Passed CPNE 3/25/11!!!

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Passed my CPNE at York hospital 3/25/11, and only now can I sit down and write about it! I swear I have PTSD, but it's starting to get better. I had always imagined how I would act, what I would do, when I passed the CPNE. In reality, all I wanted to do afterwards was sleep! :) I haven't even celebrated yet, because it doesn't seem real to me. I seriously have nightmares where I get a phone call and it's excelsior telling me they looked over my documentation and found something wrong with it so they have to fail me! LOL....I swear I am such a mess! I don't think anything could have prepared me for just how stressful those 3 days would be. I've been a cardiac nurse for 15 years, and I am so confident, but all that goes out the window during CPNE! I am so glad to have that behind me. I am actually looking forward to the NCLEX, because I used an NCLEX book to study for all of my nursing exams. At least I won't have one of the CE's staring at me the whole time!

I would highly recommend York Hospital as a testing site. The CA and CE's were very nice (as nice as they could be), and tried their best to put everyone at ease. It was more laid back than I thought it would be, and even so, I was a wreck!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I had the same PTSD-type dreams after my CPNE in 2008 -- stuff like dreaming that I got a phone call that there was just ONE MORE PCS to complete before I'd really be done! Ugh. The dreams faded after a couple of weeks. :) Congratulations on your success!!

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Specializes in LTC, Clinic, Med/Surg, Ortho.

Congratulations!!! :D

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Specializes in Revenue Integrity, Rehab, RAC Auditor.

:cheers::ancong!::cheers:

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Specializes in Wound Care, LTC, Sub-Acute, Vents.

awesome! congrats! i only had the "ptsd" for a couple of days but yup i actually called tina in pa (my workshop instructor) and asked her if ec can take away tha pass because i thought i forgot to document something when i was driving back home. haha.

the nclex-rn would be a piece of cake after the cpne!!

good luck!

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Specializes in LTC, Family Practice, Meg/Surg.

Congrats! I felt the same way after....in shock, denial, and said the same things to myself! LOL....I feel the same way about the boards...CPNE definitely scared me more than the boards will! Especially since we have the experience from LPN boards already. (the testing experience, at least) GOOD LUCK :D

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Specializes in Surgery, Med/Surg/ICU, OB-Peds, Ophth.

Congrats on passing! I have to admit that this thread is actually making me nervous. Maybe I need to be more nervous than I am :eek: How long did it take you to get your CPNE date? Did you use a workshop? Congrats again on this milestone :)

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Specializes in ED.

Congrats on passing!!! Take a break then conquer the Nclex, it should be easy compared to Excelsior.

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Specializes in LTC, Family Practice, Meg/Surg.
Congrats on passing! I have to admit that this thread is actually making me nervous. Maybe I need to be more nervous than I am :eek: How long did it take you to get your CPNE date? Did you use a workshop? Congrats again on this milestone :)

Was this directed towards me or OP? I wasn't sure but I'll answer anyway :o I received a date within 2 days of requesting one, and it was 3 months away. I was offered one for only 2 months away, but I was too scared and wanted to keep it 3 months away....I took Tina Logan's workshop in PA...I highly recommend it!

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Thanks for all the congrats! To answer the question about getting a CPNE date, you will test when you WANT to test. I picked a date and I got that date, so make sure you don't put a date that is sooner than you'll think you'll be ready. I took Sheri Taylor's workshop in person and online. I would highly recommend the online workshop. The in person workshop was great too, but I think I could have done it just as well with only the online. That being said, I work in a hospital and my manager was kind enough to "lend" me tons of equipment and supplies to work with at home. I had an IV pole in my bedroom, and a real sharps container with TONS of needles in it! I bet my hospitals profits went down a bit last month.:rolleyes: Anyway, I think the online videos were great, it was worth it for the careplan videos alone. I could write a great careplan in about 5 minutes, and NOT have to revise it afterwards. That saved me tons of time. My biggest piece of advice would be to get some xanax and start taking it two weeks before to get used to it. I am NOT a nervous person, but I honestly don't think I would have passed without it. I cannot stress enough how "intense" this weekend is. I had several friends try to describe it to me, but it's something you just have to experience to understand. That being said, it is TOTALLY doable. I only studied for 3 weeks, but I spent about 6 hours a day, 4 days a week practicing. Good luck!

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Specializes in Tele/Neuro/Trauma.
Thanks for all the congrats! To answer the question about getting a CPNE date, you will test when you WANT to test. I picked a date and I got that date, so make sure you don't put a date that is sooner than you'll think you'll be ready. I took Sheri Taylor's workshop in person and online. I would highly recommend the online workshop. The in person workshop was great too, but I think I could have done it just as well with only the online. That being said, I work in a hospital and my manager was kind enough to "lend" me tons of equipment and supplies to work with at home. I had an IV pole in my bedroom, and a real sharps container with TONS of needles in it! I bet my hospitals profits went down a bit last month.:rolleyes: Anyway, I think the online videos were great, it was worth it for the careplan videos alone. I could write a great careplan in about 5 minutes, and NOT have to revise it afterwards. That saved me tons of time. My biggest piece of advice would be to get some xanax and start taking it two weeks before to get used to it. I am NOT a nervous person, but I honestly don't think I would have passed without it. I cannot stress enough how "intense" this weekend is. I had several friends try to describe it to me, but it's something you just have to experience to understand. That being said, it is TOTALLY doable. I only studied for 3 weeks, but I spent about 6 hours a day, 4 days a week practicing. Good luck!

Thanks for posting your story!!! I am worried I will not have the $$ for the in person workshop and I was hoping an online one would suffice. I was also thinking about buying Rob's DVD set. We just went to a different IV pump at my hospital and we got rid of all the piggyback sets and secondary tubing. I wish I had known I was gonna be this close to CPNE when they threw them out last year!

Great advice about the Xanax too. I was thinking about that. I am a really laid back person and I do well under stress... but I know the CPNE will be a challenge.

Anyway, congrats on your success!! Good luck on your boards :-)

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Specializes in Telemetry.
Thanks for posting your story!!! I am worried I will not have the $$ for the in person workshop and I was hoping an online one would suffice. I was also thinking about buying Rob's DVD set. We just went to a different IV pump at my hospital and we got rid of all the piggyback sets and secondary tubing. I wish I had known I was gonna be this close to CPNE when they threw them out last year!

Great advice about the Xanax too. I was thinking about that. I am a really laid back person and I do well under stress... but I know the CPNE will be a challenge.

Anyway, congrats on your success!! Good luck on your boards :-)

I used ALL of Rob's mnemonics, and his flashcards. I wrote out my mnemonics on the side of my paper during the skills station and I took my time and just did them step by step. I knew I had to pass the skills part with no repeats or I'd be too nervous during the PCS's. I set up my own skill stations at home and practiced over and over until I knew I could do it twice in the amount of time given. Beg, borrow or steal supplies. I used a swimming noodle and inserted an IV into it and used that to practice my IV push station. The noodle lets you inject the saline into it and it's as close as you can get to the one they use. I put an id band on it and it worked perfectly. I used another piece of the noodle to attach the wound, and another piece to practice my IM/SQ station. I really need to make a video of the way I packed my wound. I think I'll do that next week sometime. I folded up my gauze into something I called my "wonton" and when placed in the wound you only needed to "unwrap" the wonton and it fit perfectly. I would sit in bed watching movies and just "fold the wonton, place the wonton into the wound" over and over until I was like the karate kid! My fingers would be like prunes from the wet saline but I just kept doing it over and over. Good luck!

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