Nursing Assistant

Certified Nurse Assistant/CNA

The Nurse Assistant (NA) program prepares students to provide safe, effective, and compassionate care to patients in a variety of healthcare settings. Under the supervision of licensed nursing and medical staff, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) assist with personal care, support activities of daily living, and help maintain a safe and therapeutic environment. Successful completion of the program qualifies students to take the state-approved competency exam required for certification as a Nursing Assistant.

The program includes 63 hours of classroom instruction and a minimum of 100 hours of supervised clinical experience in long-term care facilities. Attendance during the first 16 hours of instruction is mandatory. Students who miss any portion of the initial 16 hours will be dropped from the program in accordance with state requirements.

As part of the application process, students must disclose any prior criminal history to the appropriate state agency. Fingerprinting through Live Scan is required. Students with disqualifying background histories that have not been cleared by the California Department of Public Health may be ineligible to continue in the program.

Students must provide a valid Social Security number as required by the California Department of Public Health, Licensing and Certification, Aide and Technician Certification Section (ATCS) under Health and Safety Code, Sections 1337 through 1338.5 and 1736.1-1736.6 in order to process requests for nurse assistant and home health aide certification.

For additional information about the program, please contact the Office of Health Sciences & Education.