How do I renew my Nursing Assistant Certification in the state of Washington?

September 26, 2011 11:46 AM

How do I renew my Nursing Assistant Certification in the state of Washington? It has been about 5 years since mine has expired.

In high school (2006) I attended a technical school and received my CNA (certification as a nursing assistant). I briefly worked as one before deciding to go back to school and be a full time student.

Now I have my AA in hand and am close to completing the required pre-requisites to apply to Washington State University's nursing program. I would like to switch back to CNA work to build up my work experience in the nursing field... but it has now been over 5 years since I have had my certification.

What do I need to do to renew my certification in the state of Washington? Who do I need to contact? Would I need to retake the test? How much will it cost?
If I do need to retake the test, is there an inexpensive study book available so that I can study for it on my own time?

posted by lovecricket to Education (2 answers total)

It says here that if your license has lapsed for more than 2 years and you haven't been a practicing CNA in another state, you need to re-train and retest.

The links down the side of that page have all the fee and renewal information as well as contact info for the licensing office.
posted by mjcon at 12:01 PM on September 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: So for anyone else with the same question as me... to save them the 1 hour of being on the phone on hold and being transferred from person to person: The only way to re-train is to go back to school. There is no way you can study at home in your own time and then go re-take the test.
posted by lovecricket at 12:10 PM on September 27, 2011