Applying For The Exam

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCBSN) will be the first board with which you will take an exam. Whilst they do not have a set list of guidelines for eligibility, it is important that you research the State board that you would like to join and research the list of their requirements. Application for many Certification exams can be applied for online; however these methods can differ State to State.

The NCBSN holds its own examination for Registered Nurses, call the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) and this serves to aid your License board of choice in deciding whether you are eligible for certification.

In order to register for the Exam, there are two processes that need to be followed:

• Request a Licensure Application with your chosen Board of Nursing – You will need to pay a licensing fee, as well as submit your application materials. Thereafter you will need to obtain a copy of the NCLEX Candidate Bulletin, which can be done via the Board or online.

• Register with Pearson VUE and submit your $200, 00 payment, which can be done by check or credit card.

In some cases, Nursing Schools will register and cover the costs of your certification, so it is important to ensure that all your information is correct.
Once you have completed the aforementioned steps, the NCBSN will send you an Authorization to Test (ATT) They will issue you with a time frame in which to take the exam, which can range from 60 to 365 days, and it is vitally important that you take the exam before this expires, otherwise you will be required to re-register from the very beginning and will have to repay the fee.  Once you have received your ATT, you will need to schedule an appointment to take the NCLEX.
The list of center where you can take the exam are listed on the websitewww.pearsonvue.com

Preparing For The RN Certification Exam

The content of your RN Certification exam will differ from State to State and thus you need to contact your State Board of Nursing to confirm the content you will be required to study. Once you have established this, there a few guidelines that will make your preparation a little easier and hopefully a little less stressful.

• Timeline/Timetable – This can be a vital step in your preparation for your RN Certification Exam. As the NCBSN will give you clearly defined period in which you need to study, adhering to this and planning your study time-table will help you to establish a routine of study that is comfortable and most importantly practical for you. Some boards have a schedule of practical hours that you will need to include and it is best anticipate and plan for the division of your time. It is no use to schedule practical hours and expect that you can conquer an additional 4 hours of study on top of a busy day. A Timetable will spread your work load evenly and prevent burnout.

• Course Material – Ensure you have all the material readily available for when you start studying. It is no use creating a timetable, abiding by it and arriving at a point where you do not possess the material, or are still waiting for a book to arrive. Get all your resources together before you start your studies.

• Study Hours – this is a very personal thing and it can be incredibly helpful to evaluate when you are at your most productive when studying. For some studying at night is the best option, for others studying in the morning is the time when they are most focuses.

• Self-Evaluation – Most exams will come with a blueprint or guide on what is in the exam, as well as allocation of marks per question. Read through this and evaluate yourself on what you already know. This will enable you to identify your weaker points and thus allocate more time to study them.

• Study Partners/Testing Partner – as a recent graduate, you will most likely have a fellow student who you can partner with to study. This can be useful especially when testing each other, as well as sharing knowledge. Some people benefit more from a practical method of study and having a partner can aid in this.

• Practice tests – There are many of these available online and they can help immensely in putting what you have learnt into a definitive test setting.

Some helpful testing websites are:

• www.nursecredentialing.org/SampleQuestions.aspx
• www.testpreview.com
• www.studyguidezone.com/nclexrntest.htm
• www.pearlsreview.com/

The day before the exam should be spent getting all your practical items ready. You will require your ATT letter and a form of identification for the NCLEX-RN exam – current acceptable identification is:

• U.S Driver’s license
• U.S State Identification ( Department of Motor-vehicle issued)
• Passport
• U.S Military Identification

It is not advisable to try and cram as much information in the night before, so ensure that you have covered all your material before the last week or so prior to the exam. The day before should be spent restfully and if you feel you need to, simply skimming over certain chapters. This will ensure that you feel refreshed and ready on the day of the exam. It is a well- known fact that exams are incredibly stressful and especially so, if you feel there is still material you are not comfortable with.
On Exam day it is advised that you arrive early, preferably around 30 minutes before the exam so that you can fill out any additional forms. Ensure that you are comfortably dressed and note that hats, scarves and coats are not permitted to be word during the exam. Read through the exam carefully and establish your pace and what time you feel you need to allocate to certain questions.

Results

Whilst the time frame in which you receive your results may vary according to the Board you have applied to for certification, the average waiting period is about one month. There is a Quick Results Service that you can register for, however it is to be noted that these results are unofficial and you will need to pay a fee. If you are signed up with Quick Results, you can anticipate results in about 48 hours. These are only available in certain states.

Should you fail the exam, you will be sent a Candidate Performance Report which will help you establish which areas you were weak in and will also give you an idea of where you are located in terms of the pass standard. There is a policy that will allow you to retake the examination within 45 days after processing of the exam; however this is also dependent on the Board you are registering with. You will be required to start the registration process from scratch, which includes payment of the $200, 00 fee. Currently the NCLEX-RN exams are permitted to be retaken approximately 8 times per year; however there may be limitations in place dependent on the board you are registering with.

Conclusion

Taking a certification exam is an integral part of your career and should you decide not to take it, will greatly limit where you can work. A certification Exam is something to be proud, as not only have you Educational Institution recognized you, but your skills will be accredited and recognized by an institution that pursues excellence in its profession. The NCLEX-RN exam is the most common certification exam in the U.S, as it forms an umbrella over most state Nursing boards, and it also a recognized certification source for international nurses. The most important factors to consider are your preparation and readiness. These rest on your ability to effectively manage your time, research thoroughly and mentally prepare yourself for the task at hand. Rather than seeing it as an overwhelming prospect, view it as part of your career progression and consider the immense rewards you will sow from the experience.

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There are essentially two main types of social workers: clinical social workers diagnose and treat behavioral, mental, and emotional issues and direct-service social workers help people solve problems they experience in their everyday lives and teach them how to cope. Some positions requiring only a Bachelor’s degree whilst others require a Master’s degree. Licensure is required for clinical social workers.

While most states have some type of licensure or certification requirements, licensure varies by state. Becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker generally requires a Master’s Degree in social work, and 3,000 hours or 2 years of supervised clinical experience and requires the individual to sit for the social worker certification exam in order to gain licensure.

Licensure is provided by the Association of Social Work Boards. ASWB develops and maintains four types of social work licensure examinations:

• Bachelors – The basic test for social workers who have attained a Bachelor of Social Work degree but have no post-degree experience.

• Masters – This is a generalist test for social workers with a Master’s Degree and no post-degree experience.

• Advanced Generalist – This is a more advanced test and is taken by social workers who have a Master’s Degree and have completed a minimum of two years of post-degree experience in non-clinical settings.

• Clinical – This is an advanced social worker certification exam taken by social workers who have a Master’s Degree and have completed at least 2 years post-degree experience in a direct clinical practice setting.

Each of the above levels has questions that are specifically designed for use at that level only and a specific content outline with a percentage of questions assigned to each content area. More information on this can be found in the ASWB Candidate Handbook.

You will need to contact the board in the state in which you wish to practice to ascertain which categories of licensure are applicable to that state, as not all states use all four categories of licensure.

The social worker certification exam for each category contains 170 four-option multiple choice questions, which are specifically designed to measure the minimum competencies in four categories of practice. Out of the 170 questions, only 150 will count towards your score; the other twenty questions are what are referred to as “pretest” items and are included in order to test their effectiveness for possible use in future examinations. The pretest questions are scattered randomly throughout the tests. Candidates are allowed four hours in which to complete the exam, which is an electronic examination.

There are no fixed dates for exams, and candidates that wish to sit for the social worker certification exam must go to the Pearson VUE’s website to schedule a time to sit for the examination as one of the Pearson Professional Centers that are distributed throughout the U.S. Many jurisdictions can make special arrangements for those candidates whose first language is not English, and there are also special accommodations available for candidates with disabilities.

How to Register for the Social Worker Certification Exam

• In order to register to take the examination you require approval from your board.

• You will need to check with your jurisdiction’s social work board, and check your candidate handbook.

• You can check your board’s website in order to access the contact listings within your jurisdiction.

• Once you have your board’s permission to register for the test you can approach ASWB by telephone or you can register online There is a fully-detailed explanation of the registration process in the ASWB Candidate Handbook

• Once you have registered with ASWB you will be able to make an online appointment to be tested at a Pearson VUE test site. This can be done approximately 24 hours after registration in order to allow ASWB and its testing vendor time to transfer and check your data.

• Should you not successfully pass your social worker certification exam the first time round you can re-take the exam after waiting at least ninety days. This delay is meant to allow you time to increase your knowledge on the portions of the exam where you scored the least. Each item on the exam targets specific skill, knowledge or ability, and are designed to measure a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities relevant to safe social work practice.

• It is imperative that candidates for the exam fully understand the exam’s mechanics and intent, and pay attention to the qualifying words such as “FIRST” or “NEXT”, or “MOST likely,” “MOST appropriate,  or “BEST” as these are very important.

• Conduct an honest appraisal of your strengths and weaknesses prior to retaking the test and put some extra work and study into your areas of weakness in order to build them up and you should have no problem passing the test the second time around.

Candidates for the social worker certification exam must note that as of January 1, 2012, the Association of Social Work Boards implemented a new content outline for the Advanced Generalist Examination as the result of a practice analysis completed in 2009. The next scheduled changes to the ASWB examinations will most probably be made in 2015, as per content contained in the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which will be published in May 2013.

Short Pointers Regarding The ASWB Social Worker Certification Exam

• Re-taking the exam: the amount of times that you will be allowed to retake the exam is determined by your state’s social work licensing board.

• National Passing Score: the score that you get on your examination is a national passing score, but this does not mean that you are automatically licensed. Each state has its own licensing processes and some states require additional steps, so it is best to always check with the board in the state in which you wish to practice what their licensing requirements are.

• Scores are not given: as licensing boards are only interested in whether you passed or not, not by how many points, you will only be given a pass or fail, not detailed scaled scores. You will, however receive details on the number of questions that you answered correctly.

• Pass marks in various states: Although some states require a score of 70 as a pass mark and others require 75, it is not easier to pass in one state than in another, as this is just two ways of reporting the same thing. ASWB translates passing scores into the scoring “language” of a particular state, hence the score being reported as pass or fail and not in points. This means that if you passed in a jurisdiction that requires a 70 as a pass mark you will also have passed in one that requires a 75 as a pass rate. In other words, passing the minimum score, whether 70 or 75, indicates the same level of performance on the social worker certification exam.

• Result Reviews: Examination results can be reviewed for a fee of $50, but be warned that since testing began in 1998 no review has ever resulted in a changed score.

It is highly recommended that candidates for the social worker certification exam take one or more of the free practice tests before attempting the real one to gain licensure. There are many sites on the Internet that provide practice tests and other forms of help for those preparing to get their licensure. Some of the sites use online practice test software that is incompatible with Google Chrome, so you may have to use Internet Explorer or Firefox. These practice tests help a lot as they give you an idea of what type of questions to expect in the exam and thereby enable you to prepare adequately so that you can pass the licensure examination first time.

There are also many sites that offer one-on-one tutoring for those preparing for their social worker certification exam. If you are not sure that you are adequately prepared or have already taken the test and failed to master it, then it may be in your best interests to engage a tutor or coach to assist you to get through the exam study process. This tutoring can be done face-to-face, via e-mail, phone, chat-rooms and Skype. If this type of one-on-one assistance is not for you then there are also various tutoring packages that can be accessed on the Internet in order to prepare you for your social worker certification exam.

The post All About The Social Worker Certification Exam appeared first on Healthcare Careers Guide.

Physicians’ offices and hospitals rely on certified medical assistants to perform tasks that they simply don’t have the time for. These medical assistants play an important role in performing important tasks like tending to patients, taking blood samples, doing administrative work as well as tending to booking and billing tasks.

To be able to perform these tasks, medical assistants will need to do medical assistant certification exams. There are a number of excellent websites and resources that offer tips and valuable information to give you the best results.  There are two organizations that credential medical assistants and these are The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and the America Medical Technologists (AMT). They offer professional certification to allied health workers. The AAMA requires that the CMA credential be re-certified every five years.  To be eligible to take these medical assistant exams, you must first complete and application form and send it in along with other applicable documents. You must also be graduating from an accredited medical assistant program.

Payment For The Exams

Payment for exams must accompany your application form. The fees are in the region of $90/95. You can pay with certified checks, money orders or credit cards.

If as a Medical Assistant, you are asking if you should become certified, the answer is ‘Yes’! It is in your best interests. Candidates will receive a percentile ranking score on the three areas of content in the tests which fall under general, admin and clinical.

Fantastic On-line Resources To Test Your Knowledge

• Med Preps at medpreps.com is a fantastic on-line resource that helps medical professionals succeed with their medical assistant certification exam. They way they do this is to offer students the means to do unlimited practice tests that copy the type of content that the real certification tests are about. You can simply go onto their website and follow the prompts on getting the sample tests. The exam papers will test your knowledge about patient care, record keeping and laboratory procedures.

• There are also many other online medical assistants examination papers offered on different websites that will provide tests in anatomy and physiology. Students can prepare for their medical assistant exams and have access to quizzes and competency tests and tutorials that are offered to review important medical assisting subject areas. With this plethora of exams for getting your certificate, medical assistant students who want to reach their career goals will be well with their academic studies.

• Take Northstar Learning for instance; they provide students with easy-to-use practice and preparation programs which are web based and which are geared towards helping students ace their exams. Students can prepare for the Certified Medical Assistant exam and get literally hundreds of practice questions very similar to the ones you will get on the actual exam. What is particularly useful with the way they go about these practice tests, is that, unlike other programs, Northstar Learning gives you as the student an explanation for each correct answer. This is really cool because then you can actually learn why the answer is correct. With their automatic grading, you can see the areas of the Certified Medical Assistant exam where you need to put in some extra effort.

With Northstar Learning, their certified medical assistant exam reviews are available for students to study any time, and they can work through the program at their own pace.  The content of these exam papers are not just prepared carelessly by anyone; they have been created by Northstar Learning’s instructors, practitioners, in-house content team and other expert editors and writers. Students can rest assured they are answering questions similar to those they will see on the exam. If you as a medical assistant want to know how to go about ordering these brilliant study resources, you can contact Northstar Learning at 866.990.8175 or email them at info@northstarlearning.com.

What Is A Certified Medical Assistant?

It is a person who has passed the examination issued by the American Association of Medical Assistants. It tells everyone that as a medical assistant, you have all the correct and necessary knowledge and skills to perform all the tasks of a medical assistant.

Why Get Certified In The First Place?

The medical industry is huge and demanding, and employers simply prefer their staff to have certification because it means that the worker has the competence. For the medical assistant it means better pay, better job opportunities and better job security. Those who pass the certification exam will be recognized as Nationally Certified Allied Health care professionals, and with this certification, you will earn credentials to use with your name as a medical assistant anywhere in the United States.

Eligibility Requirements

A candidate must:

• be in possession of a high school diploma or GED

• have done a training program or have a year’s work behind them. Candidates sometimes are required to show proof of this training, bearing in mind that every certification program will have different requirements depending on the particular Nursing Board.

If you are a student at an Allied Health Association school you will need to pre-register for an exam in order to create an account with NHA; after which you will receive a date for the exam. Exam results for computer based exams will be available immediately. Candidates who pass will get their certification ID card as well as their certificate within a week or so. Results of paper exams will be mailed to you. Certification is valid for two years. To maintain certification you will need to complete continuing education credits every two years.

The goal of the NHA is to increase the quality of care for everyone and to also make the health care industry better. To this end they help with providing students with certifications needed to succeed in the health field.

A Nasty Reality Check

It can be pretty grueling if you as a medical assistant student have to tell your friends and family the ghastly news that you didn’t make the grade with the Medical Assistant Certification Exam. The nightmare is trying to get a job without the certification. Not being certified can have lifelong implications on your future.

The Certified Medical Assistant Certification Exam is an assessment of your knowledge and skills. The scores you achieve in the exam are used by the American Association of Medical Assistants as a standard of qualification, and your future will be dependent on meeting the required Certified Medical Assistant test score.

Learn To Recognize Between Wrong And Right Answer Choices

The questions in these tests are formatted as incomplete statements which are followed by choices. Not only are medical assistants given an idea of what kinds of questions to expect, they will also be given tips on how to actually  predict the right answer from the different answer choices. Sometimes the answers from the selection are like trick answers and you will be given advice on to recognize the wrong answers even when they look so right. You will learn how to tell the difference between the correct answer and those ones that are very close to being the correct one.

Conclusion

There are many different schools offering national certification as part of their programs. The first step in preparing for a medical assistant certification exam is by getting yourself mentally ready. The exam may not be a particularly difficult one when compared to some of the other medical field exams but you want to be as well prepared as you can be to ace all your exams.

Knowing more or less what to expect in the exam is necessary because you want an idea of where you should be focusing. You will really benefit by making use of the different practice tests provided on the Internet and most of these tests can be downloaded from their websites. They cover all the essential exam topics and also offer valuable study hints. With their help you will know exactly what to expect on the day of the exam, which means being less stressed.  The practices papers are designed for quick and easy use, and there are plenty of them containing different kinds of information and practice questions. Practice these tests and you will quickly get an idea of where your weak spots are so that you can give more attention there.

The post Medical Assistant Certification Exam Made Easier With Practice Papers appeared first on Healthcare Careers Guide.

With so many vehicles on the road these days the chances of accidents have increased exponentially from the 1970s when a set standard was first implemented for ambulance personnel on the roads. An EMT need to have the necessary skills and knowledge to save a life within the critical first hour after an incident and also needs to know how to get to the scene of the incident quickly and safely. Since the time when EMTs first were introduced to the medical profession, a number of new conditions and emergencies have also arrived on the scene.

The goal of any exam is really to test how much a student has learned during their course and if they can apply what they have learned, which is why the same applies to the EMT certification exam. The industry has set standards to which the EMT must comply and the best way to see if the student is on that set standard, is with an examination which is theoretical and practical in nature.

Once the EMT exam has been successfully completed the candidate will be competent to save someone’s life when they are possibly busy dying. Making sure that all EMT personnel are competent is for the protection of the public that may need their services. Having one set examination standard also makes sure that all EMT personnel are on the same level of competence giving the public assurance that they will get the same level of care from any ambulance service they call.

The Format Of The Exam

The Exam is in the form of a multiple choice exam and the level of your training will determine how many questions you will be answering. In the interest of security of these tests they are now being done on a computer based system. The tests are delivered online which cuts out the possibility of them being stolen or lost in the postal system.

The test is set in such a way that the question that comes up has to be answered and the candidate cannot skip it and come back to it later. By skipping a question, the system calculates your level of skill and will either follow up with a more difficult question after a correct answer or with an easier one following an incorrect answer or a skipped question.

There are usually four answers with each question and if the question is read correctly, two of these can be eliminated straight away. The more correct answer of the remaining two will then be marked as a correct answer.

According to the new standard of testing 85% of the questions will cover treatment of adult patients and the remaining 15% will cover the treatment of pediatric patients.

Requirements Before You Write

The EMT certification exam has not been set up in a way to make sure everyone passes. The questions will place the candidates according to their knowledge and skill.

There are a few things to do before writing to increase success:

• Get plenty of rest and eat a well-balanced diet.

• Trying to cram the night before the exam will exhaust you and has a low rate of success.

• Studying at regular intervals for a long period of time before the exam and repeating difficult modules will ensure a better rate of success and will ensure the long term memory retaining this knowledge for a longer time after the exam.

• The student should know where the test center is and the route they will take to get there to eliminate the stress of being late as well.

• Be prepared with a Photo ID and a couple of pencils.

• Dress comfortable with multiple layers of clothing that can be shed and put back on as the need arises.

• Go to the bathroom before the test and be well hydrated so that there are no fluids consumed during the test which will lead to more bathroom breaks.

Advice On Passing

The test has been set up in a way that you cannot cheat the system. Your level of skill will be determined by the exam. There are a few things that are uniform during each exam.

Know Your Basics

The basic skills that you will learn during a first aid course are extremely important. These will include knowledge of:

• The airway and all of its components
• CPR
• Ventilation and Oxygenation
• Trauma
• Shock
• Cardiology
• Medication and operations
• Diabetic emergencies and how to treat them
• The normal range of ventilation and respiration for adults and children
• Know what your exam is about

Even though textbooks are kept up to date with the industry standards, these are generally an interpretation of the standards that are set by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. The EMT certification Exam contains a number of questions that are based on NIMS or the National Incident Management System which prepares medical personnel for incidences of any magnitude from a small vehicle accident to the scale which was seen at the attack on the World Trade Center. A student that reads up and studies these standards and techniques will have an edge over the other students taking the exam and will increase his or her chances of passing the exam at a higher level of skill.

The goal of passing the exam is not to do better than the others in the class, but having a higher level of skill and knowledge will prepare the candidate better for any situation and will secure employment at any facility.

When employers are looking at the student’s certification, they will not be looking for someone who has passed with the minimum requirements.

What Will The Candidate Be Rated On?

In order to pass the EMT certification Exam the candidate will need to achieve a level of competency in each category that the Computer Based Testing system tests them on. There is no set percentage that needs to be achieved in order to pass as the computer program will assess the candidate’s skills and knowledge by the difficulty level of questions asked and answered. A psychometric test has been built into the questionnaire as well which will ascertain the candidate’s personality strengths and weaknesses which will show whether the candidate is mentally ready for the job as well.

The Practical

Apart from the computer based testing, the candidate will have to prove their skills in the field as well during a practical examination where the candidate will be given a scenario and will then be rated according to how they react and what procedures they follow.

To prepare for the practical examination, the candidate will have to know the theoretical material well and execute the methods according to the procedure that has been laid out in the handbook. Proper procedure and proper execution of the procedure will earn the candidate the necessary points to pass the practical examination as well. Knowing how to act and following procedure is very important during a critical situation where the EMT will need to assess the situation and make decisions on how to react to the scenario. There are a few scenarios that will be played out during the EMT course for the candidate to get an idea of what the practical examination will be about.

Should the candidate fail to act and react in the proper manner, they will have to reapply to do the practical again as they will not be given a second chance immediately.

Can You Rewrite?

Should the candidate not be able to complete the EMT certification examination successfully the first time they will be granted chances to rewrite the test. If the candidate does not improve in skill or knowledge, they will be rated at the same level of competency. There is no way to cheat the system by learning the answers to questions already asked. The bank of questions in the system is on such a scale that the chances of getting the same question again are microscopic. The system will rate your level of competence based on your answers and if the candidate is not able to answer questions on a higher skill level, they will be failed again. The only way to achieve a higher level of competency is to study and to read the questions properly to make sure they are understood and placed into proper context.

Keeping Your License

Once the EMT certification exam has been passed, it is of utmost importance to ensure that the personnel stay updated with the latest techniques and up to standard with the regulations that have been put in place to ensure the safety of patients. For this reason, EMT personnel have to rewrite their exams every five years. The EMTs level of skills will be rated then and promotions will be based on the test scoring of these examinations.

The best way for an EMT to retain their licenses is to keep up to date with the latest NREMT standards and techniques and to implement these procedures in their daily work.

The post The Goal Of The Certification Exam appeared first on Healthcare Careers Guide.

As with any exam, study and practice is an imperative prerequisite to passing well, and when it comes to the Nursing Assistant certification exam, there are a number of CNA practice tests available online for students to best raise their game. CNA’s are invariably goal orientated people (apart from being selfless care givers) with inclinations toward achieving full nursing status, so every test that comes their way will no doubt be of high priority. Thus the practise test and CNA exam will be of particular importance to anyone wanting to get on the front foot at the start of their nursing careers.

Since nursing has evolved into a “fully-fledged” career complete wherein one can achieve your masters and doctorate, more people are being drawn to this indispensable profession which continues to grow, and will do for some time according to the national bureau of statistics. The need for qualified nurses continues to increase, and with that, Certified Nurse Assistants, as the field attracts more students each year.

What is a Certified Nursing Assistant(CNA)?

Of course if you’re asking yourself this question then you might have wondered to the wrong area by accident, but then again you may be considering a job or even a career in the nursing field but had never heard of the term “CNA”. As you may have noted from above, the CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant and their role in the hospital or care facility is primarily based upon basic care. The CNA is always under the supervision of either a Registered Nurse (RN), a Licenced Practical Nurse (LPN) or in more rare instances, a physician. The Nurse Assistants duties include the following:

• Checking vital signs
• checking and logging the patients information into their medical files
• tending to patients medical equipment as well as their medication
• assisting patients who are unable to feed and drink on their own (falling into the category of ‘primary patient care’)
• physical cleaning or bathing of patients as well as cleaning wounds

Roles differ from state to state and some hospitals, clinics or care facilities also delegate and assign certain responsibilities to their CNA’s which may be in addition to the primary duties expected of them.

Requirements for entering a CNA Program

A high school diploma or equivalency is required by all applicants looking to take on the twelve month long course (depending on where you enrol). Applicants may be advised to research the position before applying as the course is not for the faint of heart. Yes, the Nurse Assistant is but a supporting role; however the job itself takes unique resolve and requires people with a selfless, hardworking and diligent nature. Nurses deal with the sick and weary and thus often have to wade through situations where man is in his worst condition, yet through their care giving, healing is nurtured. To deal with such taxing environs takes a person of good character and a doggedness to be able to deal with people (patients and loved ones) in the worst of times, perhaps experiencing their worst days.

In the foreboding world of hospitals and what they represent (minus the maternity ward), it is the nurses who provide the respite, providing that much needed prevailing air of care giving, comfort and healing.

So, although the CNA may not be an out-and-out nurse, the same principle applies. The one year long certification program serves to equip applicants with the necessary skills to be of top service. Although many who do apply fancy themselves as having all that it takes to be at least a CNA, the program may yet prove otherwise through its demanding nature, both mentally and physically.

The subjects to expect from the CNA Course

A well rounded comprehensive course can be expected from any CNA certification program. The curriculum invariably includes the following subjects;

• First Aid as well as CPR
• Terminology – learn the appropriate medical terms
• A comprehensive course on human anatomy, both in structure and function
• Primary patient care (including all duties mentioned above)
• Computer and communication skills – basic computer literacy as well as patient communication is essential

Of course that summarizes the theoretical side of things; there will of course be a full apprenticeship required of each applicant including in-service training with a mandatory number of hours which each student will need to complete. CNA Programs are offered at many community colleges and technical schools with possibly only slight differences in regulations and prerequisites as you move from state to state. Prior to gaining certification, each student will undergo at least seventy five hours of training to prove their skill in addition (in some states) to a certification exam. By the time the student earns their certification they shall be able to fit in seamlessly into the healthcare facility.

Beyond The Classroom

Although the CNA practice exams will be of great interest to each applicant, the true worth of any nurse may well be measured in their abilities with other people. Interaction is essential to their existence as nurses deal with all sorts of people in many differing circumstances, thus there are a number of qualities which each CNA needs to possess to truly be effective. Those qualities include compassion, a sound mind, a helpful nature, responsibility, dependability and the ability to take orders and submit to others. These are rare attributes, especially when grouped together, illustrating the unique and truly special nature of the work and the person that earns the title of nurse, in whatever capacity.

The CNA Practice Exam

This is primarily centered on the written test which involves a one hundred question multiple choice test in which each student must obtain at least eighty percent in order to pass. The rules, regulations and instructions are very particular, and what might seem like trivial details are in fact very pertinent to determining whether or not you pass or not. Cleanliness and safety are of utmost importance as well as keeping order and maintaining a specific standard in the working environment. This is especially relevant with regards to patient care and ensuring that every little detail is taken care of and that certain procedures are always adhered to.

It is imperative that students obtain an instructor that is on the same page, as it were, with the examiner’s expectations, as the improper instruction could see you fail. Small details need to become second nature for the aspiring CNA; something as simple as forgetting to knock before you enter a room could be the last blemish on your CNA skills test (you get three chances or “grace” mistakes when doing the skills test before they fail you – somewhat akin to a driver’s test, just with way less chances for error). Thus it’s crucial to form your own way of remembering everything while getting over your nerves (one handy tip was to recite each duty as you’re enacting it). It’s for this reason that every applicant be absolutely sure of what’s to come prior to taking the test.
As mentioned, the written test is a multiple choice format, and the CNA test questions are very particular and relevant to every day scenarios that every certified assistant might encounter, and their subsequent reactions to those scenarios. They may include the primary reactions and care responses as expected of any CNA, like changing old dressings on a patient’s wound, or more convoluted situations, such as a lost or disillusioned patient wandering through the corridors unattended. Here are a number of examples of what to expect from CNA exam questions (in the actual exam, each question is of course followed by several suggestions of what the appropriate CNA response will be):

1. Before feeding a resident, which of the following is the best reason to wash the residents hands? – (note: all the answers provided may be correct, but as the question specifies, the student must pick the “best” reason of those provided)
2. Whilst a nurse aid tries to brush a confused and reluctant patient’s hair, who keeps trying to grab the hair brush, what should the nurse aid do? – (Specific instruction is given during training to cope with all such scenarios)
3. A resident who is dying from cancer and is expected to pass on in the next few days. Nursing care for the patient should focus on:
4. A patient has diabetes. Which of the following is a clear sign of low blood sugar? – (This is of course a more direct question with a specific answer.)
5. The residents wife has recently died. The resident now stays in his room all the time and eats very little. The best nurse aid response should be…
6. When a patient is combative and is constantly trying to hit the nurse assistant, it is important for the nurse aid to…
7. A nurse assistant walks down a hallway and looks into a patients room, only to see another nurse aid hitting a resident. The nurse assistant is expected to:
8. A nurse aid finds a resident looking in the refrigerator at the nurses’ station at five in the morning. The confused resident explains he needs his breakfast before he goes to work. The best response expected of the nurse aid is…
9. Patients with Parkinson’s disease often need assistance with walking because they…
10. During lunch in the dining room, a resident begins throwing some cutlery at the nurse aid. The best response by the nurse assistant is to…

Students should expect these types of CNA test questions and, as you can see, the scenarios and topics covered pertain to basic nursing aid work (involving primary care) as well as veritable medical work involving solutions to problems which only sufficient training can provide.

It’s interesting to note the intricacy that some situations present, and need to be handled with utmost care and attention, especially when concerning patients experiencing or suffering from mental illness like Alzheimer’s (prevalent more in senior care facilities) or grief. That grief may be as a result of the misfortune of a loved one, or news of the patient’s own terminal illness.

Perusing these questions and the dozens more like them, serves to illustrate how crucial the CNA’s job is, as they’re constantly interacting with an assortment of people, and lives in an extreme and often unfortunate circumstances.

Passing Your CNA Test

With the diversity of questions on offer, it’s imperative that applicants seek the CNA practice test to ensure a smooth exam. There are plenty of online examples of the CNA certification exam as well as online videos on YouTube illustrating methods to aid in the CNA skills test.

Applicants must note that once they’re certified, it won’t be the last of the tests as each year will bring another CNA certification test to ensure that Nurse Aids remain competent.

To pass the test one needs to do all this and more as sufficient research is required to ensure that every aspect of the job is well learned. In certain cases, applicants looking to study in a different state should familiarize themselves with any changes that may be present – some areas differ somewhat when it comes to the CNA state test.

Nevertheless, the practice CNA test has practically become a prerequisite in itself as it drastically increases your chances of earning the Nursing aid certification.

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The certified pharmacy technician is often-times more up to date on the latest pharmaceuticals than the pharmacist is, and they perform a vital service to patients, pharmacists, hospitals and doctors via the wide range of tasks that they perform.

Duties Of The Pharmacy Technician

A pharmacy technician’s primary function is to receive and fill prescriptions from physicians, nurses, hospitals or directly from the patient. They work under the supervision of a pharmacist.

The duties carried out by pharmacy technicians can include:

• Filling and dispensing of prescriptions for patients.
• Compounding of the prescription as per a physician’s directions, which includes the counting, measuring, weighing, and pouring of medications and tablets.
• Creating prescription labels for the medication being dispensed.
• Administrative duties such as keeping the database updated, and handling insurance enquiries.
• The pharmacy technician also takes an inventory of over-the-counter medications and places orders when necessary.
• Performing cash-register transactions in a retail pharmacy and taking phone-calls also forms part of a pharmacy technician’s tasks.

In order to become a pharmacy technician one needs to do a course at an established pharmacy technician school. There are many online and campus-based schools which provide a variety of courses, and it is your choice as to which school you go to, whether you decide to study on-campus or do a part-time pharmacy technician online course while you continue to work at your normal job.

Pharmacy Technician Workplace

A pharmacy technician can work in various health-related workplaces and spend most of their day on their feet. The environment in which they work is sterilised, clean and tidy.

They practise in workplaces such as:

• Assisted-living Facilities
• Health and Personal-care Stores
• Hospitals
• Medical Stores
• Nursing Homes
• Retail and Mail-order Pharmacies

Pharmacy technicians do not always work a 9-5 job. They can work part-time or full-time. Depending on where they work they could either do day or night-shift and may also be required to work on weekends.

Pharmacy Technician Degrees

Pharmacy technician degrees are associate-level degrees. Many pharmacy technician schools also offer diplomas and certificate courses. Your choice of course will depend on the level of education which you intend to follow, and this can impact greatly on your future, where you get employed and what your earning will be, so it is important that you do some research and have all the details at your fingertips before making such an important decision.

Pharmacy Technician Qualifications

Pharmacy Technician Certificate

• The only requirement to enter this program is a high school diploma.
• Can generally be completed in less than 12 months.
• This course provides the basic fundamental skill required by a pharmacy technician.
• Aimed at pharmacy technicians who work in retail or clinical environments.
• This course also prepares graduates to take the Pharmacy Technician Test.

Pharmacy Technician Diploma

• A previous degree in the medical field is required to enter the program.
• The duration of this program is approximately 12 months.
• The aim of the course is to add supplementary, skill-based education to the basic knowledge gained on a previous degree course.
• Although a medical background is not necessary, many individuals who have previously obtained associate degrees in related fields of study pursue a course as a pharmacy technician.
• This program prepares graduates for the Pharmacy Technician Certification exam.

Pharmacy Technician Associate’s Degree

• A previous degree in the medical field is required to enter into this program.
• The program usually takes approximately 24 months to complete.
• The associate degree program provides a more in-depth education than a diploma or certificate program.
• Apart from the focused training in pharmacy practises, the course also provides a wide range of other training in the general medical field.
• This program makes use of clinical externships in a hospital or retail pharmacy setting to provide on-the-job experience. These externships are done under the direct supervision of a manager or pharmacist who will report back to the school, and this will form part of the final grade points.
• The program prepares its graduates to take the Pharmacy Technician Exam.

Pharmacy Technician Certification
It is not compulsory to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification exam in all states, but it certainly does help an individual to gain employment, as it assures the prospective employer that you conform to national standards for pharmacy technician knowledge. In order to find out whether the state in which you intend working requires certification or not you should do some research.
The Pharmacy Technician Exam is given by the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT) and the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). The pharmacy technician test given by both organisations is very similar and both are accepted as a benchmark of quality pharmacy technician training and certification of the nationally accepted knowledge necessary to perform the duties of a pharmacy technician.

The PTCB Pharmacy Technician Test

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Pharmacy Technician Certification, known as CPhT, is awarded to pharmacy technicians who meet the strict background and educational requirements as laid out by the PTCB, and have passed the Pharmacy Technician Exam.

Requirements to take the PTCE:

• The Pharmacy technician must have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• The Pharmacy technician may not have any felony convictions.
• The Pharmacy technician may not have any pharmacy or drug-related convictions.
• There must be no restriction of registration or licensure, or regulations misconduct.

Re-certification of the CPhT is required every two years and this can be done by gaining twenty hours of continuing education in that time period.

The ICPT Pharmacy Technician Exam

The Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians proffers the CPhT Pharmacy Technician Certification to those who take the Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT).

Requirements to take the ExCPT:

• You must be 18 years or older
• You must be in possession of a high school degree or your GED.
• You may not have been convicted of any type of felony.

The CPhT certification must be renewed every 2 years. In order to renew your CPhT certification you need to have completed at least 20 hours of continuing education and this must include a minimum of 1 hour of pharmacy law.

How To Get Your Pharmacy Technician Certification

Getting certified by either the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians or the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board is one of the easiest things to do. All you need to do is to contact one of the above certification boards and request to take the Pharmacy Technician Exam. Most states offer the exam, which consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, 4 times per year. There is no limit on how many times you can take the exam in order to pass.

Pharmacy Technician Practice Test:

PTCB offers a set of practice exams which can be taken in order to prepare for the Pharmacy Technician Certification exam. The purpose of a Pharmacy Technician Practice Test is to familiarize yourself with the structure, content and format of the Pharmacy Technician Exam, and can give an indication of whether you are sufficiently prepared for the official PTCE.

The practice exams that are available are:

• The Official PTCB Practice Exam
• The Official PTCB Practice Calculations Exam
• The Official PTCB Practice Medication Usage and Administration Exam

You can purchase a Practice Test from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. These are online pharmacy technician tests which have been developed by subject-experts.

The Official PTCB Practice Test meets the exact same exam blueprint specifications as the Pharmacy Technician Certification exam. An overall scaled score, which includes a subtest scaled score for each of the function areas, will be given to the candidates on completion of the test. The Practice Test covers the three areas of a pharmacy technician’s scope of duties; Assisting the Pharmacist in Serving Patients, Participating in the Administration and Management of Pharmacy Practice, and Maintaining Medication and Inventory Control Systems.

Candidates have sixty minutes in which to complete the exam and review their answers. Those who fail the PTCE may rewrite the examination three times. There needs to be a break of 60 days between the first two retakes, and a period of six months before the third rewrite. After three times the candidate must submit an appeal to the PTCB; the appeals will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Although Pharmacy Technician Certification is not required buy all states, it is in your best interest to take the pharmacy technician test because this will prove to the pharmacist that you are serious about your chosen career and that you comply with the strict national requirements for pharmacy technicians. This will give the pharmacist the assurance that you are able to offer safe and effective patient care and service. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Pharmacy Technician Certification is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

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The test for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) is rightfully not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination and many applicants do not pass it on the first try. Thus, a clear and concise method of study is required if one intends to pass it in the first attempt. There are many online practice tests allowing one the adequate preparation to cope with whatever the real deal offers up; these practice exams are specifically designed to enhance your chances of success with the NREMT test. EMT test questions may vary and most good practice tests make ample allowances for this very scenario. All in all, a pass on the EMT test should be made that much more achievable with this method of practice and preparation.

The Role Of The EMT Practice Test

As with any practice test, the purpose of which is to prepare you for an upcoming exam. In this instance the EMT practice test is available to not only aid studies, but also to assess how well prepared you already are, or how much more work is still required. Since there are two main sections of the test (theory and practical), and each section has its own sub categories, therein lies a great propensity to have stronger and weaker sections (since we all do better at different things), so the practice test allow the individual to gauge which area needs more attention since one cannot afford to have any weaknesses.
Unlike other tests one may encounter in life, the EMT test is not graded and is simply a pass/fail exam, thus each section needs to be of a certain high standard. Needless to say the more practice tests one takes the better your chances for passing, especially on the first NREMT test attempt. Though the EMT test covers many sections and categories, the EMT is obviously required to be well proficient in every single one of them without any deficiencies.

What Can Be Expected From An EMT Practice Test?

Included in any good EMT practice test should be the following list of areas:

Custom or personalized EMT questions:

• practical paramedic training
• concomitant assistance with your test preparation
• EMT training
• EMS training

These are the primary areas focused on, among others, to aid you in passing your NREMT exam.

The NREMT Test

The National Registry Emergency Medical Technician test is the exam which, if passed, certifies you as a base level EMT. It is essentially a test consisting of two main sections; a computerized multiple choice section as well as a demonstration orientated practical section wherein one exhibits ones EMT skills. The whole test lasts about two hours and the minimum pass mark is 85%. Crucial though is that one not only studies well for the exam but that the knowledge and skills obtained are not only proficiently recalled and demonstrated, but that they are retained and refined in future.

A note to any aspiring EMT who are about to take or study to take the NREMT test is that they inevitably vary from year to year, thus older models of tests from years gone by – perhaps obtained from a local library – may well be outdated. Of course, as mentioned before, the multiple choice section of the test is computerized so the online method of gaining examples for an adequate EMT test prep, is most likely the best route since many companies release these practice tests online, further acquainting you with the examination method.

Crucial points to ponder when considering which practice test is most suitable are the following:

• The Date
• Format
• Memorandum

Is the test up to date with the latest regulations and practices? Does the format match that of the actual EMT test, as in four choice answers (the conventional multiple choice exam)? And does it come with a clear and concise answer sheet with understandable explanations?

The Extent of the EMT Practice Tests

There is a variety of specified tests to take, each with their own follow ups. In other words each test category comes with a part one, two and three. The list of EMT practice test categories looks as follows:

• Airways and breathing
• Trauma
• Cardiology
• Medical
• Operations

These are the fundamentals which each EMT test is based upon. Once your preparation and practice is over and you’ve passed your NREMT test, and are a certified EMT, you’ll be required to pass regional licensure and certification exams.

The Various Certification Levels

As mentioned before, passing the NREMT test qualifies and certifies you as a Base-EMT but there are further levels. The Emergency Medical Technician is considered the entry (or one of the entries) into the medical field of work and study. The levels of the EMT certification are:

• EMT basic
• First responder
• EMT Intermediate
• Paramedic

These certification levels also determine the level of pay, with level appropriate salaries.

Preparation For The Test

Preparing for any test can be stressful, and usually is, thus we all have our own ways of dealing with it. In addition to that we all have our own way of studying and preparing ourselves mentally and physically – a vital aspect considering that the EMT test involves both the intellectual and the practical. We all also use our own study methods, sometimes changing methods as the subject or category changes; in any case, there is bound to be an online EMT practice test that suits your needs and your methods to give you the best chance in the exam.

What Are Customized EMT Test Questions?

As with any subject or field, the EMT test has many facets and sections and with every individual that comes along, comes different struggles. Considering all the various parts to the Emergency Medical technicians role, one can understand that individual might have trouble with a singular aspect, thus a number of EMT training online tests are available where you can gain customized EMT questions to focus on a specific area – the area that requires the most attention for you. Often it can be just one section, or section within a category that can cause trouble and subsequent failure. Thus, one is able to acquire customized EMT test questions where you can adjust practice tests to heavily favor a subject that troubles you, or have a test that only focuses on one topic.

The Importance Of Being A Emergency Medical Technician

So, why an EMT? Well as mentioned, the technician is regarded as the base level entry into the medical field and provides the fundamentals and the ideal foundation for anyone wanting to further their career by later becoming a nurse, medical assistant, paramedic, surgical or physician assistant, or in some cases, even a doctor. What the EMT course does, is give the individual not only the tools to do their job well, but also allows those who are not certain of their future within the medical field, to gauge whether or not there is a future to be had. Many volunteers adopt this approach, using the EMT course and subsequent experience to gain a deeper level of understanding to aid in their decision-making. Knowing how important this, and all associated fields are, and the huge responsibilities they come with, it’s not surprising that a considerable amount of thought needs to be put into it, to decide on the level of commitment without having to invest too much.

Whatever your decision, the EMT remains an invaluable role, the need for which will only increase. Of course what makes the course more attractive is that you’d be doing a valuable service once certified, and if down the line you decide that the medical fraternity and you, are not compatible, you can opt out at little cost, whilst always retaining the invaluable skills learned – and form an impressive feature on your resume should you opt out. Either way, the EMT test need not be too big of a challenge with the aid of the number of online EMT practice tests, which is said to be able to equip you with the resources to pass the test with relative or consummate ‘ease’.

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