CPNE question

pedinurse05 · May 17, 2006

If you have not practiced in the healthcare field since 1998 then I personally would suggest you take the traditional route. EC is really geared for individuals working in the healthcare field. As far as the CPNE goes, I think anyone can pass that prepares for it. The concepts are very basic and really only test in a basic med/surg setting. They do have peds , but frequently this is substituted for an adult. I was done with the CPNE by 10 a.m. on sunday because I had no repeats in either lab or patient care areas. My CE's were fair...but others on here report different circumstances (and I am sure there are those difficult ones out there).

ECWendy · May 17, 2006

Thanks! I really don't seem to be having any trouble with the exams. I've really kept up with medicine so don't seem to be struggling with that part. My main concern was the CPNE..

:)

Wendy

traumahawk99 · May 17, 2006

wendy, you may want to work as a nurse's aide for a bit. that's a strategy that has helped many.

good luck on the cpne.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · May 17, 2006

How about doing a nurse externship in a local hospital? That'll allow you a good amount of monitored hands-on, recent patient care experience, plus you'll get paid for doing it.

coolvibesRN · Jun 11, 2006

I did my CPNE and passed in the first try. I never worked in a hospital, just a LTC facility with no IVs, not too many shots or wounds. I went to a workshop in Utah, memorized my critical elements and practiced on family. I also had a friend who had done her LVN but never worked and she passed. She didnt even go to a workshop coz of finances, but she would practice on me andi would tell her what she did wrong.

It all comes to handling your anxiety and knowing your critical elements.

I did my clinicals in Amarillo TX and it was a great site

ECWendy · Jun 12, 2006

Thanks for the info! I have heard nothing but good about the Amarillo site and will definitely shoot for that location. You have eased my anxiety.

Thanks,

Wendy

Laurie888 · Jun 13, 2006

Wendy,

This won't be the most popular answer but I wouldn't worry too much... worry gets you no where!

I was several years out of nursing school (went 3/4 way through) before I went to Excelsior. I was told often and often loudly that I needed more clinical experience, that I'd been out of school too long, that even if I passed I might not be safe ... and I care, I really care about being safe. BUT I knew that I personally had kept up with all the medical knowledge. The skills? Well I remember.. I remember clinicals in school. We weren't allowed to do much of anything frankly. They tell LPNs to wait a year or so before continuing .. I had finished 30% of an LPN program before going into an RN program and ultimately having to quit because of finances and divorce. Frankly I learned more in LPN school than I did the entire time I was in RN school. Maybe it's the way it was taught. My supervisor wasn't real comfortable with the time since my last traditional clinical so I offered to do an internship. Never quite finished (that's another story) but I was allowed to do anything a student nurse could and on my floor was treated/trained just as if I were a new grad. No problems. A little slow, like any new grad, but as near as anybody can tell I seem to have the knowledge and skills of a -- new graduate RN. And that's what I am.

I DO work in a hospital, as a Unit Secretary and for the last several months before my CPNE, as a nursing assistant. I think that helped in the way of refamiliarizing myself with not so much clinical skills but people skills! You have to be able to walk into your patient with a certain amount of confidence. With the things CNAs are supposed to do these days (foleys, dressing changes) it was easy to see that the skills I practiced in school were still intact. I know how to give meds, carefully. That didn't change. So working on the floor definitely gave me a confidence boost but I probably could have done without it. No, I take that back -- I failed the CPNE the first time strictly due to nerves and a recent medication change which made them even worse ... second time I breezed through. So I don't know. What I do know from my own clinical experiences as well as watching the students that come to the hospital is that -- I remember what I did, and all the things we couldn't do. I was able to perform as a new graduate RN at the CPNE because that's what I was ... (almost) and that's what I am! NCLEX in 2 days!

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

Thanks for the info! I have heard nothing but good about the Amarillo site and will definitely shoot for that location. You have eased my anxiety.
Thanks,
Wendy

I loved Amarillo. I was there in November. As pedinurse05 said, it's usually not the nursing skills that are too complex. For some of us with limited hospital experience though, time management and stress management end up being the big factors. I made a big goof under a time crunch (forgot to check the pupils on a neuro assessment of a rambling, manic post-op pt - and I'm an EMT, for crying out loud), but thanks to the encouragement of the CE's and CA, I was able to get everything else right and pass the weekend. CA Julie and CE's John and Carole stood out as encouraging people who really wanted us to do well.

anticoagulationurse · Jun 13, 2006

Here's another CPNE Question. I know they only let you bring in the Carpenito's Handbook. But what about flash cards, post-it's, or even the CPNE Study Guide?

I hope all of you do well on the CPNE! After all this work and money you have earned it.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

You might want to bring that stuff to the hotel with you for a last-minute brush-up (if you're staying in a hotel), but I wouldn't bring it to the hospital. I believe the drug book and Carpenito book are the only materials allowed and, if I remember correctly, there is not really a storage space for other stuff.

nberry255 · Aug 29, 2007

I've heard that you can make a wound packing model for 50 cents from home depot. Does anyone know how to do this so I don't have to buy to EC wound? Thanks.