23 Best Accelerated (FAST-TRACK) CNA Online Programs

Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH

You can become a certified nursing assistant in six weeks or less when you enroll in an accelerated online CNA program. Fast-track CNA programs offer solid instruction on comprehensive nursing care for patients of all ages with no unnecessary filler, and by enrolling in a distance learning program, you’ll get the chance to learn at the speed that suits your needs best. You won’t have to rearrange your work schedule or family commitments to accommodate your educational goals. Want to know what are the best accelerated fast-track CNA online programs? The list below of the 23 best accelerated fast-track CNA online programs is an excellent resource.

What are the Best Accelerated (Fast-Track) CNA Online Programs in the Nation?

(Based on our Ranking Methodology, the following are the 23 best accelerated (fast-track) CNA online programs in the nation. You can complete these programs in 6 weeks or less.)

1. University of Kentucky - Lexington, KY

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: University of Kentucky’s accelerated online CNA program consists of 59 hours of online instruction and 16 hours of supervised clinical practice at hospitals and long-term care facilities throughout the Greater Metropolitan Lexington Area. The program is part of the university’s College of Nursing’s Workforce Development initiative.

In addition to teaching basic nursing skills, University of Kentucky’s state-registered nursing aide program educates students on communication, infection control, safety, and patient rights. Once you’ve completed this fast CNA online program, you’ll be eligible to take Kentucky’s State Registered Nurse Aide (SRNA) competency exam. However, you must take the exam within a year of completing the course, or you’ll need to repeat the course.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This course is given on multiple dates throughout the year. You can complete this program in one month (four weeks.)

Admission Requirements: University of Kentucky lists no requirements for this program, but you must be 16 or older to become a CNA in Kentucky.

2. Nebraska Methodist College - Omaha, NE

Program Length: 6 Weeks

Program Details: Nebraska Methodist College offers a hybrid fast-track online CNA program that requires students to attend skills training sessions once a week at the college’s campus in Omaha, Nebraska. The program includes 12 hours of weekly online instruction and four hours of weekly hands-on training for a total of 76 hours. While the curriculum includes education on comprehensive nursing care for patients of all ages, it focuses explicitly on the needs of geriatric patients.

Once you complete the program, you’ll be able to sit for the CNA competency exam, which will earn you a place on Nebraska’s statewide Nurse Aide Registry.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program is designed to be completed in a month and a half (six weeks.)

Admission Requirements: Applicants must be 16 years of age or older. Some applicants may be offered the option of taking this class for free if they commit to work as a nursing aide at Methodist Hospital for at least two years.

3. University of Nevada, Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: University of Nevada-Las Vegas partners with the Perry Foundation Academy of Health on its short online CNA program. The instructional curriculum consists of one course: “Certified Nursing Assistant Training,” which covers infection control, communication and interpersonal skills, safety and emergency procedures, as well as personal care skills. While instructional components of the curriculum are taught over the Internet, you’ll learn basic skills such as dressing, bathing, and feeding patients through in-person sessions.

Once you graduate from this 96-hour course, you’ll be fully prepared to take the CNA certification exam developed by the Nevada State Board of Nursing. You can also earn 9.6 continuing education credits by taking this certified nurse assistant course, which can help you maintain your CNA certification once you’ve achieved it.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: In just one month (four weeks), you’ll graduate from this fast-track online CNA program.

Admission Requirements: Applicants must be 18 or older with a high school diploma or its equivalent.

4. High Desert Medical College - Lancaster, CA

Program Length: 6 Weeks

Program Details: High Desert Medical College emphasizes nutrition, safety, anatomy and physiology, asepsis, body mechanics, and rehabilitative care in its fast-track CNA online program. This is one of the best accelerated CNA programs online because High Desert Medical College provides employment placement assistance to all qualified graduates. This course uses the standards incorporated into the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) because these are the guidelines reflected in California’s CNA certification exam.

The 164-hour course consists of 60 online instructional hours and a 104-hour clinical externship at an extended care facility or hospital in the Antelope Valley region. In your clinical rotation, you’ll learn how to take vital signs, measure intake, and output, and evaluate your clients to see that their mental, emotional, and social needs are being met in addition to their physical needs.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You’ll graduate from this course in a month and a half (six weeks.)

Admission Requirements: This course is only open to applicants who have a high school diploma or GED and are 18 years of age or older. You must have a physical exam no more than 90 days before acceptance into this program.

5. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College - Valdosta, GA

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: What will you learn when you enroll in Wiregrass Georgia Technical College’s 94-hour accelerated CNA online program? Communication and other interpersonal skills. Injury prevention and emergency preparedness. Patients’ and residents’ rights. Basic personal care skills such as taking vital signs, infection control, and assisting with range-of-motion exercises. This is one of the accelerated online CNA programs that allows you to continue on to a Technical Certificate of Credit, so it’s ideal for students who want to use CNA training as a first step in learning other nursing roles.

This program is offered at the Valdosta, Fitzgerald, Coffee, and Cook campuses. You’ll spend two days a week studying educational materials online and two days a week in face-to-face skills labs. You can choose either a 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. clinical schedule. Upon successful completion of the course, you’ll be primed to sit for the Georgia Nurse Aide certification exam, which uses the CNA certification standards reflected in the NNAAP.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Students can complete this program in one month (four weeks.)

Admission Requirements: This program is only available to applicants who are 16 or older.

6. Aims Community College - Greeley, CO

Program Length: 5 Weeks

Program Details: Aims Community College sponsors an accelerated CNA online program that combines online instruction with real-time skills labs at the college’s Greeley and Fort Lupton campuses, plus 30 hours of clinical rotation at healthcare facilities throughout the Greeley Metropolitan Statistical Area. You’ll learn how to take vital signs and work with assistive devices and other equipment. You’ll also learn the proper way to assist patients with bathing, grooming, dressing, and eating needs.

This is one of the fast-track CNA programs online that aims to prepare you for the NNAAP Nurse Aide Certification exam, which Colorado uses for state CNA certification. You may be able to have your tuition costs covered by the state’s Care Forward Colorado initiative.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program will take a little over one month (five to six weeks) to complete.

Admission Requirements: You must attend a mandatory orientation for admission into this program. If you are younger than 18, a parent or guardian must attend with you.

7. Minnesota State College Southeast - Winona, MN

Program Length: 2 Weeks

Program Details: Minnesota State College Southeast offers a fast online CNA program that will teach you everything you need to know about being a nursing aide in a long-term care facility. You’ll receive three college credits for completing this program, making this ideal for anyone who thinks they might want to go on to earn a college degree at some point in the future. At just two weeks, it’s also one of the shortest fast-track CNA online programs.

The course consists of 60 instructional hours (which you can access online) and 20 hours of supervised clinical practice. The course is part of the college’s Continuing Education & Custom Training division. In addition to being a standalone class, it’s also a prerequisite for MSC Southeast’s traditional nursing program. Once you complete the course, you’ll qualify to sit for Minnesota’s state CNA certification exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You can whip through this program in just half a month (two weeks.)

Admission Requirements: This program doesn’t list any specific admission requirements as such, but since it’s a for-credit course, you must sign up for it through the college website as a “visiting student.”

8. Heart To Heart Healthcare Training - Lewisville, TX

Program Length: 2½ Weeks

Program Details: Another one of the shortest accelerated CNA programs online is Heart to Heart Healthcare Training’s Certified Nurse Assistant course. Your first week will be devoted to online instruction; in your second week, you’ll begin engaging in real-time skills labs at Heart to Heart Healthcare Training’s campus in Lewisville, Texas. In all, you’ll participate in 100 contact hours of supervised CNA training.

This program will prepare you to take the Texas CNA certification exam. In the Lone Star State, accelerated CNA online programs use the components and standards developed by the Prometric testing provider.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This short CNA online program is offered 12 times a year. You’ll be able to complete it in less than one month (two and a half weeks.)

Admission Requirements: You can sign up for this class online or by scheduling an appointment with the training center’s admissions office. You must be 17 or older and have had a negative TB test within the past year.

9. Holyoke Community College - Holyoke, MA

Program Length: 5 Weeks

Program Details: Holyoke Community College’s accelerated online CNA program includes CPR, home health aide, and Alzheimer's and dementia training. It’s a hybrid offering—meaning that much of the instructional portion of the curriculum, including the certification exam review, will be offered online. However, some of your lectures will take place on the college’s campus in Holyoke, and you’ll learn hands-on skills like taking vital signs and moving and turning patients in real-time skills labs.

This fast-track CNA online program concludes with a one-week clinical rotation that will take place at an off-campus location on weekdays from 7:45 a.m. to 1.45 p.m. The course will prepare you to take the Massachusetts CNA exam, which uses the format developed by Diversified Technologies.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: If you choose to take campus classes Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., the course will take you five weeks to complete; if you choose to take campus classes Monday through Thursday from 4:30 to 9:00 p.m., the course will take you six weeks to complete.

Admission Requirements: Applicants must be 18 or older, and all COVID-19 vaccinations must be up-to-date. This program is free for students receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children.

10. South Denver School of Nursing Arts - Centennial, CO

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: South Denver School of Nursing Arts offers a fast-track online CNA program using synchronous technology. Virtual classes meet Mondays through Wednesdays, and you’ll have your choice of attending in the mornings between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. or in the evenings between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. The curriculum covers topics like infection control, safety and emergency protocols, communication, and patient rights.

In your second and third weeks of classes, you’ll meet twice for two full eight-hour days, during which you’ll be taught hands-on skills such as hygiene, dressing and grooming, nutrition, and hydration. In your final week of classes, you’ll participate in a clinical rotation at a long-term care facility. Once you graduate, you’ll be qualified to take the Colorado Nurse Aide State Board exam, which is structured according to NNAAP guidelines.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This course is offered eight times a year. It’s one of the accelerated CNA programs online that takes one month (four weeks) to finish.

Admission Requirements: To attend this program, you must be 16 or older, have a valid Social Security number, and pass an online admissions exam.

11. Quincy College - Quincy, MA

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: Quincy College’s fast-track online CNA program teaches you the skills and techniques you’ll need to know to meet the physical and emotional needs of the patients you care for through a combination of online instruction, face-to-face skills labs, and a clinical rotation in a skilled nursing facility. Courses are taught at the college’s campuses in Quincy and Plymouth.

Quincy College strives to make this accelerated online CNA program’s schedule as flexible as possible to accommodate students who work, so you’ll have your choice of classes that meet in the daytime or the evening. When you complete this course, you’ll have the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle the Diversified Technologies CNA exam that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts uses for CNA certification.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program is offered multiple times throughout the year. It will only take you one month (four weeks) to complete.

Admission Requirements: Applicants must have a high school diploma or a GED and a recent medical exam that shows no physical restrictions.

12. Rogue Community College - Grants Pass, OR

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: Rogue Community College offers a preliminary nursing aide course (NA1) and a certified nursing aide course (CNA2.) In terms of the amount of instruction you’ll receive, it’s one of the best accelerated CNA online programs. The college’s NA1 program consists of 37 hours of online coursework, 28 hours of face-to-face skills labs, and a 40-hour clinical externship at a local healthcare facility. The college’s CNA2 program comprises 35 hours of online coursework, 25 hours of face-to-face skills labs, and a 28-hour clinical externship. You must complete the NA1 course to be admitted into the CNA2 program.

The NA1 curriculum focuses upon safety, infection control, and emergency care as well as basic patient care skills. The CNA2 curriculum concentrates on physical and mental disease processes, documentation and reporting, and collaboration with other healthcare team members. Upon completing the second accelerated CNA online program, you’ll be eligible to sit for the CNA certification exam administered by the Oregon State Board of Nursing, modeled after Diversified Technologies’ guidelines.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Though Rogue College’s CNA2 course only lasts one month (four weeks), you’ll have to take the NA1 course as well, which also lasts one month (four weeks.) Altogether, you’ll spend two months (eight weeks) pursuing this program.

Admission Requirements: You must be 17 or older to enroll in this program.

13. Drake State Community & Technical College - Huntsville, AL

Program Length: 6 Weeks

Program Details: Drake State Community & Technical College teaches a fast-track CNA online program that combines online and classroom instruction with in-person skills labs. The program culminates with a two-day clinical externship at a healthcare facility within the Huntsville Metropolitan Area. You must pass a final exam to graduate from this class; once you graduate, you’ll be eligible to take Alabama’s nursing aide certification test, which uses the Prometric format.

Face-to-face instructional courses meet on Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., while skills labs meet on Fridays between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.; both will be located at the college’s campus in Huntsville. You’ll learn hands-on skills like how to help with dressing, bathing, grooming, feeding, toileting, and repositioning. Your online instructional courses will use synchronous technology to teach you about infection control, safety protocols, and patient rights, convening on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You should be able to graduate from this accelerated online CNA program in a month and a half (six weeks.)

Admission Requirements: This course is only open to applicants who are 16 or older and can supply proof of a negative TB skin test.

14. Springpack Healthcare Career - Arlington, TX

Program Length: 2 Weeks

Program Details: At just eight days, Springpack Healthcare Career’s CNA course is one of the fastest CNA online programs around. Like many other best fast-track CNA programs online, it actually uses a hybrid curriculum that combines online courses with in-person clinical labs. Distance-learning classes meet two days a week and use synchronous technology; you’ll have your choice between morning sessions (9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) and evening sessions (3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.)

Clinical labs also meet twice a week in the daytime and evenings at Springpack Healthcare Career’s Mansfield campus. This fast-track CNA online program doesn’t offer a clinical externship. Instead, it makes an extensive library of online videos available that you can use to prep for the Texas NNAAP-based CNA certification exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This course consists of eight intensive days over two weeks.

Admission Requirements: This program doesn’t list any admission requirements, but you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent to become a CNA in Texas.

15. Arise Health Training Institute - High Point, NC

Program Length: 2 Weeks

Program Details: Arise Health Training Institute offers a Nurse Aide 1 Refresher-Hybrid Program that will qualify you for enrollment in North Carolina’s Nurse Aide 1 (NA1) Registry. This course provides a comprehensive review of the theory and skills that Nurse Aide 1s are responsible for knowing in the Tar Heel State, including safety, infection prevention, legal and ethical issues, and assistance with the routine tasks of daily living. You’ll spend the first week of this fast-track online CNA program doing online coursework and the second week participating in onsite skills labs at the institute’s High Point, North Carolina campus.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This accelerated online CNA program has multiple start dates throughout the year. Completion of this course generally takes half a month (two weeks.)

Admission Requirements: Though this course is designed for students with a current or expired North Carolina NA1 Registry listing number, it’s open to all healthcare professionals with a North Carolina credential. You must have a valid Social Security number and a government-issued photo ID.

16. Healthcare Essentials Training Institute - Louisville, KY

Program Length: 3 Weeks

Program Details: Healthcare Essentials Training Institute offers a 75-hour fast-track online CNA program comprised of 59 hours of online training and 16 hours of hands-on clinical practice. This is one of the best fast-track CNA online programs for aspiring nurse aides who must work while they’re going to school because the online parts of the curriculum are entirely self-paced, meaning you can fit studying in whenever you have the time.

The course curriculum includes education on infection control, safety protocols, emergency procedures, and patient rights, as well as activity-based training in patient care components such as taking vital signs, turning and repositioning, assisting with range-of-motion exercises, and dressing, bathing, grooming, and toiletry. When you complete this course, you’ll be prepared to sit for Kentucky’s CNA exam based on the format developed by Diversified Technologies.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You’ll be able to finish this course in less than one month (three weeks.)

Admission Requirements: This course doesn’t list any admission requirements.

17. Alliance Specialty Healthcare Services - Milwaukee, WI

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: When you enroll in the fast-track online CNA program Alliance Specialty Healthcare Services offers, you’ll spend three weeks learning online and one week participating in supervised clinical experiences—three days of skills labs and two days of clinical rotation. This course is one of the best fastest CNA programs online for students with busy lives because your online classes use asynchronous technology, meaning you can learn at your own pace. Online content can be accessed through a variety of devices, including computers and smartphones.

If you live in Wisconsin, you can do your clinical hours at one of the school’s partner healthcare facilities; if you live out of state, the school will work with you to find an appropriate healthcare facility to train at. While the course specifically prepares you to take the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Competency Exam, which uses the NNAAP format, Alliance Specialty Healthcare Services will strive to provide you with the knowledge and skills to pursue CNA certification in the state where you want to live and work.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program is designed to be completed in one month (four weeks.)

Admission Requirements: Though this program doesn’t list any admission requirements, to become a CNA in Wisconsin, you must be 18 or older and have a high school diploma or a GED.

18. Colorado Medical Health Training - Centennial, CO

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: Colorado Medical Health Training’s 102-hour accelerated CNA online program accepts only 10 students per class to maximize students’ opportunities to interact with their instructors. Some of your education will occur online, but some will occur in classrooms and labs at the school’s campus in Centennial, Colorado. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in clinical training in a local long-term care facility.

Online instruction uses synchronous technology, and you can choose whether you want to take classes in the mornings, evenings, or on weekends. This course will prepare you to take Colorado’s CNA certification course, developed by NNAAP.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You’ll graduate from this program in one month (four weeks.)

Admission Requirements: All applicants must sit for an interview with the program director and pass an entrance exam. The program is open to students who are still in high school so long as they are 16 or older, as well as to applicants with a high school diploma or a GED.

19. All American Training Academy - College Park, GA

Program Length: 4 Weeks

Program Details: All American Training Academy teaches the students who enroll in its fast-track CNA online program core competencies like taking and recording vital signs, infection control, bathing, dressing, feeding, and other personal care skills. Online instruction uses videos as well as textbooks to familiarize you with the duties that a professional CNA will be called upon to perform in a typical day. The program culminates with a clinical externship at a local nursing home, long-term care facility, or assisted living facility. Once you graduate from this accelerated CNA online program, you’ll be ready to take Georgia’s CNA certification test, which is modeled after NNAAP guidelines.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Plan on taking one month (four weeks) to finish this course.

Admission Requirements: All applicants must be 17 or older. You must interview with the admissions office in person to determine your eligibility for this program.

20. Mid-America College of Health Sciences - Merriam, KS

Program Length: 6 Weeks

Program Details: Mid-America College of Sciences offers a 90-hour accelerated CNA online program that includes 45 hours of online instructional education and 45 hours of face-to-face training. You’ll spend 20 hours at a skills lab on the college’s campus in Merriam, Kansas, and 25 hours completing a clinical externship under the supervision of licensed instructors at a facility approved by the Kansas Department of Aging and Development Services. Online coursework utilizes Blackboard asynchronous technology, allowing you to learn at your own pace.

The college’s curriculum covers many topics, including safety in patient care delivery, mobility assistive devices, infection control procedures, monitoring vital signs, and the skills that pertain to assisting with the routine activities of everyday life. Once you graduate, you’ll be awarded a Certificate of Completion and qualify to take the Kansas CNA State Exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Mid-America College of Sciences offers its hybrid CNA program seven times a year. You can complete this program in 6 weeks.

Admission Requirements: All applicants to Mid-America College of Sciences’ hybrid CNA course must attend a mandatory orientation on the college’s campus in Merriam. All applicants must be 16 or older and possess a valid Social Security number, a government-issued photo ID, and CPR/BLS certification from the American Heart Association.

21. Metrowest Healthcare Academy - Framingham, MA

Program Length: 5 Weeks

Program Details: What makes Metrowest Healthcare Academy’s 90-hour accelerated online CNA program so unique? It prepares you for roles as both a nurse’s aide and a home health aide. It’s a hybrid class that combines computer learning with campus skills labs and supervised clinical externships at a local nursing home.

On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, you’ll log on to your instructional courses using Zoom technology; on Wednesdays and Fridays, you’ll show up on campus in person. You’ll have your choice between morning classes that meet from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and evening courses that meet from 4:30 to 9:00 p.m. You’ll also get to choose whether you want a clinical externship that meets from 6:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or one that meets from 1:30 to 8:00 p.m. You’ll be fully prepared to sit for the Diversified Technologies-based Massachusetts CNA exam when you graduate.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program can be completed in a little more than a month (five weeks.)

Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants who are 16 years of age or older and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.

22. Kansas College of Nursing - Lenexa, KS

Program Length: 6 Weeks

Program Details: Kansas College of Nursing offers a 90-hour accelerated CNA online program that combines online lectures and discussions, skills practice in the college’s learning lab in Lenexa, Kansas, and clinical experience in a local nursing home. The curriculum will teach you how to take temperatures and blood pressure, feed and bathe patients, and perform other personal care tasks. At the conclusion of the class, you’ll be prepared to take the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s CNA exam. The cost of taking this exam is included in your tuition.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: It will only take a month and a half (six weeks) to complete this program.

Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants who are 16 or older. You must have a Social Security number and a government-issued photo ID.

23. Difai City College - Los Angeles, CA

Program Length: 6 Weeks

Program Details: Difai College’s 150-hour Certified Nurse Assistant course will teach you the skills necessary to care for patients in long-term care facilities and other healthcare environments, as well as in their own homes. You’ll learn how to measure intake and output, how to take vital signs, how to move and reposition bedridden patients, and how to provide assistance with many other routine activities of daily life.

You’ll spend Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm pursuing learning online for a total of 10 hours each week. You’ll spend Tuesdays and Thursdays pursuing clinical rotations from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 pm for a total of 16 hours each week. In total, you’ll complete 60 hours of lectures and laboratory training and 100 hours of onsite clinical training. Once you graduate, you’ll be prepared to take California’s Certified Nurse Assistant exam, which is based on NNAAP guidelines.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This fast-track online CNA program can be completed in one and a half months (six weeks.)

Admission Requirements: You must be 16 or older to enroll in this program. All applicants must have a California-issued photo ID and a Social Security number.


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