How do you get all this info for the CPNE organized? How did you EC grads do it? Help

hsieh · May 4, 2006

i think her name is dutchgirlrn and she gave me excellent advice try to find her in the member list or ask her for her advice. it was great. or you can type her name in the search and get her address and posts. also another person told me "don't make simple things hard". the cpne really is simple (also simple to fail) so don't make it hard. also go in with the attitude of "i'm going to work really hard" and do work hard. also don't forget if you don't know how to do something during the cpne you can ask the staff nurse or anybody else working there what to do.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · May 4, 2006

Rehab- PM me your email address and I will send you the mnemonics, notes, tips, etc. that I used.

Have you gotten the CPNE DVD? I highly suggest it, and it has a great care plan study guide with it. It really helped my to organize and prioritize my stuff.

It's normal to feel overwhelmed at first- you have a ton of material to weed through. Read through the CPNE manual first, watch the DVD and do the study guide, then start over again with the manual, filling out all the questions. I wrote my mnemonics down with each section. Take out all the practice forms/sheets and make several copies of all of them before you write anything down on them. I took copies with me to work, and practiced my PCS's on the patients I had at work. This really helped. I also practiced my grids on them. Once you get the hang of this, you'll see that there are several nsg dx's that you use frequently for certain health problems. Highlight and tab your Carpenito's- you can do this, you just can't write in the book. I also went over my mnemonics every morning, afternoon, and night...and PRN...lol.

When you go through the manual the second time, you can take out all the pages that you need the most, and put them in another binder. Don't throw anything away, though. I took my binder and the manual with me to keep in my hotel room when I went to the CPNE, and I'm glad I did.

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · May 4, 2006

Hi Rehab nurse,

I first read through the entire manual to get familiarized with it, then I divided it up into my own sections and tackled them one at a time. First, I took the section with the critical elements and put them into it's own binder, made mnemonics and made flashcards. I then wrote out each mnemonic/critical element several times a day until I had all of them memorized. I also verified any info I wasn't sure of. After mastering that, I worked on careplans, then any skills I didn't feel comfortable performing, and lastly the lab stations. I practiced PCSs and documentation after that. I felt that in order to feel a little easier about it all was to first memorize the critical elements, after that - it'll all make more sense.

Tackle it a chunk at a time and it will be less intimidating. And hsieh made a good point - don't make simple things difficult!

Good luck to you!

:balloons:

Jo Dirt · May 5, 2006

If you can at all do it, go spend a week at Chancellor's CarePlan conference in Fishers, IN (suburb of Indianapolis). When I took it last year the cost was $800, and there are numerous motels in the area in all price ranges. They do an excellent job of cutting through the muck and teaching you what you really need to know.

You may feel like you can't shell out another $800, but what you will learn is priceless in how it will up your confidence.

hsieh · May 5, 2006

buy the cpne flashcards. but just don't use the flashcards because the cpne study guide gives you the details of how to do the critical elements. the flashcards will make you able to memorize them fast.

robfall · May 5, 2006

Tina (west coast) and Lynn both offer valuble prepatory workshops

traumahawk99 · May 8, 2006

first, i'd advise you to focus strictly on the carjack. using the carjack's critical elements, come up with your own pneumonics. using those of others will tend to clutter your brain and confuse you.

second, you've got to practice the labs until they're second nature.

third, you've got to find other ec students to practice pcs's with. that will make all the difference.

finally, when you're registered for the cpne, you can consult with an excelsior faculty member for one half hour per week. it's free, and a good resource to make use of.

i'd avoid all the stuff being sold on ebay. it's a rip off, and you'll just be wasting your money. some of the ex students who try to sell their notes are incredibly low class people. don't give them a cent.

it's all in the carjack!

realize that many people end up taking the cpne twice. it's not the end of the world it you fail the first one. it's just a learning experience, and you'll nail it the second time.

i can personally tell you that the day you pass will be one of the happiest days of your life!

good luck. hard work will be rewarded!

Jo Dirt · May 9, 2006

i'd avoid all the stuff being sold on ebay. it's a rip off, and you'll just be wasting your money. some of the ex students who try to sell their notes are incredibly low class people. don't give them a cent.

Boy, are you ever right about that. I bought this "plan" from some person on ebay who bragged about how wonderful she did and how everyone was so impressed with how well organized she was at the CPNE, so she was selling her study plan to help pay for the NCLEX, or some such cock and bull story. Gullible me, I ordered the crap, don't even remember what I paid for it. But when I got it I was more than angry. I got a stack of copies of horrible, I mean HORRIBLE nonsense "careplans", so-called grids and pages and pages of rambling nonsense that wasn't even separated with commas or periods and made no sense whatsoever. The grammar and spelling was below third grade level. After looking through it I had to use a lot of restraint to keep from not only giving the seller a negative feedback but sending her an email telling her exactly what I thought of her "plan."

Thinking back on it, I don't believe this person was an Excelsior graduate or even someone who made it to the CPNE. Yes, she was very, very declasse. What a shame. And shame on me for being so stupid as to buy the mess.:trout:

traumahawk99 · May 9, 2006

Boy, are you ever right about that. I bought this "plan" from some person on ebay who bragged about how wonderful she did and how everyone was so impressed with how well organized she was at the CPNE, so she was selling her study plan to help pay for the NCLEX, or some such cock and bull story. Gullible me, I ordered the crap, don't even remember what I paid for it. But when I got it I was more than angry. I got a stack of copies of horrible, I mean HORRIBLE nonsense "careplans", so-called grids and pages and pages of rambling nonsense that wasn't even separated with commas or periods and made no sense whatsoever. The grammar and spelling was below third grade level. After looking through it I had to use a lot of restraint to keep from not only giving the seller a negative feedback but sending her an email telling her exactly what I thought of her "plan."
Thinking back on it, I don't believe this person was an Excelsior graduate or even someone who made it to the CPNE. Yes, she was very, very declasse. What a shame. And shame on me for being so stupid as to buy the mess.:trout:

yes, i got ripped off on ebay as well. i did leave her negative feedback, and believe it or not, she actually called me to threaten me! she ended up filing a compliant with squaretrade, which went nowhere. i let her have it. the real clincher is she claims her "work" is "copyrighted" while her files include the copyrighted works of others. what a hypocrite.

save your money folks!

i don't doubt she went through excelsior, but i'd have to say she's the lowest class excuse for a person that i've met in a very long time.

RN34TX · May 9, 2006

After looking through it I had to use a lot of restraint to keep from not only giving the seller a negative feedback but sending her an email telling her exactly what I thought of her "plan."
:trout:

You most definitely should give negative feedback on e-bay against this person. If someone before you who bought their poor material had given negative feedback, maybe you would have read it and reconsidered.

Maybe your negative feedback will help prevent another person being suckered in the future.

pedinurse05 · May 9, 2006

To prepare for the CPNE I did the following.

-Read through the study guide entirely twice.

-After you have read the guide, pull out all the necessary critical elements and put them in a seperate binder.

-Break each area down with tabs in the binder. You can now start memorizing by sections.

-Get some good memory tools from the free groups to help you remember the critical elements.

-Practice the elements and lab stations at home over and over again.

-Take a workshop and order the CPNE video from Excelsior if possible.

-Practice stress management.

Best wishes!