Cpne

Welcome to the site! I completed the CPNE back in November and I haven't kept up to date with any changes, so I'm not the best person to advise you about technical stuff. I did want to send some encouragement your way though.

The CPNE can be intimidating, with so much riding on it, but it's very doable. I passed and now I have a great job in my first choice specialty and I'm working on the BSN. Life is good. Best of luck! Be sure to check out the Distance Learning Forum for lots of Excelsior-related information.

welcome to allnurses.com! post now moved to distance learning for more responses.

good luck!

suebird

Hi,

I passed the CPNE in January. I didn't have any repeats in the lab or pt care. I posted my story on the Excelsior website. But here's some things that helped me.

Memorize the Critical elements in a way which will help YOU remember. I made up sentences with the first letter of each element.

I set up a mock lab using things around the house. I kept doing each lab over and over until I could go thru each step without making a mistake.

I also took Chancellor's care lab, which I think was the best thing I could have done. I took it about a month before the test so I could practice what I learned there.

And just try to relax, remember, it's just taking care of one patient at a time, for 2 1/2 hours. Take your time when doing the Critical elements so you don't leave anything out, but try to keep a steady pace because there is a lot of charting to do and it takes longer than you realize.

hope this helps.

2jds: As you are finding out, CPNE is not a walk in the park. As some people would have you believe on other EC threads. The bickering and pros vs cons go on and on. My personal opinion is that IF YOU DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN CPNE, you have no idea what you are talking about. With that in mind, please don't get pulled down by negativity on forums. You chose the EC program, so it must be for you and your learning style. Set time aside from your family and work. Study in that time, do nothing else....study in THAT time. Then set up your "Clinical area" somewhere in the house. Practice, practice, practice. Know your Critical Elements frontwards and backwards, grids, nmemonics, etc. It is a lot to prepare for. Try to obtain study material from all sources available. I rounded up personal, chancellors, rue, college network, stuff...whatever I could get my hands on, I bought it on ebay, yahoo, whatever. Network with others in your situation and pull from all your resources. Just set aside time and stick to schedule. As test date draws near, practice with family members, friends, uwilling victims...haha. practice care, car plan, the whole nine yards. Just remember you can do it, hundreds have before you. Consider going to EC's prep labs, or sim labs by these third parties. It works for some. I attended one and glad I did. Best money ever spent. Just do what your heart tells you. Good Luck, keep everyone posted.

ERDude

all good advice given here. whatever you do, don't waste your money on the things being sold for cpne on ebay. they're absolutely useless and a complete ripoff.

Personally, I felt the CPNE was very basic and doable. Memorize those elements and practice the lab stations at home. Excelsior does have a skills bag that you can buy to help you practice. Many of the yahoo (free) groups offer support and memory tools to help you prepare. Use your weekly calls to the CPNE staff and e-mail them your care plans for review...this was a big help. Good luck!

I had mine in November also. I dissected the CPNE prep into 4 smaller sections to make it seem less daunting: skills, critical elements, careplans, the grid and learning other skills I was not familiar with.

Throughout the CPNE, I kept telling myself: one step at a time.....

That kept me pretty relaxed through the whole ordeal.

pedinurse is right, send your careplans to EC - they were terrific at reviewing them!

Best of luck to you!!

thank you all for the ideas, comments, every little bit helps.

I can not vouch for the CPNE as I am doing mine in September, however I will agree with DeLynn that Chancellor's care plan lab was invaluable. I would really recommend it. It takes the mystery out of the CPNE and shows you that the CPNE is do-able. I also received a lot of support from other allnurses posters (Thanks Spazz!). I have great files with copies of 'the grid" and mneumonics for all of the areas of care if anyone needs or wants them. All very helpful.