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?

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 part is way too easy. MrsFrancis hit the nail on the head with her example, because that was pretty much my whole written test.

There should be a core group of skills that every CNA should be tested on. It's not fair that some people get "Communication with a blind resident," ambulation, and whatever whereas others might get bedbath, pericare, and blood pressure. It's just either too easy or too difficult.

Honestly I've met several CNAs who can't take BP manually. Anyone else find that frightening?

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?

Skills party! Get together with three or four other people from class, write all the skills down and draw them from a hat. Make sure to time each other so you can feel some pressure. Make sure there is an observer with the book out to make note of any errors in your preformance so you can correct your mistakes. If you can't have a skills party with other classmates then just keep practicing with your family. Practice sets of five random skills over and over till you notice a few that you are not good at. Then copy those skills down step by step till you can recite them. Once you have the words memorized start acting them out while you preform them. Some people learn better by writing or hearing instead of just doing so if one of those is your learning style this will help reinforce the material.

Also if there is something you know makes you nervous do that too so you are nervous when you practice and have to think on your toes. Then when you take the test again find a relaxation technique that works for you.

When I took my state exams all the people in my class passed except for one, from the other school that had students there only about half of them passed. So if your school has a really low pass rate, make it known to the directors that there is something going wrong! Oh and good luck!

It's a bunch of BS. Notice how they fail a lot of skills involving numbers we wrote with a PENCIL. I'm calling and appealing. This is absolutely prejudice. I'm sorry that the to Probably hates her life and can't handle people who have ambition.

I just failed my skills, too. Peri care to be specific. Passed pulse, ROM shoulder, hand washing, and indirect care, but I went wrong somewhere with peri care.

It's all about the money in my opinion. I got a perfect score on the written, and failed the CNA clinicals. Also lost a job that I was interviewed for prior to the test (just increasing my stress level). I applied to retest and my application is lost. It has been 37 days today, but they took my money. The "observers" are employed on contract with Prometric so the more people that fail, the more money it makes for Prometric. I would like to see some statistics on this because it appears that more and more people are passing the written CNA but being failed on the clinicals. It really gets costly since combined with the training costs, plus application costs, background fees, etc. and lost employment. The real world health care is nothing like most of the CNA clinicals, especially the exercises which are usually done by therapists, not CNA's. Memorize the skills check list on the Prometric website and review the you tube videos over and over again. I hope I pass this next time around or I may have to move. It's a shame because I enjoy the CNA work and feel I do a good job. Sadly, a bad day can ruin your career.

I think its more important that u get real time hands on training in school like at ltc. I can tell u that when u get in the field, unless ur in hh, u don't have time to do it like school.

I passed my clinical and written exam 1st try, but I know so many people who failed their clinical test at least once. Don't give up, re-try, you got this :)

I failed and im upset because the steps i know i missed the test proctor didnt catch and the stuff i did right, like disposing soiled linen in hamper for making an occupied bed when i did! she didnt even watch me perform handwashing!

Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I also failed the skills portion of the exam. Frustrating to me because I passed the skills portion of classes with flying colors, because I' currently work as a NAR and because I volunteer in a hospital with a bunch of CNAs and Nurses who all said I'd do great and have no trouble passing the exam.

I think the examiners have incentive to fail students to wrack up extra fees, and that the test is more difficult if you have "real world" experience because skills don't always work the way they do in the book. I failed the bold step of PROM of a leg... not really sure how, and not really something I'd be likely to do on my own in my work anyway, but there it is.

I'm scheduled to take the exam again shortly. If I don't pass this the second time around I'm going back to my school to have a talk with my instructors to see if they would be willing to evaluate me in a practice exam with them again and correct where I am going wrong.

Does anyone know this!?? I just took my CNA test and I feel like I am going to fail because I had gown and gloves and I took off my gown before I took off my gloves and I'm pretty sure it was the other way around please anyone tell me if anyone knows about this or if I will fail or how they grade thank you

When dealing with PPE gloves go on last and come off first...

Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

To OP, I think that's why in Florida we can now take the pulse twice with 2 different nurses. Its seems like a ridiculous way for them to fail you for that and pass everything else. Prometric does leave a margin of error for pulses, but I can't remember what it is.

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