Getting nervous about upcoming state test

[littledonna]

Hi everyone. I am glad to have found this site! My state test is next week. I am in Texas, and we do skills testing first, then if you pass, you move on to take your written state test. I am really nervous about the skills portion of the test. Nervous isn't really the word- terrified is more like it! :uhoh21: I don't want my nerves to get the best of me and make a mistake. I am worried though that I have not had enough clinical experience to really do my skills without errors during the test. We have also had several weeks since we finished our class to wait for testing, and I was unable to find a job as an aid without certification in the meantime. This is my first entry into the medical field. My kids are teens, and it has been a while since I was in school, I was on of the few older people in the class (I am in my late 30's)and a while since I have worked too, so this has all been a big adventure so far. I really want to pass my test and hopefully go to work in a hospital. I think I am putting more stress on myself by worrying I will let everyone down if I do not pass too. I did great in class- almost always getting A's on my tests, so its not the written I am too worried about- its those skills. Any advice or words of wisdom and experience would be really appreciated. Thanks for listening.

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

Everyone gets nervous about the skills test. I can practically guarantee you that everyone else in your class is thinking the same thing about not having enough clinical experience. Realizing that we were all in the same boat made the test less stressful for me.

All you can do is try to relax (easier said than done, I know), go over the skills in the book, and practice. Physically performing the skills instead of just going over the steps in your head will help cement them in your procedural memory and they'll come to you more easily.

The general consensus here is that talking your way through the test is a big help in calming your nerves and remembering what to do. So say, "Now I am pulling the curtain for privacy... and then I'm going to ask them to remove their dentures and if they can't I'll take my finger and..." blah blah blah. If you freeze up and need a moment to gather yourself, stop and tell the tester. They know you're nervous. The point is to show them that you know how to do the procedure safely and correctly.

[Kim8501]

i am in the same boat with you, i have to take both tests on the 17th of jan.

so i am terrified as well. we finished our class on december 3rd, so like you i have quite a gap too which i hate. i live in north carolina, and i have to do both tests on the same day....i wish n.c. would do like texas does & have you do the skills before the written exam. so if we fail the skills tests on the 1st try it costs another $ 70.00 to re-test the skills - $22.00 to re-test the written. i am totally not worried about the written exam as my class average was 102. i loved the clinicals at the hospital, so as soon as i pass the state finals i plan to apply at my local hospital. i have worked in home health care as a pca for 4 years now, but this whole experience was new to me as well. the main thing i have done is read, re-read, and read the candidates skills book over & over . i think that's the part that will help me the most, and like fuzzy said saying it out loud should help. i wish you the best of luck, and i need some myself. let me know how it goes for you.

[littledonna]

I passed my skills test!!!! I was a nervous wreck, but once I got in there, it all went great. Now I have the written test on Thursday to study for. Wish me luck!

[Kim8501]

yahoo !! congrats donna !!!!! i am happy for you, i know you will ace the written.

i have my exams coming up on the 17th, and i am as nervous as a cat on a tin roof. lol !

[panky1]

I just passed my state test yesterday, and it went great! As the posters before me said, talk your way through the skills, I talked to the "resident" as I was doing the skills, explaining what I was doing to/for her, and that really helped. Also, with our test, as long as you didn't say, "skill finished" you could go back and fix any over site. the first skill, I forgot to close the curtain, and I was ready to say skill finished, when I just happened to look over and see the curtain...I told the proctor that I need to start over because I didn't close the curtain, and she said to just close and open the curtain and that is fine. You will do great, I am sure...