Certified EKG Technician (NHA) Exam: Full Comparison

The Certified EKG Technician (CET) exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) certifies your ability to perform electrocardiograms, recognize cardiac rhythms, and support patient care during cardiac monitoring. If you're deciding where to start an allied-health career, you may also be weighing the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA/NNAAP) exam or the NHA's Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) exam. This page compares all three so you can pick the credential that matches your goals.

All three are entry-level certifications, but they cover very different clinical skills — reading heart rhythms, providing direct daily-living care, and drawing blood, respectively. Below is a side-by-side look at scope, difficulty, ideal candidates, and prerequisites.

At a glance

The CET is a single, focused specialty exam centered on cardiac monitoring. The CET exam contains 100 scored questions, gives candidates 120 minutes to complete it, requires a scaled score of 390 or higher to pass, and costs $117. The CNA (NNAAP) and CPT exams are administered by different programs and focus on different skill sets, so treat them as complementary starting points rather than harder-or-easier versions of the same test.

Scope of practice

• Certified EKG Technician (CET): Performing 12-lead EKGs, monitoring telemetry, identifying and documenting cardiac rhythms and arrhythmias, and preparing patients for cardiac testing. The knowledge base is technical and cardiology-specific.
• Certified Nursing Assistant (NNAAP): Direct, hands-on patient care — assisting with activities of daily living (bathing, feeding, mobility), taking vital signs, and supporting nurses across the full range of a patient's basic needs. Scope is broad rather than specialized.
• Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT): Collecting blood specimens by venipuncture and capillary puncture, labeling and handling samples, and following safety and infection-control procedures. Scope is a focused procedural specialty like the CET, but centered on blood collection rather than cardiac monitoring.

Difficulty and preparation

Difficulty depends heavily on your background rather than on any single exam being objectively "hardest." The CET rewards comfort with cardiac anatomy and rhythm interpretation, which is conceptually demanding but narrow. The CNA exam pairs a written (or oral) knowledge test with a hands-on clinical skills evaluation, so it tests practical technique as well as recall. The CPT emphasizes procedural precision and safety. A candidate strong in pattern recognition may find the CET's rhythm strips manageable, while someone who prefers hands-on patient interaction may gravitate toward the CNA.

Who each is for

• Choose the CET if you're drawn to cardiology, diagnostic technology, and working in telemetry units, cardiology clinics, or stress-test labs.
• Choose the CNA if you want broad bedside patient care and a common on-ramp into nursing, long-term care, and hospital floors.
• Choose the CPT if you prefer a focused technical procedure, fast patient interactions, and roles in labs, blood-draw stations, and outpatient clinics.

Prerequisites

Entry-level eligibility for these credentials typically centers on a high-school diploma or equivalent plus completion of a relevant training program or documented work experience; CNA programs additionally require state-approved training hours and a clinical component. Because exact eligibility routes vary by program, state, and testing site, confirm the current requirements with the official certifying body before you register.