Retake Certification Examinations

It is necessary to retake the certification exams if:

• A person did not work eight hours during the 24 months prior to or 24 months after certification expiration
• The Nurse Aide Certification has been expired for more than two but less than three years, except in the case of the Medication Aide certification
• If the Medication Aide certification has been expired for more than 12 months, it is necessary to retest. If the applicant fails the retest, or the certification has been expired for more than three years, it is necessary to retrain and retest.

If the person retesting fails the exam, she or he will have to complete another training program. If the person has had an expired certification for 48 months or less and did not work at least eight paid hours of nursing or health related services, the person can choose to complete the nurse aide training program and take the competency evaluation examination again OR just retake the exam. If the applicant can prove eight hours of paid employment as a nurse aide within the 24 months after certification expiration, the applicant can renew certification for up to 48 months after the date of the last renewal. If unable to meet these requirements, it is necessary for the applicant to retrain and retest in Oklahoma.

Back to Top

Salary and Job Outlook for CNAs in Oklahoma

Oklahoma CNA jobs are plentiful, and there is a projected 11.4 percent growth rate for the 10-year period of 2014-2024. This equates to 22,600 positions in a variety of facilities. Depending on the CNA’s designation, as discussed earlier, the CNA can work in long term care facilities, intermediate care facilities, home health agencies, intermediate care facilities for people with a cognitive or intellectual disability, adult day care centers, residential care facilities, continuum of care facility or other nursing facilities. | See Job Openings

The Nurse Aide with Home Health Aide certification can also work in private homes as a contracted worker for a home care or home health agency, or as a contracted provider of the Medicaid State Plan Personal Care Program. Hospitals and other medical facilities hiring CNAs determine their own employment requirements. Some only require Basic Life Support (BLS) certification, while others may require one of the six CNA certifications. | See Job Openings

Average annual CNA salaries in Oklahoma were $24,050 per the latest May 2016 Occupational Employment and Wages Survey conducted by the US Bureau of Labor statistics. However, the top 10 percent of CNAs earn $30,580 annually. Many CNAs decide to continue their training and formally enter a nurse training program, after deciding that providing care services to patients and residents is rewarding work. | See Job Openings

Local CNA Salaries in Oklahoma

Back to Top

Get Certification in Bordering States

• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Kansas
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• Texas