Texas CNA Skills (Part Eight): What to Wear and How to Dress for the CNA State Test

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The broad majority of states in the U.S. have enacted laws that require graduates of nurse aide training programs to pass the respective state-approved examination in order to secure occupational certification as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Therefore, the CNA state test is extremely important to the future career prospects of countless nursing assistants.

Nonetheless, many nurse aide students remain blissfully unaware that a testing center dress code exists. Well, a dress code certainly does exist for the CNA state test, and more than one rationale for being dressed in a specific way at the testing center site has been presented. The rationales for the dress code have been listed below.

  1. Nurse aide test takers should anticipate the remote possibility of spending all day at the testing center. Therefore, all-day comfort is of the utmost importance.
  2. A nurse aide test taker might be asked to participate in a simulated patient care environment where he or she plays the role of a debilitated elderly patient for one or more other test takers who need to perform hands-on skills. Thus, nurse aide candidates will actually be performing their skills on each other during the skills evaluation section of the CNA state test.
  3. Nurse aide test takers should wear shoes with non-skid soles (bottoms) for safety reasons. The safety of all test-taking candidates needs to be upheld at the testing center.
  4. Any candidate who volunteers to play the role of the patient must wear flat slip-on non-skid closed toe shoes, loose pants or bottoms that are capable of being rolled up, and a loose tank top or loose-fitting shirt with sleeves that can be rolled up to the shoulders (Pearson Vue, 2018).

In general, test takers will never go wrong by dressing the part of an employed nursing assistant regardless of whether or not they opt to volunteer to pose as a patient. The following dress code is more of a basic set of guidelines for appropriate testing center clothing for the CNA state test. Keep in mind that Pearson Vue testing centers are the testing sites where all CNA state tests are conducted in the state of Texas. The following list contains generalities surrounding proper attire in regards to the Texas CNA state test, as well as testing sites in the majority of other states in the US.

  1. Wear closed-toe shoes with flat non-skid soles.
  2. Nurse aide test takers who do not volunteer to play the role of a patient should wear a medical uniform, scrub set, or casual attire. Clothing should be clean.
  3. Nurse aide test takers who choose to wear casual attire should wear jeans, pants, khakis or slacks to comply with the potential need for hands-on skills practice. Dresses and skirts are discouraged with the exception of religious reasons.
  4. Midriffs and abdominal areas should be covered.
  5. Nurse aide test takers should appear clean, groomed, and be free from strong body odor. Perfumes, body sprays and colognes are discouraged.
  6. Nurse aide test takers who wear white bottoms should wear proper underwear since patterned panties, briefs or boxer shorts might be seen through white material.
  7. Long hair should be worn back into a ponytail, bun, contained by a headband, or pinned.
  8. Fingernails should be kept short and trimmed.
  9. Nurse aide test takers must wear a wristwatch with a second hand.
  10. Limit / curtail the amount of jewelry worn to the testing center. The amount of jewelry the nurse aide test taker wears to the testing center site should be minimal.

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Be completely mindful that the CNA state test dress code is different in a handful of states in the US. For example, CNA state test sites in Arizona require all test-taking candidates to adhere to a very specific dress code, and those who do not comply will not be permitted to take the exam.

With regards to the CNA state test in Arizona, Headmaster LLP (2018) asserts that “SCRUBS (which consists of a scrubs top and scrub pants, scrub skirt (long, loose-fitting) or scrub dress (long, loose-fitting) and closed-toed, soft-soled shoes are the required dress code for testing. You will not be admitted for testing if you are not wearing scrub attire and the appropriate shoes. You will be considered a NO SHOW. You will have to pay for another exam date.”

Be sure to dress for success on the day of the CNA state test and beyond. The nurse aide testing site evaluator is the individual who will be observing for competency as the test taker performs the skills evaluation section of the state test. Dressing the part for the CNA state test can go a long way in presenting the image of a candidate who is fully competent, prepared, professional, and serious about his or her future career as a nursing assistant.

Readers have probably heard the olden adage that one never gets a second chance to make a first impression. The point is to present oneself to the testing site evaluator as a nurse aide who deserves to pass the CNA state test. A cleanly nurse aide candidate looks the part, whereas a test taker with 10 gold chains, a tight-fitting cropped top that exposes the torso and dirty blue jeans does not look professional.


Headmaster, LLP. (2018). Arizona Nursing Assistant Candidate Handbook. Retrieved from http://hdmaster.com/testing/cnatesting/arizona/azformpages/azforms/AZCandidateHandbook%202.1.18.pdf

Pearson Vue. (2018). Texas Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook. Retrieved from https://home.pearsonvue.com/getattachment/73a0c524-4cbe-401a-aa5c-fe1ebf4e2517/Texas




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