Certification or Licensing
Professional certification is available from the American College of Health Care Administrators. Requirements for becoming certified include a bachelor's degree, two years of professional experience as a nursing home administrator, a certain amount of continuing education, and passing the certification exam. Candidates who meet all requirements receive the designation certified nursing home administrator (CNHA). Certification demonstrates an administrator's level of experience and professionalism and is recommended.
All nursing home administrators must be licensed. All states and the District of Columbia require candidates to pass a national licensing exam given by the National Association of Long Term Care AdministratorĀ Boards. In addition, many states require candidates to pass a state exam as well as to fulfill certain requirements, such as having completed an administrator-in-training program of a certain length and completing a certain number of continuing education hours. Since these state requirements vary, you will need to check with the licensing board of the state in which you hope to work for specific information.
Other Requirements
Employees must have a clean criminal record since the Affordable Care Act requires criminal background checks of applicants for positions in nursing homes.
- Addiction Therapists
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- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors
- Behavioral Health Technicians
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- Child Life Specialists
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- Community Health Nurses
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- Community Health Workers
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- Conflict Resolution Specialists
- Contact Tracers
- Creative Arts Therapists
- Dietetic Technicians
- Directors of Telehealth
- Directors of Volunteers
- Elder Law Attorneys
- Futurists
- Geriatric Care Managers
- Geriatric Nurses
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- Geriatric Social Workers
- Geriatricians
- Grant Coordinators and Writers
- Grief Therapists
- Health Advocates
- Health Care Consultants
- Health Care Insurance Navigators
- Health Care Managers
- Health Data Analysts
- HIV/AIDS Counselors and Case Managers
- Home Health Care Aides
- Home Health Care and Hospice Nurses
- Hospice Workers
- Hospitalists
- Human Services Workers
- Informatics Nurse Specialists
- Medical Ethicists
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- Medical Secretaries
- Medical Transcriptionists
- Music Therapists
- Neuropsychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists
- Nurse Managers
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- Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides
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