ADN Nursing Assistant Requirements

ADN Nursing Assistant Requirements Header

Applicants to the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program must first complete Nursing Assistant training and/or certification as Medical Assistant-Certified (MA-C), or Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) before applying to the program. This is necessary for all applicants because nursing assistant skills and or MA-C, and EMT are the foundation for nursing education.

You can meet this requirement in one of the following ways:

  • Complete your Nursing Assistant training at a Washington State Community/Technical College.
  • Obtain your Washington State NAC Certification (can be expired or current).
  • Obtain MA-C to substitute for the NAC requirement.
  • Obtain EMT Licensure to substitute for the NAC requirement
  • Obtain LPN Licensure to substitute for the NAC requirement.

Applicants to the ADN program will be expected to be competent in all of the skills required of a Nursing Assistant before they apply to the ADN program. These skills are outlined in the Washington Administrative Code WAC 246-841-400.

Frequently-Asked Questions

You can petition to the state to take the NAC certification exam (NNAAP) and apply for certification.

You must become certified within Washington State, as each state has different requirements for nursing assistants.

From the DOH website: “Any time after your license has been lapsed for three years or more, you must retrain and re-test unless you’re current on the OBRA registry in another state. If you’re current in another state then complete the reactivation application form and submit proof of license verification from the other state.”


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Last Updated June 23, 2022