Well, I thought this thread might stick around a bit longer if the title was more obvious. So, I am posting my cpne experience here instead of "Anticoag nurse passed the cpne"... I'll start with general tips from my experience: I also have a very long journal recollection type thing (4 typed pages of my pcs experiences and a long 2 page recall of my sim labs). I really think they are too lengthy to post here, so if you would like, pm me and I will email them and please feel free to keep and pass on to others in the future.
CPNE Tips
Arrive at the location the day before and practice driving or bussing or getting yourself to the hospital.
Bring music that 1) pumps you up, 2) relaxes you and makes you happy. I did not bring music and really wished I had. It would have added to my feeling of having some sort of choices and autonomy, and would have helped distract me.
If you are traveling 3 time zones away like I did, consider practicing a week in advance getting up at "0230". I traveled from west to east coast and the time zone thing really messed me up badly. I was already a frazzled mess, let alone lack of sleep!
Bring bath salts and a tea-light candle to relax by.
Bring a small item that reminds you of home.
Come with a loved one. I thought I would be fine on my own but I was a wreck. It really would have helped having my husband along to hold me, coach me, and be around to listen to and distract me.
Trust your mnemonics. Do not stray from your grid. Keep your grid in viewable distance the entire time. I failed one pcs because I had no-where to set my grid but the windowsill and didn't look at it during respiratory management. I missed a critical element (coughing) I knew in my head (had a nagging feeling), but would have caught it if my grid were in sight! Check critical elements off as you complete them.
Do the implementation phase in phases. Leave the room for 15-20 minutes at least once to catch up on planning, thinking and documenting as you go.
Document on your grid as you go along and transfer to your pcs recording form later. Group patient care activities, and remember assessments and managements don't all have to be linear. Do bits and pieces as opportunities present.
Feed the patient questions that relate to your nursing dx. Example: for impaired comfort, ask the patient if they are stiff, sore or feeling grimy, etc. For impaired physical mobility, ask if they feel off balance when they walk or stand, or weakness, etc. Get them to tell you what nursing dx is appropriate to them.
Doing vitals twice is not necessary when you use machines for bp or spo2 or temp. This is according to my ce's.
Don't spend a lot of time in the planning phase. Just pick some sort of reasonable nursing dx and interventions quickly. You will have limited knowledge of the patient and you will probably have to revise any nursing dx and interventions anyway. Do your thing in implementation and then allow what you've already done to direct you in choosing a priority dx and interventions during the evaluation phase.
When you have a question about anything, ask the ce. The worst they can do is say they cannot answer the question or, maybe give you a partial answer that guides you in the right direction.
Be attuned to your ce's body language. They may inadvertently cue you into things you are missing!
If during implementation, the ce interrupts and asks, "have you completed the critical elements for blah blah assessment/management?” immediately say, "no, I would like to review my papers.” then, think madly and try to figure out why they asked you that. If they ask this, it may mean you are about to fail and you may have a chance to correct your mistake if you can figure out what you missed. They will not ask you this question if you are doing everything correctly.
During evaluation and documentation, check your grid against your pcs recording form at least 3 times before turning in. Make yourself a system for marking off your grid as you go and then as you document. One student my weekend failed a pcs for not documenting pain of 0, even though the ce and the student both knew she assessed the patient's pain at least 5 times during implementation. If it is not documented, it wasn't done.
Mark a line on the cup the patient is using if there is liquid in it, at the beginning of the implementation phase. This will help you accurately measure intake later.
Bring the mar into the room with you to document when you give meds. Saves time.
Keep a whole bunch of gloves in your pocket. Glove whenever you have doubt (touching washcloth, foley bag tubing, tray, etc.) even if you wouldn't in real life. Be sure to remove gloves if contaminated before touching something else in room, such as the curtain or bathroom doorknob, or your pen.
In planning phase, don't spend too much time with the kardex or the chart. You will learn so much more directly from the patient and it will save you time. You can always look something up later if needed. You don't need to know everything about the patient.
Smile at your ce, they really want you to succeed if you have any business succeeding.
Specializes in LTC, Urogynecology, Nurse Management,.
While "filling in" as a Nurse Manager initially for about a month, our facility had a state survey (of course) which everyone had expected. We did fine on state survey even being short staffed. What we did not expect was that about two weeks later..federal surveyors walked in! I persoanally had never heard of federal survey at the time. I was passing meds because the day nurse had called in. I had to do what was necessary and pass meds as well as Manage the Unit with care conferences etc. I was beside myself for a split second when I was told Federal surveyors were there. I had only been filling in for Nurse Manager for a couple weeks!
Of course they wanted to see me passing meds which was fine. Then...they wanted to see me do My wound rounds (a duty of Nurse Manager) My floor had the worst wound in the facility.
I asked an RN to come in to assist, (she was the in service educator) I washed my hands as I always do, kept myself as calm as possible and did very well I thought.
At the end of the survey they commented on the wound care I had given In the exit. I was so relieved! The way I will approach the CPNE when it comes time will be with the same nervousness I am certain. However, I feel like alot of us as nurses have had to deal with very stressful situations all along, and we draw from those experiences and learn to adapt and do what is necessary to get things done in a caring, professional manner.
Not saying I will not be nervous, I definately will. All I am saying is that we are always watched over at different times in our jobs, by people looking for us to do something wrong. Take a deep breath, provide good quality care to your patient, and walk away having done your best.
I will study and go to a workshop. I have quite a distance to go before I get to my CPNE and i appreciate all the feedback on other peoples experiences with the clinical weekend.
God willing, the end result will be a positive one from the CE.
Specializes in LTC, Urogynecology, Nurse Management,.
Thanks, I will put my faith in God, and study, study, study! Then give it my best. :wink2: So sorry for your loss, It had to be a very difficult time for you on top of school. You made it, and I'm happy for you.
Congrats to you passing it your first time, Thats Great!
Click on my name top left corner of each posting. Choose the second option, "Send a private message to ..." The rest should be self explanatory.
Hello, anticoagulationurse, please I would really love you to send me those files but I don't have a way of sending you a private message, is it possible for you to send me a private message so that I can send you my email address?, I would really appreciate that kind of help please it's at all possible for you. Thanks a lot!
Hello. How are you all? I've been reading this post and have noticed that anticoagulationnurse hasn't responded in a while but thought to ask anyone here who could please send me a copy of her notes. I would really appreciate her notes and the 22 file attachments regarding her CPNE experience. I'm far from the CPNE stage but I feel as if I got a hand of something, it will keep me confident and my fears at bay.
Thank you in advance for anything you have to offer. Please let me know who to PM my e-mail address cause I know it's against allnurses' policy to post one's e-mail address on here.
Hi, all! I don't have any files, but would be happy to give you a breakdown of my CPNE experience. It may take me a few days to get it all together, but I passed last July, first try. It's not complicated, but there's a lot of information that is out there to help you. I'd be happy to give you my experience, and I agree that knowing some of what you can expect will go a long way in alleviating a lot of the fear! You might also check on Yahoo, there's a group that I belonged to throughout my Excelsior journey called "nontradnurses" and those members were invaluable to me.
Keep watching, I'll get you a detailed description soon!
I too would appreciate it if kdsharp would send me his insights on the CPNE. Also, if anyone else reading this thread has the files from anticoagulationurse please email me a copy.
LIZ31
23 Posts
While "filling in" as a Nurse Manager initially for about a month, our facility had a state survey (of course) which everyone had expected. We did fine on state survey even being short staffed. What we did not expect was that about two weeks later..federal surveyors walked in! I persoanally had never heard of federal survey at the time. I was passing meds because the day nurse had called in. I had to do what was necessary and pass meds as well as Manage the Unit with care conferences etc. I was beside myself for a split second when I was told Federal surveyors were there. I had only been filling in for Nurse Manager for a couple weeks!
Of course they wanted to see me passing meds which was fine. Then...they wanted to see me do My wound rounds (a duty of Nurse Manager) My floor had the worst wound in the facility.
I asked an RN to come in to assist, (she was the in service educator) I washed my hands as I always do, kept myself as calm as possible and did very well I thought.
At the end of the survey they commented on the wound care I had given In the exit. I was so relieved! The way I will approach the CPNE when it comes time will be with the same nervousness I am certain. However, I feel like alot of us as nurses have had to deal with very stressful situations all along, and we draw from those experiences and learn to adapt and do what is necessary to get things done in a caring, professional manner.
Not saying I will not be nervous, I definately will. All I am saying is that we are always watched over at different times in our jobs, by people looking for us to do something wrong. Take a deep breath, provide good quality care to your patient, and walk away having done your best.
I will study and go to a workshop. I have quite a distance to go before I get to my CPNE and i appreciate all the feedback on other peoples experiences with the clinical weekend.
God willing, the end result will be a positive one from the CE.