Really Need Some Advice

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I'm planning to apply for the Fall 2017 semester of nursing school. I have no nursing experience, so I'm hoping to get a job as a CNA this summer. I took and passed my CNA class, and in February I took the skills and written exams. Passed written, failed skills. I am sending in my application to retake tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to get my certification in April, which will allow me to get a job by May once I have a vehicle. The thing is, I'm terrified that I'll just fail again. If I fail this time, I won't be able to retake it and get a job by May. So, for those of you who have passed, I want to know how you guys have studied for the skills test. Any tricks or tips for forgetting things due to being nervous? And if I fail this time should I just consider working at an assisted living facility where there is no certification needed? Would that not look as good as the CNA certification (my nursing program doesn't require a CNA license)?

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Specializes in Long term care.

Get out your CNA workbook and practice, practice, practice! Get someone to act as your patient if you can...if not, use your imagination.

Remember the most important steps are hand washing and patient safety. When in doubt, wash your hands.

SAY the steps out loud as you do them....even when you are testing will help with nerves.

All you can do is practice.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

Take your time while doing the skills. If you have to stop and think, stop and think. Yes, there's a time limit but there's no need to rush. Go over the skills at home, practice. Good luck!

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YouTube videos!! I just passed my written and skills tests last week without taking a class. All I did was read the manual and watch the videos. I also practiced once or twice with someone acting as the patient and me talking through what I would do. Here's a link to one of the videos I used, if you click on the account for that person you can get videos for all the skills:

. Also, when I was taking the skills test, I talked through everything. If I was giving catheter care, I made sure to state that I was not overexposing the patient while I was washing the tubing. Good luck - you can do this!
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Specializes in Critical Care Transport, Cardiac ICU, Rapid.

Things to always remember on the state test: Wash hands before anything, as soon as you walk in give privacy, bed in lowest position and call light at end of task, wash hands at end of task. Other than that verbalize every step youre doing and it'll be cake. Just wait till you have nursing school skills check offs ;)

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I watched the you tube videos and I set up a mock exam room in my house. My friend volunteered to be the patient and I would do mock runs. That really helped because I would verbalize each step (she had the book and would let me know when I missed one) and it helped me with my time. I had two water skills on my skills exam which made me glad I had practiced. Where are you planning on taking it? My instructor gave us a list of facilities to avoid. I took mine at Seni, it was recommended to me by my instructor.

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Thanks for the tips and resources everyone! Tomorrow is the big day, I'll be taking my test in Montgomery, Alabama in the morning. In less than 24 hours, I'll know if I defeated this hurdle...wish me luck! My main thing will be staying calm and not getting too nervous. I also need to make sure I don't rush because I'm worried about time limit...that's what happened last time.

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