Maine Nursing Assistant / Nurse Aide Guide

Is a License or Certification needed: You need to pass a state certified nursing assistant program and the state exam in order to be certified. This must be done in order to work as a nursing assistant in the state of Kansas and be listed on the Maine Nurse Aide Registry.

Who Grants Certification: The Maine Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has contracted with the company, Prometric, to administer state exams to nurse aides in Maine. Once certified, Maine nurse aides are listed on the Maine Nurse Aide Registry. Prometric handles the listing to the registry as well.

The Qualifications to become Certified: There is more than one route to qualify for registration as a nurses aide in the state of Maine. These include:

• You can provide official documents stating that you have completed formal certified nurse aide training that meets the criteria of Maine’s Rules and Regulations for immediate placement on the Main Nurse Aide Registry or for completing the Bridge Testing Process.
• You have successfully completed an approved 180-hour CNA training course.

How to Apply for Certification and to take the Exam: In order to apply for the nurse aide registration in Maine, you will need this application. You may also email the Main Certified Nurse Aide Registry at dlrs.cnaregistry@maine.gov or call them at 624-7300 for copies of the following forms:

• Bridge Examination Application form
• CNA-M Application form
• Reciprocity form
• Renewal for
• Competency Testing Application form
• Certificate of Equivalent Training form

Test Content: The test has two parts, a skills evaluation and a written section. Both parts must be passed to be listed on the Maine State Nurse Aide Registry. The written section is 60 questions in length. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam. The written exam questions are based on the Maine state approved test plan. You must score a 72% or higher to pass the written exam. Content topics include:

• Entering the Health Care and Human Service Fields
  • Kinds of health care and human service programs available in Maine, the important values held in health care and the scope of career options
• Basic Work Skills and Job Maintenance
  • Your Employee Rights and Responsibilities
  • Good Work Habits
  • Prioritizing on the Job
  • Appropriate Job Conduct and Personal Boundaries
  • Importance of Self-care
• Legal and Ethical Aspects of Care
  • Key Regulations
  • Basic Consumer Rights
  • Legal Status of Consumers
  • Signs of Abuse
  • Nurse Aide’s Responsibilities in the event of Abuse
  • Ethics – what it means and how it applies
• Communication
  • Methods
  • Active Listening
  • Appropriate Communication
  • Strategies
• Observation, Reporting and Documentation
  • Requirements
  • Subjective and Objective
  • Observation Skills
  • Good Reporting
  • Reasons for Documentation
  • Characteristics of Good Documentation
• And more…  

The skills evaluation will be performing 7 out of 10 Nurse Aide Tasks correctly.

Certification Renewal and Continuing Education Requirements: According to Maine law, to renew your license, it is required that you have worked 8 hours at your place of employment in the paid role of a nurse aide during the past 24 months. This must be paid employment, not volunteer work, and in a nursing environment such as a nursing home, home health setting or a hospital.

Details for renewal can be found here. The application for renewal can be found here.

Contact

ME Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants
ME Department of Human Services
Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services
State House Station #11
41 Anthony Avenue
Augusta, ME 04333

Phone: 800-791-4080, 207-624-7300
Fax: 207-287-9325