Nurse aide (CNA)
The CNA skills list, with a checklist for each
Pick any skill in the checklist to see its steps, tick them as you practise, or draw a random five-skill test.
Steps practiced
0 of 15
Skills fully ticked: 0 of 23
Ticks stay in this browser. Steps are written by us; the evaluator follows your state's checklist.
The National Nurse Aide Assessment Program, owned by Credentia, publishes a listing of 23 nurse aide skills from which the skills test is drawn; this page lists every title and gives a step checklist for each. Federal rules (42 CFR 483.154) require the skills to be selected at random from tasks nurse aides usually perform, and in the NNAAP a candidate performs 5 of them in 30 minutes: hand hygiene every time, one of the 6 measurement skills and three others. Two of the measurement skills, measures and records electronic blood pressure and measures and records manual blood pressure, are state specific: they are tested only where the state handbook lists them. The steps shown here are written by Radif Partners in its own words from standard nurse aide practice. On test day the evaluator follows the checklist of your state's handbook, which is the reference if anything differs. Prometric and Headmaster states draw from their own lists of similar tasks.
Intake in mL from household measures
Total intake
480 mL
- From cups
- 240 mL
- From fluid ounces
- 120 mL
1 cup = 240 mL and 1 fl oz = 30 mL, the federal labeling values (21 CFR 101.9). Use the conversion card your test site provides if it differs.
Questions, formats and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
All 23 skills, grouped by type
The titles below are those of the NNAAP skills listing under the 2024 outline. They are grouped by what the skill trains rather than in the order of the official list, so you can plan your practice in blocks.
Always on the test
- Hand Hygiene (Hand Washing)
Run it until you can do every step without thinking, including the paper towel on the faucet.
Measurement skills
- Counts and Records Radial Pulse
- Counts and Records Respirations
- Measures and Records Urinary Output
- Measures and Records Weight of Ambulatory Client
- Measures and Records Electronic Blood Pressure (state specific)
- Measures and Records Manual Blood Pressure (state specific)
Practise on several people, write each value down and have your partner check it.
Moving and positioning
- Transfers from Bed to Wheelchair Using Transfer Belt
- Assists to Ambulate Using Transfer Belt
- Positions on Side
- Performs Modified Passive Range of Motion (PROM) for One Shoulder
- Performs Modified Passive Range of Motion (PROM) for One Knee and One Ankle
Rehearse the safety steps aloud: brakes, belt, nonskid footwear, and asking about pain at every joint.
Personal care
- Gives Modified Bed Bath (Face and One Arm, Hand and Underarm)
- Provides Mouth Care
- Cleans Upper or Lower Denture
- Provides Foot Care on One Foot
- Provides Perineal Care (Peri-Care) for Female
- Provides Catheter Care for Female
- Assists With Use of Bedpan
- Dresses Client with Affected (Weak) Right Arm
- Feeds Client Who Cannot Feed Self
- Applies One Knee-High Elastic Stocking
Focus on direction, clean to dirty, water temperature and covering the resident.
Infection control
- Donning and Removing PPE (Gown and Gloves)
Practise the removal order slowly: it is where contamination happens.
Practising a skill from its checklist
A checklist works best when you use it in three passes. First, read the steps aloud while doing them slowly, checklist in hand. Second, perform the skill with a partner who holds the checklist and ticks each step only when it is done. Third, perform it again with no help, and compare the ticks afterwards. If a step is missed twice, it goes on a sticky note on your mirror.
The checklist loaded above is the transfer from bed to wheelchair, a skill with several safety steps in a row. Notice where they fall: the wheelchair is placed at the side of the bed on the strong side, its brakes are locked, the resident wears nonskid footwear, the bed is low, the transfer belt is snug, and you count aloud before standing. Each of those protects the resident, and skipping any of them is the kind of error that fails a skill.
Skills that hide a calculation
Most skills have no numbers. Three do. In the pulse and respiration skills you convert a timed count into a rate per minute. In the urinary output skill you read a graduated container at eye level, on a flat surface, and record the result in milliliters. Feeding a resident can also bring an intake question on the written test: a full cup is 240 mL and a fluid ounce is 30 mL in the standard conversion, so a resident who drinks a cup of milk and a 4 ounce juice took in 360 mL. The intake calculator near the top of the page does this sum, and the vital signs page works through every measurement.
Building a weekly rotation
With 23 skills you cannot rehearse all of them every day, and you do not need to. A simple rotation:
- Every session: hand hygiene once, done perfectly.
- Every session: one measurement skill, rotating through the group.
- Every session: two or three skills from the other groups, in order, so the whole list comes round within a week.
- Twice a week: a random five-skill draw with the button in the checklist, timed, with a partner as evaluator.
Keep a note of which skills felt slow. Speed comes from setting up supplies in the right order, not from rushing the steps.
When your state uses another list
Prometric and Headmaster states test similar tasks under their own titles and checklists (Headmaster California handbook for example). The care is the same, so this list still prepares you, but read your own handbook for the exact titles and steps. The skills test guide explains how each vendor draws and scores the tasks, and the state guide tells you which vendor tests in your state.