Skills testing for washington state only

[Rachelmatthews]

Im taking my cna test soon. Pretty sure ill pass written but its the skills im worried about. For example, when doing blood pressure, i can usually hear it ok on my cheap set i bought to practice at home as long as its completly silent. I couldnt hear it at all at school and i cant hear it when i do it on residents at my job now in an assisted living facility, using the expensive ones. I dont know if theres something wrong with my hearing. I have an appointment to get it tested but cant get in until oct... so worried i will be given this skill and i will fail. I know how to do it, i know proper way of positioning ear peices and everything, i just cant hear the sounds, even sometimes when its completly silent. Also worried i will fail radial pulse. I can find the pulse only on someone wit a very strong pulse. No matter how much i try and feel i cant feel it unless its very strong. I dont know why. And i can feel it til it gets to between 12 and 20 beats and then it feels like it starts missing beats or something because i cant feel it really anymore and im not moving my fingers at all. Im using my two first fingers like im supposed to... any ideas?

[Wiggly Litchi]

For radial pulse, here's a little trick:

move two fingers to the squishy part at the base of the thumb, then scoot them down 1inch - this should put you in a good spot to feel the radial pulse. Don't forget to only press as hard as you need to - depending on the patient, you may not need to press much at all. Practice on yourself! ? It's one of those things that takes a couple of tries, but once you find the sweet spot, you'll be able to pick it up on others easier too.

For blood pressure - make sure the cuff is on tight enough (but not too tight!) and your steth is in the right position. Do you have someone at home you can practice on? Or a friend?