Tips for passing clinical tests?

anonymousstudent · Mar 18, 2011

I think it's so odd that you have bed making in nursing school. Didn't you have to get your CNA before you started?

Anyway, do they give you a check off list before you go in of things you have to do to pass the skill?

When I was doing these (thank God I'm done with check offs!!!) I would always take an extra pair of gloves, an extra trash bag, and double of whatever I needed. That way if I dropped something or contaminated something, I didn't have to walk away from my set up to get another. Get yourself organized and think through what might happen when you're in there and plan for everything to go wrong, that way you're ready.

BacktotheBeach, ADN, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2011

We have a book of clinical skills, I study the steps in that. Then I go to Youtube. There are tons of videos performing the same skills we have for our checkoffs. They really help!

semester1kid · Mar 19, 2011

I think it's so odd that you have bed making in nursing school. Didn't you have to get your CNA before you started?
Anyway, do they give you a check off list before you go in of things you have to do to pass the skill?
When I was doing these (thank God I'm done with check offs!!!) I would always take an extra pair of gloves, an extra trash bag, and double of whatever I needed. That way if I dropped something or contaminated something, I didn't have to walk away from my set up to get another. Get yourself organized and think through what might happen when you're in there and plan for everything to go wrong, that way you're ready.

I think they may have meant 'lab test'...I'm in an ADN program and we had to take similar clinical type tests in lab (bed making, transferring/turning patients, med admin, etc) But anyway, as the op said, it's mostly easy stuff, but pretty tough when critical eyes are watching. You basically just have to relax, take a deep breath and realize you know what you're doing. And just in case, make sure you're well practiced in the area being tested...it's one thing to have a good idea of what you're doing in your head and being able to do it to the point where you could almost do it in your sleep.

In all, I think a lot of students brush over the stuff they learn in lab - probably because it's usually pretty easy stuff (learning the 5 rights with med admin for example)....but it's not about generally knowing...it's about making it second nature.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Mar 19, 2011

I think it's so odd that you have bed making in nursing school. Didn't you have to get your CNA before you started?

Not all programs require you to get your CNA before you start. Mine didn't.

OP - for my school, we had a book we used for lab, called Clinical Nursing Skills by Perry & Potter. I would study all of the steps in there and for our test-outs, they would give us a check list of things they were expecting to do, so I would also study that. Our lab also offered open practice times so if yours does the same I would try to take advantage of that opportunity to work on your skills. Sometimes a couple hours of "scheduled" lab isn't enough.

I felt my instructors didn't really give much guidance except for when we were really stuck, they would try to hint us before taking off points (they knew we were really nervous!)

semester1kid · Mar 19, 2011

Not all programs require you to get your CNA before you start. Mine didn't.
OP - for my school, we had a book we used for lab, called Clinical Nursing Skills by Perry & Potter. I would study all of the steps in there and for our test-outs, they would give us a check list of things they were expecting to do, so I would also study that. Our lab also offered open practice times so if yours does the same I would try to take advantage of that opportunity to work on your skills. Sometimes a couple hours of "scheduled" lab isn't enough.
I felt my instructors didn't really give much guidance except for when we were really stuck, they would try to hint us before taking off points (they knew we were really nervous!)

That's the impression I got - although I can't vouch for it. Actually, nervous or not, if you screwed up, they pretty much failed you on the particular clinical test. Upon retesting, they took 'nervousness' into consideration in their approach of how they tested you. For example, on BP, I totally dropped the ball and had to be retested (and it wasn't a matter of not knowing what to do - it was all nerve related)...upon retesting, the instructor wanted me to do 'a practice or two' before retesting. Obvously I was more relaxed while not being graded, I did fine...the instructor counted that as my 'pass'...the 'practice' was indeed my retake.

semester1kid · Mar 19, 2011

My impression - without wanting to sound absolute about this - is that there is plenty of other areas in nursing school that are tough and have a fair level of 'risk to fail factor' involved. Lab and the associated clinical test as well as med calc tests are not the areas they want to see you fail in. In otherwords, you have to work hard to pass lecture...but conversely you also have to 'work' (or lack there of) to fail lab. While my class has dwindled away as I'm sure many of yours have, no one fail because of lab or the med calc exam

jerep · Mar 19, 2011

Thank you for all your responses. I just feel frustrated that she was telling me to "figure it out" and she was giving other students instruction on what to do. I didn't feel that was fair at all. It wasn't that I didn't know what I was doing, I just wasn't sure on how she wanted things.

Using my laundry example, in my lab there is no "dirty" area. So when I put it on the side table I made sure I said this is my dirty area. I'm frustrated because I knew that you need to take dirty laundry out of the room but she never would answer me where (when she did to other students after me) so I just took the linen and tried to make it clear that this was the dirty area. I got points off for not taking laundry with me.

I feel like she purposely attacked me/made me fail because I was first. Because she vocalized that I was doing it "all wrong, but keep going" so it just snowballed after that.

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2011

I failed my bed making test yesterday and I'm so down.
I know how to make a bed, I just broke down. I went first and my instructor gave us no guidance. This was only our second test of the term (first term) and she gave me no instruction on how to test would go. I kept turning to her and asking where things went.
For example I had my dirty linens and I said where is the laundry? (there was no saying this is where dirty laundry goes) she just shrugged her shoulders and said you are the nurse. So I put them on a side table and I said this is my dirty area. She said "how many tables to do you have?" and then at the end of the lab she said "you never took your dirty linen out" and I assisted my 'patient' to a chair and then made my unoccupied bed and she said I never talked to my patient, but she never said that my patient was in the room or that I should be talking to her. Like not even during the test she never said that even when she was teaching us.
I'm just so frustrated and I don't want to get on her bad side but I feel lost and she isn't giving enough instruction. I feel like a big failure.
So, any tips for dealing with this/passing lab tests?
**Also I went first so I had assumed that she would give a little instruction, the people who went next benefited from seeing my mistakes! it bothered me so much.
***The next students she told where the dirty laundry area was!!! That bothered me!! It's like she wanted me to fail.

Your teacher sounds like giant a hole. I can't believe you test over that. Our bed making consisted of a video that lasted about nine minutes.

Jonathank · Mar 19, 2011

If there's not a laundry hamper, put the dirty linens into a pillow case.

metabolicfrolic · Mar 19, 2011

Our RN program has bedmaking included as well. I got one of the more... critical instructors. My mitred corners are usually beyond perfect, but her comments to me were such that I couldn't stay on my game. As soon as I left the room I cried.

I learned that if you do not have a laundry hamper in your patient's room, you never, never, NEVER put the used linens directly on the floor. You put a towel down first.

This is what works for me: (if you can) go first. It's been my experience that the instructors are usually aggravated after the first few students do check-offs. They are never running on time, they may be disappointed or having to fail other students. If you screw up, be the first one to do so.

If you can't go first, know the steps to each procedure by heart. Yes it is a pain. Have your friends do the procedures with you and get them to critique you. Our more "critical" instructors seem to start drilling you (asking all sorts of if this, then what, why) at the first sign of hesitancy. Do everything with confidence and purpose and they won't have a reason to start drilling you down.

Our program has dvd videos for most skills. If you don't have that, try youtube. You can quiz yourself by trying to outline the steps of the procedure, then watching the video to see what you forget.

Stcroix, ASN, PhD, RN · Mar 20, 2011

My comment would be, try to take the guesswork out of your checkoffs. See the Prof personally and express you desire to do well. Ask if she could demonstrate the skill for you and/ or the class. Ask if you could demonstrate your skills before the exam and have her critique you. Why wait until the exam to see you weren't prepared? Steal the thunder before it occurs. Even if you are turned down in the request for prep time, you will have communicated your desire to succeed, that can't hurt!