Final-Week Study Plan and Exam-Day Checklist

The Final-Week Goal

In the last week you are not learning the curriculum — you are converting knowledge into reliable test decisions. Spend your time on mixed scenarios, remediating misses, and locking in the high-frequency sequences and Kansas facts. Resist the urge to open a brand-new topic three days out; it raises anxiety without adding score.

A balanced five-day plan:

Each day, the missed-question log matters more than the raw count: write the stem, your wrong answer, the right answer, and the error type (misread, scope creep, speed-over-safety, wrong authority). Reviewing twenty logged misses outperforms grinding two hundred fresh questions.

Lock In the Kansas Facts and Skills

A handful of Kansas-specific anchors show up as quick recall and as the basis for distractors. Memorize them so a wrong number is obvious:

• Oversight: KDADS (Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services); the exam is delivered through Credentia.
• Written test: 100 multiple-choice questions, 75% to pass, about 2 hours; an oral version is available for candidates who need it.
• Skills evaluation: 5 randomly selected skills in roughly 30 minutes, and handwashing is essentially always included plus an indirect-care/safety measure.
• Training pathway: a 90-hour KDADS-approved nurse aide program (classroom plus supervised clinical).
• Attempts: generally 3 attempts within 12 months to pass both portions.
• Renewal: every 2 years, requiring at least 8 hours of paid nurse-aide work in the prior 24 months.

For the skills station, rehearse the universal scored steps that examiners look for on nearly every skill: wash hands, provide privacy, explain the procedure, use Standard Precautions, lock brakes, keep the call light/personal items in reach, and report when finished. Handwashing is its own scored skill — soap and water, vigorous friction for the timed duration, fingertips down, and turning off the faucet with a clean paper towel.

Exam-Day Pacing and Checklist

With 100 questions in about two hours you have roughly a minute per item — comfortable if you stay disciplined. Read the full stem before the options, identify the resident risk in a phrase, eliminate any choice that fails the five filters, and confirm the answer is in scope before marking. Do not change answers on a hunch; change only when you find a concrete reason. Flag the truly uncertain item and return to it, rather than stalling.

Bring and do checklist

• Government-issued photo ID matching your registration name.
• Arrive early; confirm your site, date, and time the night before (Kansas tests at multiple sites statewide).
• Eat and hydrate; dress in layers and, for the skills test, wear scrubs and closed-toe non-skid shoes with hair secured and nails short.
• Sleep — the last 24 hours are for rest and light log review, not cramming.
• During the test: pace ~1 minute/question, eliminate by filter, protect-first and in-scope, flag-and-return.

When two answers survive

Choose the option that protects the resident first and stays within delegated CNA scope — the same rule that wins mixed scenarios wins on test day. If you fail one portion, you generally retain the passing portion and retest only the part you missed, within the attempt window. Walk in trusting your decision rules; the exam rewards safe, resident-centered, in-scope judgment far more than memorized trivia.

Mastering the Skills Evaluation

The written test is only half of Kansas certification; you must also pass the 5-skill clinical evaluation in roughly 30 minutes before a nurse evaluator. The skills are randomly selected, so prepare all of them rather than betting on a few. Score-critical points repeat across nearly every skill, and missing them — not the order of small steps — is what fails candidates.

The 'always' steps evaluators score on nearly every skill

1. Wash hands at the start (and after, as the skill requires).
2. Greet the resident, identify yourself, and explain what you will do.
3. Provide privacy (curtain, door) and gain cooperation.
4. Use Standard Precautions and correct gloves.
5. Promote safety: lock brakes, keep the bed low, keep the path clear.
6. Promote comfort and dignity: keep the resident covered, position safely.
7. Place the call light and personal items within reach before leaving.
8. Wash hands at the end and report/record as appropriate.

Handwashing is treated as its own scored skill and is almost always included: wet hands, apply soap, lather and rub vigorously with friction for the timed duration, clean fingertips and between fingers with fingers pointing down, rinse, dry with a paper towel, and turn off the faucet with a clean paper towel so you do not recontaminate. If you forget a critical-step indicator — like checking for a resident's safety or providing privacy — you can fail the whole skill even if the mechanical steps were perfect. Rehearse the 'always' list until it is automatic, and verbalize each step so the evaluator can see you performed it.