I'm so happy to have found this wonderful nursing community. I'm not really sure where this question belongs. I am an LPN with six years experience. I can't seem to be able to pass the CPNE. I get extremely nervous and start shaking and I'm a complete mess. I have taken it twice and it's my last chance. Bad luck seems to follow me around. The first time I took it my fiance accidentally broke his leg as he took me in to my first day. It was upstate NY and he slipped on the ice. SO, I had to ship him off to the ER as I did my CPNE in the same hospital. Passed all the lab stations. Ran out of time on my first cps when they gave me a chatty patient then my second PCS my careplan was not measurable. Second time around in Georgia, I failed the lab stations, I ripped four different pairs of gloves while attempting to do my wound station six months pregnant with raynauds in a freezing room. I shook so bad. Failed at it both times. Passed my PCS's though.
I don't know what to do anymore. I know my stuff. I just can't seem to calm down. It's not like I can afford to keep throwing all this money out. I'm the primary bread winner in my house and its so hard for me to even come up with money. I have one more chance and I cannot blow it. All I need is my CPNE and Microbiology. Any advice would help. This time around should be easier because one I am not worried about loosing my job because they would not give me the weekend off and two because I'm not pregnant :) I've been to the workshops and my care plans are strong. I'm currently working nights in hospice so I get a lot of down time to study. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thanks so much =D
I am inclined to say if you take xanax before you work with patients you are under the influence of a controlled substance, it would be like going to work after having a glass or two of wine
I am inclined to say if you take xanax before you work with patients you are under the influence of a controlled substance, it would be like going to work after having a glass or two of wine
With all due respect, I would say that you have never suffered from an anxiety attack.
I took Xanax the whole weekend that I was at my CPNE, and I would not have passed due to the sheer anxiety of it all. It calmed me and helped me get my center of balance.
Xanax! I started taking it twice a day starting 2 weeks before CPNE. There is NO way I would have passed without it. I am super confident and I know my stuff. I took all my excelsior nursing exams in 9 weeks total, and I've been a cardiac nurse for 15 years.....none of that matters during the CPNE. There is no way to describe the stress that you are under during this clinical. I took xanax and and energy drink, and I was good to go. I don't care what anyone says, that's what worked for me and I'm the one with GN behind my name now.
Hello! I just took the CPNE and passed(!) the first time in Racine, Wisconsin. I highly reccommend this location, the instructors WANT you to pass. I hope this will help you and others that read this. First of all, you are your own worst enemy, it is your fear that is failing you not you. I have been an LPN for 23 years, I am a very organized, efficient and an anal person, I plan my patient care so I walk as few steps as possible and won't wear the patient out either. HOWEVER, none of it mattered! Because I failed 3 of the 4 labs right off the bat, things I have done 15 times a day for 23 years! It's because I NEVER had someone staring at me with a clipboard in their hands scrutinizing my every move! I was shaking so bad I could not get the drip rate on the IVPB, I looked like I was having a seizure standing up! I failed the other stations because of the shaking and my mind went cloudy. Now that you have been through this twice you know what to expect, the element of surprise is gone. I finally got a grip on myself and passed them all the second time, I did fail one patient care situation because I left out ONE sentence in my rational- Oxygen is a basic physiological need-OK down to business, lets help you pass this. This is how I passed: I ignored the instructor! You have to be assertive and they tell you to be! Some of the insrtuctors walked slow, took their time logging on to the computer for vital etc... finally I started to say "ok lets get going I'm ready, we gotta move, time is of the essence. Look at your patient care assignment kardex, for each area of care memorize two basic care plans that fit that area of care, for instance- Mobility, pt uses a walker or needs assistance- Risk for impaired skin integrity R/T mobility deficit, pt will maintain intact skin integrity, nurse will assist pt to ambulate to door with walker, nurse will encourage pt to change position frequently- DONE. Keep your care plan as simple as possible, you need to spend most of your time with the patient. Plan 15 minutes with care plan, 5 minutes writing baseline vitals and pain level next to the ones you have to take and other notes move fast, 5 minutes writing your grid, practice writing your grid for all areas of care until you can do it in 5 minutes. OK, I finally took control of the situation heres what I did : she handed me my pt kardex I scanned it, found my areas of assigned care, in pencil I wrote a number next to each one, fluid management #1, vital signs #2, I added pain assessment to the vital signs, it is the 5th vital sign, you will ALWAYS be asigned fluid management and vital signs and pain, oxygen management # 3, respirtory assessment #4, peripheral vascular assesment #5, mobility #6, comfort management #7, I then went to the blank pages in the back of the booklet and wrote my critical elements in the exact same order, if you are assigned meds they are usually due at 0900, you can do them at 0830, by the time you are done with fluid and vitals its usually time for meds which works out perfect because you have their blood pressure if you are giving a bp med, I don't assign a number to meds, although you could always make it the 3rd thing you will do. This is why I do this- Ok from the top- I wash my hands before I enter the patients room(there are sinks right outside every patients room, and all the patient rooms are private, no room mate) I knock on the door even if its open, I introduce myself, I tell them I am a nursing student with excelsior and my instructor will be observing my assesments, I then thank the patient for allowing me to take care of them, I pick up the pts wrist while looking at their name band I ask them to tell me their name and date of birth, DO NOT start any element without identifying them! You could have walked into the wrong room! while looking at my kardex I tell them I will be assessing their IV taking their vitals, listenting to their lungs, checking the pulses in their feet, and helping them to walk to the door or hall or whatever and that I hae some medicatons for them, just be brief, and I say is this ok with you? I haven't had one pt say no. Now heres where the organization comes in to play, if you have fluid hanging get this element done AND charted right away, then do the vitals, ask them what their pain is ( if they need meds tell their nurse quickly, don't proceed until you address this) then perform the critical element for oxygen management, then proceed to respiratory assessment, then peripheral vascular assessment, give meds if you need to , breakfast tray may have showed up, while the pt is eating breakfast CHART or give them thier meds, also if you reposition the pt to sit up better for breakfast that is a comfort measure, one down 2 to go. I always save mobility for last, watch the pt so when they are done with breakfast you ASK for the measuring device so you can chart their intake, now I ask the pt to take a walk with me, then they go to the chair or back to bed, before they sit down STRAIGHTEN their linen, this is a comfort measure, 2 down one to go, I then offer to help set them up to brush their teeth comfort measur # 3 DONE, REASSES THIER PAIN IF YOU HAD TO MEDICATE THEM, tell the pt you are going to take a moment to review your assignment to make sure you didn't forget anything, scan your kardex, if you feel confident that you performed every area you were assigned tell the instructor you would like to go chart, compare your charting to your critical elements. Do you see the organized way to move through your assigned areas of care? Do all assessments that require the pt to stay in bed in first, work from the top of their head to the tips of their toes, dont perform an abdominal assessment BEFORE you perform the respiratory assesment, they are already probably sitting up in bed and you would have to lie them down to do the abdomen and sit them back up to do the repiratory, to many steps. REMEBER, wash your hands before you enter the room, after that gel as many time as you want, wash your hands when you leave the room, and you can go back and do something you forgot unless it is like a hep lock flush, if you flush before you aspirate its over. I know this was lengthy but I hope you gleened something from it and I wish you blessings on your next try, I HIGHLY reccommend Racine, wisconsin. arrived as an LPN left as an RN
Thank you for a great CPNE post with lots of USEFUL info! Congratulations and all the best towards your NCLEX prep.
Xanax! I started taking it twice a day starting 2 weeks before CPNE. There is NO way I would have passed without it. I am super confident and I know my stuff. I took all my excelsior nursing exams in 9 weeks total, and I've been a cardiac nurse for 15 years.....none of that matters during the CPNE. There is no way to describe the stress that you are under during this clinical. I took xanax and and energy drink, and I was good to go. I don't care what anyone says, that's what worked for me and I'm the one with GN behind my name now.
I totally agree with you! I will be definitely following your path to success when my time comes around! You go GN!!!!
I totally agree with you! I will be definitely following your path to success when my time comes around! You go GN!!!!
Thank y'all so much for discussing this. I'd wondered if others had done this but didn't know who to ask and figured it would be taboo to some. I blanked out on my last 2 exams for some stupid reason and I doubt I can keep my nerves under control for CPNE.
One of the best ER nurses I've ever worked with had to take her CPNE three times about 10 years ago, when EC was Regents. Finally the third time she went with a low dose of Xanax and passed. Some people just experience crippling test anxiety. I've known other students who took low doses of beta blockers for anxiety. Gotta do what works...
i have performance anxiety, have had it all my life had to fight it during every clinical in school. i get a little tummy ache every time i think about or read about the cpne, get little tummy ache b4 every test, never thought of anxiety meds for cpne but it is a real option especially for those with debilitating anxiety, you just don't understand unless you live it. Performing under all kinds of situations Is expected as a nurse, but the difference is, when we are working, we are the nurse we were studying to be already, in this situation you are trying to become the nurse you want to be and for a person with anxiety that is a huge difference. I can handle a pt who is coding, or who is dealing with pulmonary edema because i am an lpn and not trying to become one, that calms the anxiety, but when you are dealing with the anxiety of trying to attain your goal, the fear of failure causes the anxiety, that isn't there when you have already attained your goal.
Just got home from taking the CPNE at Meriter,,,,,,,failed. I am a clinical and skills nursing instructor for a junior college and have been for 6 years. It was the WORST experience of my lifetime.
Just got home from taking the CPNE at Meriter,,,,,,,failed. I am a clinical and skills nursing instructor for a junior college and have been for 6 years. It was the WORST experience of my lifetime.
Specializes in Surgery, Med/Surg/ICU, OB-Peds, Ophth.
Just got home from taking the CPNE at Meriter,,,,,,,failed. I am a clinical and skills nursing instructor for a junior college and have been for 6 years. It was the WORST experience of my lifetime.
Oh, so sorry!! That is a WI site, correct? We are good listeners if you feel like talking about it. The closer I get to this clinical the more challenging I think this will be.
Kim I am so sorry to hear this. I totally know what you are going through. I took mine in May and failed. I was prepared I took a workshop I did everything. It is hard to pick your self up to go do it again. I am just now trying to get back on that saddle. I was so prepared the first time I don't know what to do different.
That is a WI site, correct? We are good listeners if you feel like talking about it. The closer I get to this clinical the more challenging I think this will be.
annemalselcamino
2 Posts
I am inclined to say if you take xanax before you work with patients you are under the influence of a controlled substance, it would be like going to work after having a glass or two of wine