Failed CNA skills Exam: Appeal results?

Nursing Students CNA/MA Nursing Q/A

I know this is an old and tired topic. But sheeesh, why is it such a problem. The system of testing the skills is obviously flawed when you have such a discrepancy between candidates passing the written exam and so many failing the skills. Either the class needs to focus more on the skills and less on the written or some other alternative.

I just found out today I failed my skills on one single issue; pulse. If someone practices a skill for 7 weeks and performs it in professional clinical settings satisfactorily and yet it is failed regularly on the exam there is a problem Houston.

I counted all of the steps in the skills I was asked to perform; I scored 102 out of 105. And yet I failed. I know if I failed pulse, I failed a BOLDED step, but who is to say that the RN test observer is the end all say all? She's human too. Is she void of error?

Is there any way to appeal or contest the results?

37 Answers

Unfortunately, I don't think you can appeal this particular decision. But it doesn't hurt to call your state's BON and see what they say.

I was always terrified of getting pulse on my state exam. It's not that I couldn't do it but they're very strict on how many beats you can be off. (Which was 2 or 3 when I took mine.) It's a really stressful situation because you have the RN breathing down your neck.

Good luck! Even if you have to re-take the skills portion I guarantee you'll pass the pulse next time. ?

It's probably better to just try again than to appeal it. I passed my skills test the first try but my friend didn't. She failed Blood Pressure. Now she has to wait another month to retake it. Our instructors said there is usually at least one person every exam day that starts a fight with the examiner over failing a skill. No one likes to fail. :( I do agree that the instructors need to focus more on the skills than the written. I didn't feel very prepared at all for the skills test and my hands were shaking the entire time.

Don't appeal or contest the results. Yes it's possible that somehow they screwed up but it's far more likely you got the pulse wrong. Suck it up and try again. Immediately trying to blame others for what is probably your failure is not a good characteristic to have, so I suggest you work on that.

I guess I will take the re-take the skills again. I passed the written with a 98%. It just seems like there is a big problem when so many fail the skills exam and yet they pass the written with ease.

I know this is an old and tired topic. But sheeesh, why is it such a problem. The system of testing the skills is obviously flawed when you have such a discrepancy between candidates passing the written exam and so many failing the skills. Either the class needs to focus more on the skills and less on the written or some other alternative. I just found out today I failed my skills on one single issue; pulse. If someone practices a skill for 7 weeks and performs it in professional clinical settings satisfactorily and yet it is failed regularly on the exam there is a problem Houston. I counted all of the steps in the skills I was asked to perform; I scored 102 out of 105. And yet I failed. I know if I failed pulse, I failed a BOLDED step, but who is to say that the RN test observer is the end all say all? She's human too. Is she void of error? Is there any way to appeal or contest the results? Thanks,Mark in AZ
Did you pass? What school did you go to? Myself and 6 others in my class failed skills :(
Specializes in Breast Cancer, Oncology, Pulmonology.

I am in CA and take mine Saturday! I'm not concerned with the written but the skills portion does make me nervous.... especially since I'm challenging it and haven't practiced the actual skills in over 5years!! :eek:

Pulse is a very important skill.

You know how to do it, but how does the examiner know you do? It doesn't matter if you did well in clinicals-- what matters is that you can take a pulse correctly, anytime and anywhere.

MarkinAZ said:
I guess I will take the re-take the skills again. I passed the written with a 98%. It just seems like there is a big problem when so many fail the skills exam and yet they pass the written with ease.

The written test is kind of a joke. In GA at least, it is. There is very little "nursing" type questions on it. It's mostly common sense. Like here is an example question:

Betty is a resident at a LTC Facility. Betty does not believe there is a God. Jason, her CNA, is a devout Christian and wears a cross to work. Which is the best for Jason to approach his client, Betty?

A) Jason should invite Betty to his church.

B) Jason should leave Christian phamplets for Betty to read.

C) Jason should respect Betty's choice of having no religion and treat her like his other residents.

D) Jason should ask for another client.

So yeah, from a GA perspective I can totally see why someone would fail the skills exam but pass the written exam.

My :twocents: - comparing the 2 tests is very much an "apples vs. oranges" comparison. The written I took was actually pretty challenging (got an 88 on the written, whereas the classroom final I got a 95 on), but the stress level is practically nil being it's multiple guess. Skills? The stress level is WAY up there; I drew radial pulse & passed, but a lot of that was just due to the fact that my partner's vitals were bouncing all over the place. Took 2 tries for the RN & I to get fairly congruent readings just because the "patient" was so upset.

And, to reiterate a point I've brought up before - it's the "easy" skills they tend to nail you on. In my group they were hot & bothered about infection control; another group they were zapping CNA's on BP & Pulse - even heard of one where they nailed a student on weighing the patient!

And, yeah - in theory you can appeal the examiner's decision, but it's unlikely to do you any good. Best thing is to practice & retake the skills test at a later time, then brag mercilessly when you do pass. :smokin:

----- Dave

My :twocents: - comparing the 2 tests is very much an "apples vs. oranges" comparison. The written I took was actually pretty challenging (got an 88 on the written, whereas the classroom final I got a 95 on), but the stress level is practically nil being it's multiple guess. Skills? The stress level is WAY up there; I drew radial pulse & passed, but a lot of that was just due to the fact that my partner's vitals were bouncing all over the place. Took 2 tries for the RN & I to get fairly congruent readings just because the "patient" was so upset.

And, to reiterate a point I've brought up before - it's the "easy" skills they tend to nail you on. In my group they were hot & bothered about infection control; another group they were zapping CNA's on BP & Pulse - even heard of one where they nailed a student on weighing the patient!

And, yeah - in theory you can appeal the examiner's decision, but it's unlikely to do you any good. Best thing is to practice & retake the skills test at a later time, then brag mercilessly when you do pass. :smokin:

----- Dave

Actually, I totally agree! When I was testing, my evaluator said, "Amanda I know you're nervous, but you need to breathe" Haha >.

I failed my skills test and I was depressed for days, I was mainly mad at my school because we only had class like two or three days then that first week she changed her mind and said we will have a fresh start on the next week. I to am to blame because I was to busy doing other thing then studying,now I am doing studying with my mother and daughter and boyfriend. I take the test next week and I am not nervus as I was the last time I just going to read and go over everything until I cry. If anybody read this can you give me some tips on how to pass the skills?

Specializes in OB.

On YouTube. There's lots of videos on the skills and they help a lot. Good luck! And practice, practice, practice.

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