North Carolina is required under federal law to have a nurse aide registry which lists all actively employed certified nurse aides in the state. There are certain steps that one must take in order to be listed on the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry. You must complete and pass a CNA training in North Carolina program that is approved by the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation then, pass the state competency exam. Working with patients at a long term care facility as a CNA can be exciting as you progress within you career in the medical field and help people with difficult life tasks that many times they cannot perform on their own.

A North Carolina state approved nurse aide I training program should have a number of basic elements met in order to be sufficient training for the state exam. The approved curriculum came from a nurse aide curriculum in Pennsylvania and contains studies which meet the minimum of 75 hours in a combination of practical (hands-on) and class studies. The minimum number of hours that must be devoted to practical is 16 but cannot be fulfilled until the student has spent at least 16 hours present for class studying. Up to date textbooks should be provided by the training administration. Enrollment procedures include criminal history checks, health exam and validating identification. Passing grades for the training must be an ending theory grade of 75 and skills demonstrations are graded on the aides’ ability to perform the given tasks correctly.

State approved CNA classes in North Carolina will include many topics like:

• Safety of the patients
• Communication and interaction with patients
• CPR
• Encouragement of independence for the patients
• Enforcing patients’ rights
• Control of infection

Competency testing procedures is that last step to being certified and listed on the Nurse Aide Registry in the state of North Carolina. If the aide has passed the training courses with proficiency they may register with Pearson Vue to take the test. The test registration process requires personal documents that show completion of the state approved program as well as 2 forms of valid Identification and the results from history, health checks as well as $96 in fees.

The examination involves passing a practical skills component followed by a written or oral component. The practical portion is graded on the ability to perform nurse aide skills as demonstrated in the training course. The written portion has 60 multiple choice questions and 10 reading comprehension questions. Grading of the practical component is done by the test administrator and must be 100% correct.  The second component is graded electronically and must be completed with 70% accuracy to pass. CNA certification is instant if both exams are passed and the nurse aide will receive a certificate and be placed on the North Carolina Nurse Aide Registry.

The CNA position in North Carolina offers a competitive median CNA Salary of $23,200 a year as reported by the Occupational Employment Statistics in North Carolina. Additionally, the Labor Market Information foretells a CNA position growth rate of Thirty percent in North Carolina over the next few years.

North Carolina Nurse Aide Registry
NC Department of Health & Human Services – Division of Health Service Regulation
2709 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699
Phone: (919) 855-3969
License Verification: (919) 715-0562
Fax: (919) 733-9764