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Massachusetts CNA Skills Test: Every Skill and Critical Step

Massachusetts’s CNA skills test is given by D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster). Below: the test format, every skill on the list, and one skill in full.

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The test

Tested by
D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster)
Skills on the test
3-4 tasks
Time allowed
40 minutes
Skills on the list
19
Critical steps marked
32

How it is scored: Score at least 80% on each task and perform every critical (bold) step. Steps only said aloud do not count.

Hand hygiene: First task is one of 4 mandatory tasks with scored soap-and-water hand washing at the end; every other task starts and ends with scored hand-sanitizer hand hygiene.

The 19 skills on the list

  1. Apply an Anti-Embolic (Compression) Stocking to One Leg
  2. Assist a Resident to Ambulate Using a Gait Belt
  3. Assist a Resident with the Use of a Bedpan, Measure and Record Urine Output with Hand Washing
  4. Catheter Care for a Female Resident with Hand Washing
  5. Denture Care: Clean an Upper or Lower Denture
  6. Don a Gown and Gloves, Empty a Urinary Drainage Bag, Measure and Record Urine Output, Doff Gown and Gloves with Hand Washing
  7. Dress a Resident with an Affected (Weak) Side
  8. Feed a Dependent Resident
  9. Foot Care: One Foot
  10. Make an Occupied Bed
  11. Modified Bed Bath: Face and One Arm, Hand and Underarm
  12. Mouth Care: Brush a Resident's Teeth
  13. Nail Care: One Hand
  14. Passive Range of Motion Exercises for One Hip and One Knee
  15. Passive Range of Motion Exercises for One Shoulder
  16. Perineal Care for a Female Resident with Hand Washing
  17. Position a Dependent Resident in Bed on Their Side
  18. Transfer a Resident from Their Bed to a Wheelchair Using a Gait Belt
  19. Vital Signs: Count and Record Radial Pulse and Respirations

One skill in full: Apply an Anti-Embolic (Compression) Stocking to One Leg

  1. Clean your hands with hand sanitizer: cover every surface and rub until completely dry.
  2. Tell the resident what you are going to do.
  3. Raise the bed.
  4. Give the resident privacy.
  5. Keep the resident private by uncovering only one leg.
  6. Roll, gather or turn the stocking inside out down to at least the heel.
  7. Fit the foot of the stocking over the toes, foot and heel.
  8. Roll or pull the top of the stocking over the foot and heel and up the leg.
  9. Check the toes for pressure from the stocking.
  10. Adjust the stocking if needed.
  11. Leave the stocking smooth, with no wrinkles. (critical)
  12. Lower the bed.
  13. Leave the call light or signal device where the resident can easily reach it.
  14. Stay respectful and polite with the resident the whole time.
  15. Clean your hands with hand sanitizer: cover every surface and rub until completely dry.

Steps are written in our words from D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster)’s candidate handbook (Massachusetts NA Candidate Handbook, effective May 2026), in the same order, with critical steps as the handbook marks them. The handbook is the final word.

Also for the Massachusetts exam

Practise the written part with the Massachusetts CNA practice test, and check a certification on the Massachusetts nurse aide registry.