Failed the stupid CNA test again...for what???

Tony35NYC · May 30, 2004

Dang, that tester was pretty cold. I tend to agree with what you said about BP because depending on the quality of the stethescope you're using and the acuity of your hearing, you WILL hear something a little bit different from what another person hears. There have been times when I've gotten weird BP readings from the BP machines in the hospital and my clinical instructor will ask me to retake it manually in the pts other arm, and, of course, the reading is different by more than just a few points.

Yes, you're going to run into this again in nursing school because the clinical instructors will listen with you through one of those double stethescopes again. The good thing about it though is that you will have plenty of time to practice with the double stethescopes in the nursing lab.

I re-took my CNA skills test today. Had a different tester and thought everything would go fine.
Everything wen't completely smooth, until I did the blood pressure. THe stethescope they use is one of those training ones with 2 earpieces. So I go to take it, and do everything okay, I listen and get 130/90 . the tester jsut says "Write it down" So I did, then she says "Now do it again." My instructor gave me a bizarre look and I could tell she was getting nervous because her breathing picked up. So I take it again, this time I get 140 /95. This time the tester just says "You've failed this procedure." She said on the first time, SHE got 136/88 then the second time got 132/92, and I'm only allowed to be off by 4 of what she has. Even though NOTHING in the states procedure manual says that. All it says is "Accurately record the systolic and diastolic pressure." Nothing about 4 icrements or anything like that.
Blood pressure is pretty subjective isn't it? I've seen in practice 4 people take the same person's BP and come up with 4 separate readings. Yet she's going to FAIL me over that? Especially when the girl who went ahead of me fumbled through her whole test. Our instructor told me she though she was going to fail, but the tester passed her. Then me it was just "Nope, stop. YOu failed."
I don't get it. The written test was so easy a moron could pass it, but on the skills they want to pick pick pick pick at little tiny trivial things for an $8/hr job. Do I have "IDIOT" tattooed on my forehead?
Now I have one more chance to take the stupid thing, and if I fail that one, I have to retake the whole 105 hr training again. This is getting a little frustrating. I have worked my butt off for the last 4 months. Our DON told me that I'm a good aide and she loves having me. So have several other nurses, but some yo-yo from the state wants to come in and in 5 minutes tell me I don't know how to do my job.
Is it going to be like this when I start RN school this fall?
Tim

bohica · Mar 10, 2009

did you say you got 140/95 to the examiner or was that a type-o because i was taught the numbers can only be even numbers in a manual b/p , so maybe she failed you for the 95 , or did she say you were just to many points off? either way im sorry this happened to you i know how ya feel my class only has two days left and they are failing all off us for dumb crap and we are just doing like fake state exams in class to prepare and people have been brought to tears . i really freaked about the real state test now . good luck with your test and congrats on getting into nursing school :)

theidealist · Dec 21, 2010

I understand how your feeling. I just found out tonight that I failed my skills test for a SECOND time! I'm really disappointed and upset because it's always just one skill that I fail (though they never really tell me exactly what I did wrong, just what skill I failed) and it's really fustrating. It's been almost 8 months since my class and I know that is probably is what is affecting my abilities. I'm nervous for taking the test again since I'm afraid I'll have to take the whole class over again which I can't afford in time or money. ugh.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2010

I worked with a hypertension specialist, and he told me that BP can change up to 300 times in a 24 hour period (more if ur active), & that u can get different readings from minute to minute. BP is not a stable thing at anytime.

Can u talk to this instructor & ask how u could do ur readings better? I've never liked those training stethoscopes, I reckon u hear different things on each one.

When listening next time, do the BP as slowly as possible, & re-do it again, just to compare readings. Really try to improve ur listening skills as well, & make sure there's no noise around when ur doing the test. I always do this with manual BP then check with a machine & the readings are usually very similar, but never EXACTLY the same.

It seems silly to make u re-do the whole thing again if u fail. Is there anyway you can check that, and also check the equipment is working properly? Maybe it was faulty (it happens on the wards occasionally with equipment).

Just practice, practice, practice until ur an expert then u will breeze thru! I'ts horrible failing things, as I've done in the past, but if u persevere u will get thru.

Try 2 have faith in urself, I know it's hard, & just keep practicing with that particular stethoscope (borrow it) with a friend maybe.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2010

did you say you got 140/95 to the examiner or was that a type-o because i was taught the numbers can only be even numbers in a manual b/p , so maybe she failed you for the 95 , or did she say you were just to many points off? either way im sorry this happened to you i know how ya feel my class only has two days left and they are failing all off us for dumb crap and we are just doing like fake state exams in class to prepare and people have been brought to tears . i really freaked about the real state test now . good luck with your test and congrats on getting into nursing school :)

I've never been taught that u should always get an even number with a manual BP. If u listen carefully, u will get even and odd readings. I was always told it's very important to chart exactly what numbers u hear, not to put it to the most even number. That's why you do a machine and then a manual BP to double check, and compare the readings.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Dec 21, 2010

.....

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2010

Can you practice with a double headed stethoscope? I found that to be helpful for my BP checkouts in nursing school. Also- one of my instructors recommended getting ear wax removing drops just in case there was a wax problem making it difficult to hear.

Cat_RN, ASN, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2010

Guys, this thread is over 6 years old The OP is probably already graduated from RN school now

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Dec 22, 2010

Guys, this thread is over 6 years old The OP is probably already graduated from RN school now

Lol- I totally missed that! Oops!

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Dec 22, 2010

Then how come this came up as a new thread on my computer?

Weird...