Someone tell me to stop.....

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Ok, my test date is rapidly approaching and in the last week I've read terrible things about my CPNE site - Racine! I'm trying to stay focused on the positives! However, I am SCARED out of my mind!! The success stories just seem to be few and far in between there and it I know I shouldn't be focusing on that! It seems to linger in my brain - a lot! They're also plagued with the 8-ply gauze (which I practice with) and the final straw was reading that someone failed for their gauze being too flat.

Going to be laying low on the EPN these last final days.. may be around here more for sanity purposes!

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

Racine and the other Wisconsin sites have had a great reputation for as long as I can remember. But the students who fail their CPNEs will always be more vocal about a site ... but that was their experience. Your experience will be yours alone. :) Did I ever tell you that right when I got to Mansfield and logged onto the EPN, someone who had just tested there the previous weekend (and failed) posted something like, "No one ever passes at Mansfield!" OMG, I thought I was going to throw up. And then I had a great experience there, even with my one (bonehead) PCS failure.

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You had better snap out of it. That is too much money to throw away because you managed to psych yourself out of this. If you want to put it into perspective, think how you would feel if you absolutely, could not take the CPNE because you did not have the money, then read about how someone is wasting their precious chance at success. Clear your mind. Do absolutely nothing for a few hours or a day, if you start in with the negative thinking. Best to stay away from that EPN. It can be more trouble than it is worth.

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Thank you both for the reality checks!! I felt the need to vent somewhere else other than the EPN. I really appreciate it!

I took a few hours off yesterday (fell asleep during the USA-Canada hockey game) oops! I am feeling better now and ready to get going again!!

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Specializes in LTC/Behavioral/ Hospice.

Stop! Racine is the place you will always remember because you passed the CPNE! :)

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.

Don't do it to yourself! There are several people that fail at all the testing sites but that did not stop me. My friend failed at my testing site 2 months before me and I still passed. Why? Because I was prepared and I took control of my nerves. That weekend only 5 out of 11 passed at the Utica site. There's no denying the numbers but you have to focus more on your skills and knowing your critical elements. They can tell when your prepared. Now get back to work!

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When I applied to get a cancellation date in New York... people warned me that they are tougher there because that is the home of Excelsior. Now I doubt that all the things you have read is a true representation of how the site is. But even is it is... if you know your stuff, and you do everything right, then they can't fail you. That's the attitude I had. I said to myself that I don't care how tough they are in NY (if that's even really the case) I am not going to give them a reason to fail me. And I didn't. Passed all my labs and PCSs on the first try. YOU are the only person that will keep you from passing this. So relax... you can do this!!!

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Thanks for the support!! I do know the critical elements! I keep telling myself they can't fail me if I perform the critical elements correctly and on time. I wish I had more confidence in the labs. That's where a workshop would have benefited me. I've been sitting in front of my tv practicing IV pushes all night long. ahh! Until I was getting mad at myself for being off every 15 seconds and realized I was totally dividing by the wrong number. That was my hint to stop!

Time for bed!!

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Specializes in ER.

I tested in Racine and had a wonderful experience, stressful but wonderful. Know your stuff and you won't have any problems. Go with the flow of things and you should do well. Best of luck to you!

ERlissy

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Stop!

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