How to Become a Certified Nurse Aide in West Virginia

(found 118 schools, updated in December 2017)

The Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) provides basic nursing services to residents and patients in healthcare facilities. In West Virginia, the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources-Office of Health Facility Licensure & Certification (OHFLAC) approves all nursing assistant training programs. The Certified Nurse Aide has proven her or his competency by completing a training program and/or taking a competency evaluation exam. West Virginia also has a reciprocity and challenge exam process. It is important to follow all state rules and guidelines to enjoy the smoothest path possible to CNA certification.

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

6 Steps to Becoming a CNA in West Virginia

Following are the basic steps an individual will take to become a Certified Nurse Aide in West Virginia.

Step 1: Identify Appropriate Path

Most nurse aides get their name placed on the West Virginia Nurse Aide Registry by completing a Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP). When taking this training path, CNA certification in West Virginia requires meeting minimum training hours and proving competency through examination in the various skills a typical nurse aide uses while employed.

West Virginia certification requirements also offer other paths to inclusion on the Registry. Individuals meeting certain requirements can request to:

1. Complete the competency evaluation (exam) only, OR
2. Challenge the training program as RN or LPN nursing students and only take the CNA exam, OR
3. Get reciprocity as an out of state Certified Nurse Aide or Certified Nursing Assistant

Nursing students must show proof of successful completion of a fundamentals of nursing class and a minimum of 32 hours of clinical training. To qualify for reciprocity, the out of state CNA must be in good standing on the other state’s Registry. People with equivalent training, like military-trained healthcare workers and foreign nurses, are the ones most likely to request to take the CNA exam without additional training under the first option. The OHFLAC makes a determination on a case-by-case basis.

Step 2: Select a State-Approved Training Program

If an individual needs to complete a nurse aide training program, it is necessary select a state-approved training program. OHFLAC-NAP approved CNA courses include community and technical colleges, institutes of technology, career centers, high schools, nursing homes, convalescent centers and other long-term care facilities.

A good place to begin a CNA school search is within the local area of the student’s residence. West Virginia has 118 state-approved training programs (subject to change) across the state, giving people many convenient options. Most of the nursing assistant training programs are offered at long-term care facilities. A typical CNA training program is four to six weeks long.

Local CNA Classes in West Virginia

66 CNA Programs Offered by Long-Term Care Facilities

Back to Top

21 CNA Programs Offered by Secondary Career Technical Colleges

Back to Top

10 CNA Programs Offered by High Schools

8 CNA Programs Offered by Community Colleges

6 CNA Programs Offered by Adult Career Technical Colleges

7 Private CNA Programs in West Virginia

Back to Top

Training Costs and Financial Aid

Students attending programs at community colleges and technical centers will have to pay for the cost of training and testing which can range from $350 to $1,500 for tuition, textbook, uniform, medical supplies, health exam, immunizations and exam fees. Students at educational facilities may qualify for state financial aid, including the Higher Education for Adult Part Time Students grant, the Higher Education Grant Program grant, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds and vocational rehabilitation funds.

Step 3: Meet the CNA Program Prerequisites

Every nurse aide program in West Virginia has prerequisites. They include but are not limited to:

• Passing a criminal background check
• Showing proof of negative TB test
• Showing proof of High School diploma or GED, if required by school or program
• Showing proof of immunizations
• Being at least 18 years old, if required by school or program
• Meeting minimum skill levels in reading and writing in English

step 4: Complete Training Program

West Virginia requires a minimum of 120 hours of CNA training. The 120 hours includes classroom and laboratory education hours and at least 55 hours of practical training in a state-approved clinical setting.

The CNA courses in West Virginia teach the skills commonly used as a nursing assistant. Students also gain general knowledge on topics like anatomy and disease progression. Following are examples of the knowledge and skills learned:

• Hand washing
• Preventing infection
• Safety
• Maintaining resident’s area
• Taking and recording vital signs
• Assisting resident with maintaining and/or improving range of motion
• Assisting resident with personal care and hygiene
• Caring for an unconscious resident
• Positioning resident in bed or transferring resident from bed to chair or table
• Utilizing assistive devices
• Basic anatomy
• Aging process
• Disease progression
• Communication skills
• Ethical and legal considerations

Within each of these general categories are many detailed skills and tasks. Ultimately, the Certified Nurse Aide is the person who has the most contact with residents and patients on a daily basis and provides services that are critical to helping clients achieve the highest quality of life possible.

Step 5: Take the Competency Examination

After completing CNA training, a competency evaluation is administered. OHFAC has contracted with Professional Healthcare Development (PHD) to administer the Nurse Aide exam. PHD maintains the testing sites which are listed on its website. Testing includes a computer-based written test and a skills test.

Written (Oral) Test

The test consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, and earning 70 percent or higher is considered passing.

Skills Evaluation

The skills test consists of 300 points and earning 225 points (75 percent) is considered passing. The individual completes five CNA skills, and passing all five is required to pass this part of the Certified Nurse Aide exam.

An individual is allowed three attempts to pass both parts of the CAN state exam. If unable to do so, retraining is required before another three attempts to pass the exam are allowed. Another requirement is that individuals must pass the exam within two years (24 months) of completing a state-approved training program. The exception is the Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who challenges the training program. Those persons are allowed six months to take the exam from the date the challenge is approved.

Step 6: Get Name Placed in the West Virginia Nurse Aide Registry

After passing the exam, PHD will notify the Nursing Assistant Registry. The individuals who followed a path that did not require taking the competency evaluation exam (i.e. reciprocity individuals) will have their name placed on the Registry after the OHFAC approves the request.

Back to Top

How to Keep CNA Certification Active

Renew CNA Certification

The nurse aide must renew certification every two years. The state requires the CNA to work at least eight hours as a paid nursing assistant during the two-year certification period. The facility employer provides verification of employment. If a nurse aide works for a staffing agency or provides in-home care, the non-facility employer will verify the CNA worked at least eight hours providing paid nursing duties within the two-year certification period.

Refresher Course and Retest

Certified Nurse Aides who do not reregister their certification in the allotted time frame must take a 16-hour refresher course and retest. Failing to reregister could be due to the inability to report the required minimum work hours within the prior two to four years. If an individual completed a state-approved training program, passed the CNA state exam and worked in West Virginia, but allowed the certification to lapse within the last five years, he or she must complete a 16-hour refresher course and then retake the exam. In other words, the person failed to renew their certification, but could have done so.

If there are no reportable work hours between two to four years since being certified, the individual can take a refresher course and retest within six months of course completion to renew certification. If there are no reportable work hours (CNA did not work as a CNA) within the prior five years since the last certification, the nurse aide must complete a full nurse aide training program and retest.

Individuals taking a refresher course must make all three testing attempts within six months of completing the refresher class. If unable to pass the exam within three attempts, full CNA retraining is required. People completing a full training course and retesting will get three attempts to pass the exam like a new Certified Nurse Adie in West Virginia.

Back to Top

Job Outlook and Salary for CNAs in West Virginia

In West Virginia, a Certified Nurse Aide can work in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, hospitals and special units in hospitals for long-term care and rehabilitation, clinics, staffing agencies and private homes.

The West Virginia jobs growth rate for CNAs for the period 2014-2024, per the Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS), is 9.2 percent, compared to a 17.6 percent employment growth rate for CNAs nationwide. However, this lower employment growth rate is partly attributable to the fact that West Virginia is the tenth smallest U.S. state. | See Job Openings

CNA Salary in West Virginia

According to the latest BLS salary report in May 2016, the average yearly salary for a West Virginia CNA is $25,210 which is an hourly rate of $12.12. The highest paid CNAs earn $32,560 annually, and the entry level CNAs earn an average annual salary of $19,450. In West Virginia, Certified Nurse Aides earn significantly more than Home Health Aides (HHA) who earn an average yearly salary of $20,060. | See Job Openings

Back to Top

Becoming a CNA in Bordering States

• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia