This past week I took the CNA state exam four years after taking the class. I ended up getting an 86% on the written portion and an 98% on the skills portion. There was some interest on what I did to study for the CNA state exam so here it is! First off, here is what I did to study for the written portion: 1. I made notecards including all of the abbreviations we need to know (PRN, qid) and also terms like what the different positions are (supine, lateral, fowlers). I went through these multiple times a day. 2. I took practice tests on the website, CNA.plus. They have 22 practice tests with topics ranging from residents rights to infection control. There are also three different practice exams on practicecnatest.com. I then added questions or terms from the tests onto my notecards. 3. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Go through these multiple times a day until it's automatic. You could also go through your class notes or book, but I did not have them anymore. Now here is what I did to study for the skills portion of the CNA state exam: 1. YouTube videos! This was especially important to me because I had not taken the class in four years. I had to completely reteach myself the skills. You can search "CNA skills" followed by whatever skill you would like to see. YouTube channels I especially liked were: SacMed Training Video Tutorials, R Mayer, and 4yourCNA. When I took the class they gave us a workbook with all the skills and their steps. While I was watching the videos I would write notes on all of the skills. Reminders, questions I had, more specifics. 2. If I wasn't up to practicing the skills full out, I would just read the steps for each skill out loud. 3. This step was very critical. I wrote each of the skills down on notecards. I would then shuffle the notecards and choose four. (In Iowa we are tested on 4 skills, not including hand washing, resident communication and rights, and gloves- if applicable. Those are automatically included in my skills). I would then simulate what I would do for the actual test. I ordered them in a way I thought best. Then I would go through all the skills I drew, just like the real thing. I timed myself to make sure I was within the 45 minute time limit. Most of the time I practiced on my stuff bunny, but I was able to practice on my mom and sister a couple times. Don't be afraid to enlist help! 4. Practice, practice, practice. 5. Ace the exam! ✔️














