I passed my bedmaking skills finally, on the second try. We were shown moving and positioning a patient on Wed., and after the demo we had perhaps 20 minutes left in class to practice. I didn't get to do much of anything but be rolled around a bit by some fellow students. Thursday, today, I spent some of the time doing my retest for bedmaking and then had time enough to participate in ONE log rolling. That was it. Now I find out that tomorrow we are being tested on moving and positioning a patient.
You know. I don't mind strict rules. I don't mind having to work hard and practice, practice, practice. What I do mind is being shown something once, having almost no time to do the practicing, and then being told I'm being tested. I feel like a failure before I begin! How can I be tested on something I haven't even done completely, let alone had any instructor feedback as to whether I'm actually doing it right or not! I feel like I'm just being tossed in, and so many younger girls who don't have families to deal with are just walking in and passing these skills tests like they are nothing. I feel like I can do all of these things and do them well, but I am not even familiar with them yet.
How is this a true test of what sort of nurse I'll be? I'm so confused, as I sit here reading in my book about logrolling and positioning and trying like heck to remember what it looked like. Did the arm go there? I'm not sure...am I really using my hips to pull rather than my arms or is my technique all goofed up? Who knows, I've never had an instructor tell me!
Other people in my class have CNA's and are not having any trouble at all. This is all stuff they have seen before, but I have done none of it. If a CNA would have helped I wish they would have told me that before I applied. I feel lost overwhelmed, tired, and like I'm shot down before I start. I get very tired of having to fail my first attempts at the skills because I have not had practice time or the opportunity to ask questions, and then I have a retest hanging over my head.
As I speak, my oldest has just come in here and informed me that she has to have help with her algebra homework. There is a younger girl in my class who keep preaching to me that these skills tests are so easy and she's "worried" about my ability to get through the tougher ones if I'm having so much trouble catching on now. It hurt, thought I tried not to let it show.
So I'm prepared to walk in tomorrow, be called, and then do a hundred things wrong because I don't really know what I'm doing and haven't had enough practice. I'll probably put pillows in the wrong places, forget to put them where they go, have the bed in the wrong position, put the arms in the wrong spot. You name it, I can see it coming, because I don't know any better. It makes me angry, because I think I'd make a damn fine nurse...
Are they just trying to see if I lose my mind, or is it that I'm 36 and have a family to take care of and am dead tired that prevents me from doing as well as those seeminly carefree 19-22 year olds in my class? I dunno. I just don't know what to think. I'm not giving up, but I'm so worn out from having to spend entire weekends thinking about a retest.
Sorry to whine and vent. I think these are legit issues, though. Who wants to be tested on something they haven't even done yet??
I passed my bedmaking skills finally, on the second try. We were shown moving and positioning a patient on Wed., and after the demo we had perhaps 20 minutes left in class to practice. I didn't get to do much of anything but be rolled around a bit by some fellow students. Thursday, today, I spent some of the time doing my retest for bedmaking and then had time enough to participate in ONE log rolling. That was it. Now I find out that tomorrow we are being tested on moving and positioning a patient.
You know. I don't mind strict rules. I don't mind having to work hard and practice, practice, practice. What I do mind is being shown something once, having almost no time to do the practicing, and then being told I'm being tested. I feel like a failure before I begin! How can I be tested on something I haven't even done completely, let alone had any instructor feedback as to whether I'm actually doing it right or not! I feel like I'm just being tossed in, and so many younger girls who don't have families to deal with are just walking in and passing these skills tests like they are nothing. I feel like I can do all of these things and do them well, but I am not even familiar with them yet.
How is this a true test of what sort of nurse I'll be? I'm so confused, as I sit here reading in my book about logrolling and positioning and trying like heck to remember what it looked like. Did the arm go there? I'm not sure...am I really using my hips to pull rather than my arms or is my technique all goofed up? Who knows, I've never had an instructor tell me!
Other people in my class have CNA's and are not having any trouble at all. This is all stuff they have seen before, but I have done none of it. If a CNA would have helped I wish they would have told me that before I applied. I feel lost overwhelmed, tired, and like I'm shot down before I start. I get very tired of having to fail my first attempts at the skills because I have not had practice time or the opportunity to ask questions, and then I have a retest hanging over my head.
As I speak, my oldest has just come in here and informed me that she has to have help with her algebra homework. There is a younger girl in my class who keep preaching to me that these skills tests are so easy and she's "worried" about my ability to get through the tougher ones if I'm having so much trouble catching on now. It hurt, thought I tried not to let it show.
So I'm prepared to walk in tomorrow, be called, and then do a hundred things wrong because I don't really know what I'm doing and haven't had enough practice. I'll probably put pillows in the wrong places, forget to put them where they go, have the bed in the wrong position, put the arms in the wrong spot. You name it, I can see it coming, because I don't know any better. It makes me angry, because I think I'd make a damn fine nurse...
Are they just trying to see if I lose my mind, or is it that I'm 36 and have a family to take care of and am dead tired that prevents me from doing as well as those seeminly carefree 19-22 year olds in my class? I dunno. I just don't know what to think. I'm not giving up, but I'm so worn out from having to spend entire weekends thinking about a retest.
Sorry to whine and vent. I think these are legit issues, though. Who wants to be tested on something they haven't even done yet??
Cara
you know when you become a nurse, positioning a pt and rolling them to change linens will come to you just from doing it in school/on the job. it will come to you, don't stress about it. what they don't want you to know in school is that it doesn't really matter in real life whether the sheets are tucked perfect or the pillow is right, as long is the pt is alive and comfortable.don't worry, 1st semester isn't fun for anyone
Specializes in telemetry, cardiopulmonary stepdown, LTC. Hospice.
Wow! You guys are so great! Let me tell you how it all went today!
Firstly, I went over things and practiced last night the best I could. I knew I didn't know how to scoot someone up in bed yet, but I felt if I could just avoid being called on first I would latch onto someone this morning and beg them to practice that skill with me before I was called in. It ended up that I wasn't called today, so I got an entire 2 hours practice!!! WHAHOOOOOO!
I feel a LOT more ready, now. I'm going to do a little more practice here at home on Sunday, but tonight and tomorrow are for me and the family to get back in touch and have some fun. I made sure to keep up with my reading and homework assignments all week so that I would have the weekend freed up.
So Monday I have to go down to get my uniform fitted, and I will be going to the open lab to practice bed baths, since I have to give one of those on Wed. I'm sure they will ask me to do my positioning skill on Tuesday, and I believe that I will be so ready by then I will surely pass it (but if not, hey, I've been there before as well )
Now, on the note about the younger girl. I don't wish anyone bad luck, but I had pointed out to her that we just learn differently...that I enjoy the lecture and paper test-taking class, and she seems better at the skills right now. She was taking her reading and homework pretty lightly this last week, while she was telling me what a breeze things were for her in skills and how natural this all was to her. We have to get a "C" average on all our paper tests to be kept in this program, and today we got back our first paper test. She got a "C". What a shock! I mean, she was really floored. I got a high "B" and I was so pleased with myself, because finally something in this program made me feel like I was capable. Those who wanted to were invited to stay after class and go over the test questions, and so I and some of my other friends did. We definitely wanted to know what NOT to do on the next test! My young friend, though, was so upset about her "C" that she ran out. She said later that she felt she had been taken down a peg or two. So you all were right...we are each good on different levels. One person in my class who was taking the skills in stride and made comments to me about how simple it all was ended up having to redo the positioning skill from today.
So I saw pretty clearly that there are going to be days when I feel very low and like I just can't get this, and as if everyone around me has everything going for them. And then there are going to be days when I am on top of it all and my friends are down. I am learning lessons everyday in my LPN classes, and not just about LPN skills!
I'm not taking ANY of this for granted. This is a hard program and you have to keep your eye on the goal at all times if you want to come out of it okay. Someone said today that they were so scared about how hard the skills are later, and I commented that, yes, that was true, but we are also going to know so much more then than we do now, and perhaps it won't seem as hard then as it does when we think about it now. They looked at me funny and said I was being an optimist. Well, heck, I sure HOPE I'm more confident and experienced three weeks from now, or six weeks from now, so it makes sense to me that the skills won't be as bad to me THEN as they seem when I look at them NOW. Does that makes sense?
I also met a whole new batch of friends who are all saying they feel like they don't have enough time to study or practice, and we're making plans to form a study group. I'm not alone at all, and we are all supporting and encouraging one another. In many ways, this is one of the most exciting and positive times in my life. Funny, ain't it??
Specializes in telemetry, cardiopulmonary stepdown, LTC. Hospice.
PS. Edited to say: You are going to find too, that when you get in the actual hospital setting, it won't be the same as it is in school labs. Each hospital has their own technique for bed making. Heck, some of them even have special sheets that are Waaay different than the ones you are using in labs. Also, when you get to the hospital you most likely won't be making a bed by yourself. You will be teamed up with another student or perhaps a hospital employee. Don't sweat the small stuff!
Funny you should say all this. When it was time to clean up today and my lab partner and I went back to our bed to make it, we were making that bed so fast I could not believe it. It looked great when we were done! WOW! I thought as we were flying through it, "Look at what we are doing, and just three weeks ago we would have had no idea how to do this!" When I got home and looked at my own bed, I said with relief, "I passed bedmaking and I don't have to do that one again!" Just a couple of days ago, making a bed was the most important thing on my mind, and now it's done!
This probably isn't of any help to you right now, but when I was in the OB part of my LPN program I would practice skills on a teddy bear I had. Things like taking a temp, checking for hip dysplasia, etc.. Just FYI, I worked as an Aide before I went to LPN school, and some of those skills didn't come very easily to me either. Stay strong & don't let your nerves get the best of you!
Hi Cara,Im 50 and with eight weeks to go Im very excited,I am glad my children are grown and can imagine the challenge of school and raising a family,but you are doing it and soon you will be able to look over your shoulder and see how far you have come.I promise it will be a very rewarding experience.I started out school with four others being older than myself NOW I am the oldest one in the class.As the younger ones zip through what I struggle with,there are many times they struggle and I zip through.Wound care what I preceived to be a challenge,prior to hands on,I couldnt believe it when my instructor used me to demononstrate correct wound care.You WILL find strenghts you never knew you had and obstacles that seem so ridculous.Try balancing it all and one step at a time.Don't use negative energy,because that is what it is energ.Save all that energy direct into positive and you will have enough for family and school.I know I went back to school as a single mother with babies and got my bachelors degree and boy did I grow! When its all said and done you will be a nurse,with great kids and feel wonderful because YOU DID IT!!Best of luck my dear! Cindy
What an inspiring story Cindy. I am 38 and waiting to get into LPN school. I worry if I am too old, I worry if I am good enough, I worry that I am being too selfish wanting to pursue my career when I still have a 5 and 16 year old at home. I am married and my husband is wonderful but he works hard. Posts like yours keep my going. Good luck to you. Hang in there Cara! You can do it.
Hi Cara,Im 50 and with eight weeks to go Im very excited,I am glad my children are grown and can imagine the challenge of school and raising a family,but you are doing it and soon you will be able to look over your shoulder and see how far you have come.I promise it will be a very rewarding experience.I started out school with four others being older than myself NOW I am the oldest one in the class.As the younger ones zip through what I struggle with,there are many times they struggle and I zip through.Wound care what I preceived to be a challenge,prior to hands on,I couldnt believe it when my instructor used me to demononstrate correct wound care.You WILL find strenghts you never knew you had and obstacles that seem so ridculous.Try balancing it all and one step at a time.Don't use negative energy,because that is what it is energ.Save all that energy direct into positive and you will have enough for family and school.I know I went back to school as a single mother with babies and got my bachelors degree and boy did I grow! When its all said and done you will be a nurse,with great kids and feel wonderful because YOU DID IT!!Best of luck my dear! Cindy
I passed my bedmaking skills finally, on the second try. We were shown moving and positioning a patient on Wed., and after the demo we had perhaps 20 minutes left in class to practice. I didn't get to do much of anything but be rolled around a bit by some fellow students. Thursday, today, I spent some of the time doing my retest for bedmaking and then had time enough to participate in ONE log rolling. That was it. Now I find out that tomorrow we are being tested on moving and positioning a patient.
You know. I don't mind strict rules. I don't mind having to work hard and practice, practice, practice. What I do mind is being shown something once, having almost no time to do the practicing, and then being told I'm being tested. I feel like a failure before I begin! How can I be tested on something I haven't even done completely, let alone had any instructor feedback as to whether I'm actually doing it right or not! I feel like I'm just being tossed in, and so many younger girls who don't have families to deal with are just walking in and passing these skills tests like they are nothing. I feel like I can do all of these things and do them well, but I am not even familiar with them yet.
How is this a true test of what sort of nurse I'll be? I'm so confused, as I sit here reading in my book about logrolling and positioning and trying like heck to remember what it looked like. Did the arm go there? I'm not sure...am I really using my hips to pull rather than my arms or is my technique all goofed up? Who knows, I've never had an instructor tell me!
Other people in my class have CNA's and are not having any trouble at all. This is all stuff they have seen before, but I have done none of it. If a CNA would have helped I wish they would have told me that before I applied. I feel lost overwhelmed, tired, and like I'm shot down before I start. I get very tired of having to fail my first attempts at the skills because I have not had practice time or the opportunity to ask questions, and then I have a retest hanging over my head.
As I speak, my oldest has just come in here and informed me that she has to have help with her algebra homework. There is a younger girl in my class who keep preaching to me that these skills tests are so easy and she's "worried" about my ability to get through the tougher ones if I'm having so much trouble catching on now. It hurt, thought I tried not to let it show.
So I'm prepared to walk in tomorrow, be called, and then do a hundred things wrong because I don't really know what I'm doing and haven't had enough practice. I'll probably put pillows in the wrong places, forget to put them where they go, have the bed in the wrong position, put the arms in the wrong spot. You name it, I can see it coming, because I don't know any better. It makes me angry, because I think I'd make a damn fine nurse...
Are they just trying to see if I lose my mind, or is it that I'm 36 and have a family to take care of and am dead tired that prevents me from doing as well as those seeminly carefree 19-22 year olds in my class? I dunno. I just don't know what to think. I'm not giving up, but I'm so worn out from having to spend entire weekends thinking about a retest.
Sorry to whine and vent. I think these are legit issues, though. Who wants to be tested on something they haven't even done yet??
Cara
Do not give up I went back to school at 36 three kids a husand a house it was hard but now iam so glad to be a nurse .the money is great please do not give up.
What an inspiring story Cindy. I am 38 and waiting to get into LPN school. I worry if I am too old, I worry if I am good enough, I worry that I am being too selfish wanting to pursue my career when I still have a 5 and 16 year old at home. I am married and my husband is wonderful but he works hard. Posts like yours keep my going. Good luck to you. Hang in there Cara! You can do it.
I am 28 but I have an 11 year old and a 5 year old plus a husband and I am 1/4 the way done LPN school! There is at least 5 people in my class over age 35 thru 55 so don't sweat the age thing, we are all there for a common goal! :balloons:
I passed my bedmaking skills finally, on the second try. We were shown moving and positioning a patient on Wed., and after the demo we had perhaps 20 minutes left in class to practice. I didn't get to do much of anything but be rolled around a bit by some fellow students. Thursday, today, I spent some of the time doing my retest for bedmaking and then had time enough to participate in ONE log rolling. That was it. Now I find out that tomorrow we are being tested on moving and positioning a patient.
You know. I don't mind strict rules. I don't mind having to work hard and practice, practice, practice. What I do mind is being shown something once, having almost no time to do the practicing, and then being told I'm being tested. I feel like a failure before I begin! How can I be tested on something I haven't even done completely, let alone had any instructor feedback as to whether I'm actually doing it right or not! I feel like I'm just being tossed in, and so many younger girls who don't have families to deal with are just walking in and passing these skills tests like they are nothing. I feel like I can do all of these things and do them well, but I am not even familiar with them yet.
How is this a true test of what sort of nurse I'll be? I'm so confused, as I sit here reading in my book about logrolling and positioning and trying like heck to remember what it looked like. Did the arm go there? I'm not sure...am I really using my hips to pull rather than my arms or is my technique all goofed up? Who knows, I've never had an instructor tell me!
Other people in my class have CNA's and are not having any trouble at all. This is all stuff they have seen before, but I have done none of it. If a CNA would have helped I wish they would have told me that before I applied. I feel lost overwhelmed, tired, and like I'm shot down before I start. I get very tired of having to fail my first attempts at the skills because I have not had practice time or the opportunity to ask questions, and then I have a retest hanging over my head.
As I speak, my oldest has just come in here and informed me that she has to have help with her algebra homework. There is a younger girl in my class who keep preaching to me that these skills tests are so easy and she's "worried" about my ability to get through the tougher ones if I'm having so much trouble catching on now. It hurt, thought I tried not to let it show.
So I'm prepared to walk in tomorrow, be called, and then do a hundred things wrong because I don't really know what I'm doing and haven't had enough practice. I'll probably put pillows in the wrong places, forget to put them where they go, have the bed in the wrong position, put the arms in the wrong spot. You name it, I can see it coming, because I don't know any better. It makes me angry, because I think I'd make a damn fine nurse...
Are they just trying to see if I lose my mind, or is it that I'm 36 and have a family to take care of and am dead tired that prevents me from doing as well as those seeminly carefree 19-22 year olds in my class? I dunno. I just don't know what to think. I'm not giving up, but I'm so worn out from having to spend entire weekends thinking about a retest.
Sorry to whine and vent. I think these are legit issues, though. Who wants to be tested on something they haven't even done yet??
Cara
Imyself was 19 when I went into the LPN program. I had not even been a CNA. I passes all labs th efirst try except trach care and had about as much time in class to practice as you did. I guess at 19 you could say I had no life experiences, but all nursing courses I passed with a "B" or above. My GPA when I finished was a 3.2. I graduated at 20 and have now been an LPN for 2 years. It was a very stressful year, but 1 month after graduation I married my boyfriend and am stressing over when I am going back for my ADN.
When I was in LPN schoolalmost 20, years ago, we had the "see one, do one,
teach one " method when it came to skills, the instructor would show the entire group or maybe 5-6 students at a time then each student would do one(the skill, what ever it may be) and then "teach" one to another student who may or may not be having problems. It helped us not only learn the skill but get comfortable preforming it in front of someone, and easier to get checked off on it in front of the instructor.
I am just going back for my RN with 2 teenagers also good luck!
Specializes in Medical Telemetry, LTC,AlF, Skilled care.
I'm so sorry for what that awful girl said to you in your class! I'm a CNA in my first year of LPN training and I can honestly tell you that none of us start performing our skills perfectly the first time we try them! It simply takes PRACTICE and while it's discouraging, I can guarantee you that over time you'll see improvement. We just have to remember our passion for what we're doing when we get discouraged. Also, I hope your negative experience with younger people won't taint your image of what ALL younger people are. I myself am 17 but get along better with the adults in my class than my peers, I also try to be a helping hand to those less experience than me because I know how incredibly frustrating some of the alleged "basic" nursing skills are. I know when I first started working a month or so ago at a nursing home and rehab, I felt like I was never going to get the hang of applying what I learned in CNA school to the real world, but I've finally gotten the hang of it, and you will too!! Keep working hard!!
)
icyounurse, BSN, RN
385 Posts
you know when you become a nurse, positioning a pt and rolling them to change linens will come to you just from doing it in school/on the job. it will come to you, don't stress about it. what they don't want you to know in school is that it doesn't really matter in real life whether the sheets are tucked perfect or the pillow is right, as long is the pt is alive and comfortable.don't worry, 1st semester isn't fun for anyone