The Fear of the Skills Test

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I have read so many posts, and shared in some of them, about the fear we all face taking the skills part of the exam.

I was terrified going into mine! Scared to death, legs like rubber bands, hands shaking, brain swimming, nausea, wanting to just bolt out of there, or not even going, all of it. I was more afraid of the test than I as my first day of clinicals.

I know we are afraid of failing, it is an important test, but no one freaks out as much about the written part, and that is just as important.

So, why do we freak so badly at this part of the test? We have done the skills first hand on real patients/residents/clients in our clinicals, and had practice in the lab before hand. Those who challenge I assume have had some hands on experience, so why the major freak out? I ask as much for myself, as much as for others. I couldn't really explain why I was so, so scared!

Is it the fact that it is a test, the whole test phobia thing? Is it the person sitting there watching every move you make with their clipboard? (that is what it was in my case, I think)

I think so many fail this part because of the fear. Its not that we dont know what to do, it is our brains are stuck on being afraid and we go blank, make mistakes we would not normaly make (I forgot to rinse the soap on the front during female pericare, one of the skill I drew, and being female, well, that would be OUCH!, I never did that in clinicals)

What made you afraid, tell it here, if we crash this wall down, we won't be afraid of the skills anymore!

I would prefer to not have horror stories about bad promissors etc. here, unless that is something you are afraid of happening. (and arent we all, with the horror stories of nitpicking and just bad people)

If we face the fears, we are not afraid of them anymore.

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I take my test on the 27th and I'm afraid that I'm going to be a noncompliant patient and not know what to do, or not be able to do my skill. I hate that Texas has you do the skills on real people in LTC's.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

My school had a practice session the week before the test so the skills & info would be fresh in our minds( we had finished the class a month before). I don't think it was the test that bothered me..really it was the proctor! She was sooo intimidating :(

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Its completely natural for you to be nervous. I think in the grand scheme of things, this is just a small moment in time. It will not make or break you, you will either pass or fail. If you fail you will get to retest and will probably pass. So don't worry so much. I always ask myself when I'm faced with situations like that, " Is this something that is going to bother me 20 years from now?" "Will I look back on this and say how silly it was to make such a big deal out of it?" I know its silly, but it gets me though rough times. Go for the goal and you will make it. Even if it takes you two or three times, you WILL be CNA. Good luck to you all and I hope you pass.:heartbeat

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If you ever get the time, search Youtube for CNA Skills Eveluation. They're videos of nurses/proctors from the Red Cross teaching how to perform the skills for the state exam.

The funny part is that they (the actual practors) make so many mistakes that they could have failed them selves for that. They touch sinks with goves on, expose patients, don't wash their hands properly, don't introduce themselves to the patients and contaminate everything.

These are the people evaluating us. Next time you take the test, don't be nervous they suck too when they're being watched.:D

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Specializes in LTC.

It's normal to wig out. It's the last step to becoming a CNA and even though it's a test, it feels more like an audition. It's a lot less common to freak out about the written test because everyone takes hundreds of multiple choice tests throughout middle and high school, so there's a certain level of comfort there.

Just remember most people pass it with no problems, and if you don't, you can always take it again. Youc an talk your way through all of the tasks and if you make a mistake you can usually "take it back" before the skill is over with no consequences.

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I'm scared since its on a real person and not a manequin for my skills that I wont be able to take it back :( I'm super nervous about this and its only a week away now :(

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I found that having a live person, as opposed to a dummy, made it easier for me. It's hard for me to pretend to chitchat with a dummy, and the actor in my test was able to give me "cues" by her reactions. Like when I had the bedpan upside down. :-)

Keep things in perspective-- evaluators would prefer to pass than fail you. Make sure you don't forget the basic steps associated with every skill (knock, wash, introduce, lock wheels, pull curtain) and that you wash your hands and change gloves whenever you come in contact with anything that might be soiled (if you're not sure, do it anyway). After the skill, pull the curtain and wash your hands. Write the critical parts of each skill on flash cards. If you know certain skills give you more anxiety, practice those the most. Your evaluators are looking mostly at your grasp of the basics: Infection control (handwashing, glove changes), patient safety, and privacy.

Some students do everything perfectly. Most aren't perfect, but do well enough to achieve a pass rating. I know our instructors made it seem like we had to be absolutely perfect, but the truth is, the evaluators are just looking to make sure you know the critical steps, and have a good working grasp of the skill itself. As in, you KNOW WHY you're doing what you're doing, not just going through steps like an automaton.

I was very scared too. I got to the facility (never been there before) at 8 am, and didn't get to take my skills test until 4:00. All day I watched other candidates come back from their skills test in various states of relief and despair. By the time it was my turn, I was so jacked on adrenaline I barely remember taking it. I had almost 15 minutes left over, which didn't make any sense to me. I knew that I must have failed, but after waiting 5 days, I found out I passed. It certainly wasn't the most pleasant day I've ever spent, but keep a positive attitude and talk your way through the skills test if you feel like your mind may go blank. That helps a LOT.

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I really appreciate the advice. I'm going to practice like crazy this next week and see what happens. We're supposed to find out the same day before we're even able to take the written part of the test if we passed the skills exam. That 5 day wait would kill me!!

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I think it's mostly the fear of the unknown. I just tested yesterday (passed who hoo), best advice review all the skills you could be tested on. Our book had nifty little pull out pages with the critical steps bolded. We also knew what groupings of skills we could draw, so it helped me to practice all 10 groupings like I had drawn them (each group had 5 skills). Good luck, you'll do great!

Oh and if you draw ambulating remember the shoes, I forgot :imbar.

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Practice and don't take any short cuts. Count the pulse for the full 60 seconds. Good luck!

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Great stories and advice so far everyone!

lorelei1973, I also had the witten test 8am and my skills were not till 4pm! (also somewhere I had never been before) I didn't stay at the facility after the written part, I went home and came back. I don't think my nerves could have taken sitting there all day freaking out about my test mates responses as they left!

To the poster who said it is like an audition, you may be onto something there. We are acting while doing the skills test, onstage alone so to speak, it is not "real life". Interesting as some would rather it be all that way, and some would have it be in in an actual clinical situation. Hmm, Any thoughts on that?

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