Eligibility Criteria

Outlines eligibility criteria necessary for Maryland nursing assistant certification

Eligibility Routes

To become registered in Maryland as a GNA, you must first:

Complete a Board of Nursing approved GNA training program or its equivalent.
Pass both parts of the NNAAP Examination.
Be certified as a CNA in Maryland.

NOTE: Every CNA working in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home MUST be registered as a GNA within 120 days of being hired by the facility. You may not work as a GNA, even while waiting to take the NNAAP Examination, unless you are already a CNA in good standing, certified through the Maryland Nursing Assistant Certification Program.

Choose one of the following eligibility routes to qualify for the NNAAP Examination:

A-1 – NEW GERIATRIC NURSING ASSISTANT

To qualify to take the NNAAP Examination under Route A1, you must choose one of the following criteria categories:

Completed Training: have successfully completed, within the last twelve (12) months, a Board of Nursing-approved 100-hour nursing assistant training program that includes clinical experience in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home. A copy of the new training program certificate must accompany your examination application.
Student Nurse — Active: as a student nurse currently enrolled in a nursing education program; have successfully completed the portion of the curriculum determined by the nursing education program and the Board of Nursing as having met the requirements of the (above) 100-hour Board of Nursing-approved nursing assistant training pro- gram, including clinical experience in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home. Official student transcripts must accompany your examination application.
Student Nurse — Inactive: as a student nurse no longer actively enrolled in a nursing education program; have successfully completed, within the last twelve (12) months, the portion of Maryland approved education program curriculum determined by the nursing education program and the Board of Nursing as having met the requirements of the 100-hour nursing assistant training program, including clinical experience in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home. Official student transcripts must accompany your examination application.
Graduate Nurse: has graduated from an accredited nursing education program in the United States. A copy of your diploma or degree must accompany the examination application.
Graduate Nurse — Foreign: has graduated from a nursing education program outside the United States, is currently licensed in the country as a nurse (not a midwife) and have been pre-approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing to take the NCLEX Examination. The Board of Nursing’s Authorization to Test (ATT) must accompany your examination application.

A-2 – EXPIRED GNA CERTIFICATE (LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR (24) MONTHS)

If your GNA Certificate has been expired for less than twenty-four (24) months, you may be eligible to become active on the Registry by submitting to the Board of Nursing evidence of GNA practice for a minimum of eight (8) hours in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home. In the absence of working in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home, you must successfully re-test to become active on the Maryland Geriatric Nursing Assistant Registry. If you fail the Written (or Oral) Examination or the Skills Evaluation on the first try, you must complete a Board of Nursing-approved nursing assistant training program. A copy of your expired GNA Certificate must accompany your examination application.

A-3 – EXPIRED GNA CERTIFICATE (MORE THAN TWENTY-FOUR (24) MONTHS)

If your GNA Certificate has been expired for more than twenty-four (24) months, you may be eligible to become active on the Registry by submitting evidence to the Board of Nursing of continued GNA practice in a Maryland Licensed Nursing Home for at least eight (8) hours for each two (2) year period. In the absence of continued practice, you must successfully re-train and re-test to become active on the Maryland Geriatric Nursing Assistant Registry. If you fail the Written (or Oral) Examination or the Skills Evaluation on the first try, you must complete a Board of Nursing-approved nursing assistant training pro- gram. A copy of your expired GNA Certificate must accompany your examination application.

A-4 – ENDORSEMENT/RECIPROCITY

If you are currently certified and in good standing on the CNA registry in another state, you are NOT required to take the NNAAP Examination. You are eligible for GNA certification in Maryland after you have obtained certification as a Maryland CNA. You must contact the Maryland Board of Nursing, Nursing Assistant Certification Program for a GNA endorsement application.