Anyone else sent home on first PCS day?

caliotter3 · Mar 15, 2009

Well, the only thing I can say is that if the rule is two failures in a row of the same type of patient means you're out, then that is the rule. But I do see your point. There is less stress if a person has two different types on the first day. They know they can fail the second PCS and still have a chance the next day. And on the surface, another way of looking at it: two failures in a row = two failures in a row. Perhaps those people should be booted too. Means more money for the school, which we all know is an "overriding area" of concern with them. Good luck on your next retry.

oeue2007 · Mar 15, 2009

which we all know is an "overriding area" of concern with them

Tee hee, so funny and so true. I just can't believe that they've been getting away with treating students differently all this time without a fight. That's why I'm appealing to the allnurses crowd for info to see if I'm about to jump on a dead horse that's already been through the battle.

changeofpaceRN · Mar 16, 2009

I had 2 adults the first day and the peds on the last. It was the "luck of the draw" so to speak. When you were sitting in the hub room, did you all pick a number or straw or something of that sort? I know we did and that was the only way to make it as fair as possible. I HAD to pick the number first (no one was reaching for anything) and I ended up picking the number that gave me 2 adults on day 1 (the grid on the board had numbers to match like a bingo card). Someone is always going to be in that position and it had to be both me and you. I doubt you would have any case IMO. I don't know how it feels but I'm talking from the other side of the fence- perhaps that will help.

KellyCCRN · Mar 16, 2009

I tested in Syracuse and they always have 2 adults on day 2 and then peds on day 3 due to having to go to a different hospital for peds.

oeue2007 · Mar 16, 2009

I guess my POV is NOBODY should be in that position. We're all there for the same test. We've definitely all paid the same fee. We should all be given the same opportunities and be testing under the same parameters. There is a HUGE HUGE advantage to being able to go in on the second day knowing exactly what to expect. They even said at Savannah in their opening pep talk, "Don't stress if you fail a PCS. Many students fail both PCS's the first day and come back and pass the weekend on the second day." If it's possible for some students it should be possible for all students. If it's impossible for some students, it should be impossible for all.

caliotter3 · Mar 16, 2009

I see it as you see it. Everybody should get the same ride for the fees that are paid. That is only fair. They should make certain that everyone gets two different types on the first day or do away with the rule as they are playing it out. I think the third day should be lengthened to accommodate anyone who needs to do another PCS and everyone should have a total of six possible chances to pass for that kind of money.

oeue2007 · Mar 16, 2009

I'm going to take a break from all of this for a few days. I'm tired! Excelsior has just been one stress bomb after another between the CPNE and the GA BON.....I'm just going to go be me for awhile and then decide what to do. Right now it feels like EC may be the most expensive mistake I've ever made money and time-wise.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Mar 16, 2009

They are actually getting 5 opportunities whereas I only got two.

I'm going to disagree, and say that you got the same opportunities as everyone else -- the same number of chances to attempt and repeat. I don't think making it to the second day is a factor as far as stress is concerned, or knowing what to expect. I knew what to expect after my first PCS. I know you're not going to like my answer, and I also know it's "easy" for me to say it because I passed my CPNE, in the end (the VERY end, seriously). But I do know how harrowing it can be to wait for the next PCS after failing one -- been there, done that, burned the t-shirt. I paced a hallway for two hours on that Sunday, waiting for a CE to be available for my final, do-or-die PCS, and I paced so much I wore holes in my heels and bled through my socks and onto my white shoes. I was terrified they wouldn't let me attempt the final PCS because I was bleeding. I know the stress, and it twists my gut right now to even reflect on that 2-hour waiting period.

With that being said, I felt my exam was very fair. Did I fail an adult PCS? You betcha! All by myself, I did, with the complete bonehead omission of properly identifying my patient in the first few minutes I was in the room. I could blame the CE because she was obviously new and nervous and weirdly timid, or I could blame the patient because she was cranky and gruff and obviously wanting to stir the pot and cause trouble for the poor little nursing student the minute I walked in. I could say that the planning process started poorly, with the primary nurse not being able to give me vital sign parameters for which I'd hold the patient's dose of Digoxin (yes, really), once we were able to even LOCATE said primary nurse, all of which ate into my planning time greatly. All these things that I didn't even bother to put into my journal; they rattled me, surely, but the failure was MINE, and I owned it, I claimed it, I knew it.

All of us at Mansfield made it to the third day, with the exception of the student who failed all 4 labs on Friday night and just didn't show up Saturday morning; I'm not really counting her in this, because she gave up before she even really failed (poor thing, our hearts broke for her Friday night; we found out she checked herself out of the hotel the night before and drove back home, 15+ hours). The only person who failed that weekend failed on Sunday, after this person made what they called a "stupid error," and then failed a second PCS for physical jeopardy involving a tube feeding and lowering the head of the bed. This person was VERY angry and told me in the hallway (as I paced and bled) that if I failed my final attempt, I should retest elsewhere because Mansfield wasn't fair. I disagreed, told this person that I FAILED all by myself, said I planned to be successful that afternoon, and I turned and walked away because I couldn't be sucked into the negativity at that point (and I needed to do more pacing, more bleeding, ha ha). And in that moment, I knew I'd get this person's CE for my final PCS ... and she was the CE I feared the most, because she was utterly straight-face, robot-like, and thus intimidating (but strangely enough, exactly my height! LOL). But this CE showed me her human face for an instant during my PCS as she smiled and stroked the cheek of my frightened, demented 90-year-old patient, and I knew in that moment that I could pass this final PCS. Once I saw the slip of that CE mask, something changed for me. I can't describe it, and I'll never forget it.

Are there things about the CPNE that are not fair? Surely there are; the nature of the exam is very subjective. The CEs are human. The patients are human. We are SUBLIMELY human. The CPNE is not human, it is a framework in which we have to be so very human while functioning exceptionally/perfectly while under extreme stress. I'm with Ivan in that I don't know how I feel about the nature of the CPNE -- it hurts my heart to see others fail, but I know that the CPNE is a necessary part of this program. I came out of my CPNE not liking it one bit, but respecting it. Perhaps it would be better if, as GaNurse31763 noted Syracuse does, that sites did adults on Saturday and saved peds for Sunday. I'm not sure if this would be feasible, given patient census and the number of CEs and students.

So what's the point of all my babble? I don't know. (And I'm sorry this got so long, yikes.) I am not pointing at people and saying "the failure is in you, not the process!" Not at all. But I want every EC student to NEVER give up, to rise from the ashes like a glorious phoenix. It truly breaks my heart, the CPNE failures we've seen on this forum lately. Seriously, I have tears in my eyes right now as I type this, because it could have easily been me. I feel awful that I'm sitting over here on the RN side of the equation, when I am no more deserving of the title than any of you. I hope you find the strength to try again.

Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN · Mar 16, 2009

I also drew two adults the first PCS day and the child on Sunday morning. I was lucky that I passed one adult PCS and could come back on Sunday. However, my failure on Sunday morning with my child PCS put me in the mindset that I was fighting a battle that was me against them (with a baby's apical pulse...I was not allowed to listen to his pulse again and subsequently failed on my apical pulse).

However, I remember telling the rest of the students that if I failed both PCSes on Saturday that I would be done, but they all disagreed, thinking that I could fail twice and still come back....but that's with failing only one adult and one peds. I think we were all brain fried from the CPNE studying that we weren't capable of this sort of higher order thinking skills. We did indeed have one student not come back on Sunday, but I don't know what happened with him. I want to say he drew two adults on Saturday like I did, but the labs could have gotten him, too.

I'm going to be honest with you, and I'm as jaded on the CPNE as can be too, but I don't think this issue is the battle to fight.

I remember failing the CPNE as well, and it sucks bad.

oeue2007 · Mar 16, 2009

I'm going to disagree, and say that you got the same opportunities as everyone else -- the same number of chances to attempt and repeat. I don't think making it to the second day is a factor as far as stress is concerned, or knowing what to expect.

So much for my break :chuckle

I (always) love your comments Lunah, love your heart and passion and know that you are a great nurse. I feel like I'm the same kind of nurse. I totally respect your different opinion. I disagree though that the second day is not a factor. Maybe not for you but I have no doubt that I could have made the triple play if given the opportunity. That's my whole point, it's an individual thing, we all handle stress and new situations differently and students should not be testing under such blatantly different parameters at the same exam. There are enough variables with patients and examiners.

Thanks to everyone for your support, comments and input. I have alot to think about! Off for a nap and then to work (which suddenly seems much easier and more fun than it did last week)!