New to the board - terrified of NA exam! (NC)

Well, I didn't take the exam in NC; mine was in CA. However, we heard the same horror stories.

The exam proved to be a piece of cake. Every person in our group passed (and this wasn't a collection of rocket scientists by any means).

Relax. It's pretty much common sense, anyway.

I've been wondering some of the same things. I'm going to be taking the exam in less than a month and I've been practicing. It seems difficult to remember every thing every time. I'll practice one of the 24 skills (Ohio) and when I'm done I'll remember that I didn't pull the privacy curtain open. And I wonder: will this be enough to fail the skills test?

Wish I could see some actual people go through the skills test to get an idea of exactly what they're looking for.

I don't know how it is in your state, but the list of steps in each of the skills in my state is somewhat lacking. Things are out of order. In some steps you are supposed to do the skill, wash your hands and then hand the call light. O.K. if you do it that way, you'd have to wash your hands after handing the call light because your hands are again "contamminated". Other times, it is listed to hand the call light, THEN wash your hands. The consistency is not there. And whenever I'm learning something new, I like to have an orderly system for learning it.

And do you gather your equipment, then put on the gloves or is it the other way around? I would like to know just what they are looking for.

Good luck to you.

Hey I live in Raleigh, but I tested in Charlotte at the Divine Health Academy. I was terrified, but in the end it was nothing. There was only three of us testing. The written portion was common sense questions. The skills portion was easy. The evaluator told us that they dont test the catherter care. Perineum care, and temperature skills there. She pretty much walked us through the skills portions, and the one thing that she bsaid was that no one she has ever tested has failed. You will do fine. They want you to pass remember. Oh and they did change one thing. If u miss a portion or step while doing the skills tell them what u missed befor washing ur hands, and u don't have to was ur hands after evry skill, just after u finish the last skill.

Sorry about all the typos and gramatical errors. Im sending this from my phone.

Oh and Heather I tested on July 1, 2008

Sorry about all the typos and gramatical errors. Im sending this from my phone.

Oh and Heather I tested on July 1, 2008

I just took my exam a few weeks ago and it was a piece of cake. The mot important thing to remember is anything that can put a patent at risk, lock the wheelchair, make sure the bed rails are up and the bed is in the lowest position. And if you start going through your scenario and you remember a steo you should have done, tell the tester that you forgot to pull the privacy screen and stop what your doing and pull the privacy screen. They just want to know that you know what your supposed to do. You'll be fine, i know that your still going to be nervous, but as long as you dont forget anything major you'll be all right.

~Steph

Hi ShawBunny,

I took the NA1 test in NC a couple months ago. I am in a nursing program, so I think that it is easier if you are actually in a CNA course.

But anyway, I passed on the first try. Don't worry about the written part. Just go over the questions in the NACES book a couple times and you'll be fine. It's so easy. As for the performance part, we were split up into couples and one person was the patient, while one person played the part of the CNA. You had, I think, 4 or something like that skills that you had to do. They stood there and watched you do the skills with a clipboard. I'm not going to lie to you. I was terrified and I don't want to go through it again. But it definitely wasn't as hard as people made it out to be.

Main things to remember: WASH HANDS! Wear gloves, if needed; CLOSE CURTAIN FOR EVERYTHING! Be sure to put on non-skid footwear (very important), Be sure to lock the wheels of a wheelchair if you are moving to a wheelchair; Be sure bed is low, call bell in reach and side rail are up (all very important).

Those are all the main things that I can think of for the moment.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I was very disgusted with the testing center in Greensboro. The evaluator was eating a pack of cookies during my skills evaluation!! I had to arrive at 7:30am and did not leave until after 3 pm. They were very unorganized. The equipment is outdated and in poor working order. The patient bed was from the 70's and had a manual crank to adjust height. I literally got down on my hands and knees and had to use both hands to turn the crank. I could not believe it! I asked the evaluator if I could simply state that I would adjust the height of the bed. Her response was, "You don't talk to me". The material is common sense. The trick is getting a testor that is objective, professional and apparently in a good mood. My partner was penalized for not having the patient put her feet flat in the floor before standing. Really!! Not only did she tell me but she put my shoes on and physically put my feet flat on the floor! The evaluator sat in her chair eating cookies and was not paying attention. It is the testor's word against yours. This is too subjective for such pettiness. For 100.00 in fees, the center should be required to video record the applicants and thier staff!

I was very disgusted with the testing center in Greensboro. The evaluator was eating a pack of cookies during my skills evaluation!! I had to arrive at 7:30am and did not leave until after 3 pm. They were very unorganized. The equipment is outdated and in poor working order. The patient bed was from the 70's and had a manual crank to adjust height. I literally got down on my hands and knees and had to use both hands to turn the crank. I could not believe it! I asked the evaluator if I could simply state that I would adjust the height of the bed. Her response was, "You don't talk to me". The material is common sense. The trick is getting a tester that is objective, professional and apparently in a good mood. My partner was penalized for not having the patient put her feet flat in the floor before standing. Really!! Not only did she tell me but she put my shoes on and physically put my feet flat on the floor! The evaluator sat in her chair eating cookies and was not paying attention. It is the testers' word against yours. This is too subjective for such pettiness. For 100.00 in fees, the center should be required to video record the applicants and thier staff!