Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) training & certification requirements vary considerably across the U.S. In some states, the requirements go beyond the federal minimum while in other states requirements are nearly identical to the federal standards.
This page displays Hawaii CNA Requirements as of February 2023.
To see requirements in other states, visit nursinghome411.org/cna-reqs.
Hawaii CNA Requirements
- Education & Training Requirement
- Individuals must complete a state approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program.
- Testing Requirement
- Individuals must pass both a written and skills test.
- Renewal & In-Service Requirements
- 24 hours of in-service every two years.
- The recertification requirements for a nurse aide working in a Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing facility shall consist of the successful completion of:
- (1) An annual performance review completed by the facility at least once every twelve months;
- (2) Regular in-service training provided by that facility based upon the outcome of the annual performance reviews;
- (3) A completed renewal application on a form approved by the department and postmarked or received by the department on or prior to thirty (30) days before the biennial expiration date, as determined by the department.
- (4) Verification that, for monetary compensation, the nurse aide provided, at a minimum, one full day of nursing or nursing-related services, in a Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing facility, involving direct patient care within the prior twenty-four months.
- Hours
- 100 hours, including 30 hours in classroom activities.
- Curriculum
- The curriculum requirements, at a minimum, shall include the following:
- (1) One hundred hours of training. Thirty hours or more shall be spent in classroom activities of which at least sixteen hours shall be in the following areas prior to any direct contact by trainees with residents:
- (A) Communication and interpersonal skills;
- (B) Infection control;
- (C) Safety and emergency procedures, including Heimlich maneuver;
- (D) Understanding and promoting resident’s independence; and
- (E) Respecting residents’ rights;
- (2) Basic nursing skills, including recognition of abnormal changes in body functioning and the importance of reporting such changes to a supervisor;
- (3) Personal care skills;
- (4) Mental health and social service needs;
- (5) Care of cognitively impaired residents;
- (6) Basic restorative services; and
- (7) Resident’s rights.
- (1) One hundred hours of training. Thirty hours or more shall be spent in classroom activities of which at least sixteen hours shall be in the following areas prior to any direct contact by trainees with residents:
- Other classroom activities shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following activities:
- (1) Introduction to the health care delivery system in Hawaii with special emphasis on agencies and facilities that care for the aged;
- (2) Appropriate professional conduct as a nurse aide;
- (3) General preventive health care with emphasis on controlling the spread of infections;
- (4) Basic information about human bodily functions;
- (5) Interpersonal skills including time and stress management, teamwork, developing relationships with residents, and coping with death and dying; and
- (6) Basic medical terminology.
- Seventy hours of the one hundred hours of training shall consist of supervised practical training. Supervised practical training shall include at a minimum, the following:
- (1) Basic nursing skills that must be taught and directly supervised by a registered nurse for a minimum of thirty hours;
- (2) Basic personal care skills that must be taught and directly supervised by a licensed practical nurse working under the supervision of a registered nurse for a minimum of thirty hours; and
- (3) Basic restorative services that must be taught by a licensed or certified therapist working under the supervision of a registered nurse for a minimum of ten hours.
- The curriculum requirements, at a minimum, shall include the following: