Want to hear about my huge BOMB at my state skills exam???

[naide88]

in my state, we are given 5 skills and we have to pass all 5 skills in 25 minutes in order to pass the exam.

okay, so here is my story:

about eight of us were waiting in a classroom for an hour while two others completed their test. i was up next. someone told me "you're not nervous yet, but when she (the examiner) calls your name, that's when your heart will start beating fast..."

and it did!!!!!

for my test, i got washes hands (like everybody does), measures and records blood pressure, provides mouth care, feeds client who cannot feed self, and puts one knee-high elastic stocking on client.

when i saw "blood pressure", that is when i started shaking. all the different tests were in a notebook so i felt like just turning the page and taking a different test!

right when the time started i just started washing my hands, and halfway through i remembered i had to introduce myself to the client first. so i had to finish doing that and then wash my hands, which was about 2-3 minutes off my time - it should have only been 1 (and maybe 1 min 30 seconds)

i go to get the blood pressure cuff and i knock the supplies to provide mouth care on the floor, and i spend about a minute picking them off the floor. then, i had to take the person's blood pressure 3 times because when i pumped it up the first time to 160, i heard his beat at 150. the second time i forgot what his blood pressure was, so i took it again!.

this whole process took atleast 13 minutes - so by the time i went to clean their teeth i only had 7 minutes left. it did not seem like that long!

by the time i finished cleaning their teeth and getting ready for the next skill, time ran out.

i was so embarrassed because i knew the skills by heart and i was just nervous. there were people in the classroom waiting who hadn't even seen the handbook or said they just learned the skills yesterday. i was studying the skills two weeks before that plus my clinical exp and my class exp.

anyway...advice i could give people on taking the skill test is just to be cautious of your time and just do the skills that are in your handbook and not any extra skills. i think now that i could have introduced myself to the client after i finished washing my hands because that skill wasn't in bold, and i should have left the supplies for cleaning the mouth on the floor until the next skill - even though that is completely unsanitary!!!!! i don't know about the blood pressure though - next time i won't forget the numbers, but it does say in the handbook that if you hear the beat immediately on deflation, deflate the cuff completely. was 150 immediately after 160??

thanks for reading, hopefully this gives others an idea of what the skill test is like.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

Sorry you had to go through that! If you don't make it, believe me make that appointment to test again. I can honestly say that next time you definately will do better. I'm a 3rd semester nursing student and many fellow students took their LPN state board test just so they will know what to expect on the NCLEX. You now know exactly what to expect. This may sound weird, but when they call your name, pause at the door before entering and take a big cleansing breath and let it out slowly, feel your fears leave with your breath. Smile upon entering and go for it. Can you bring something to write the bp down on? I always write mine down on a small pad I bring into the room otherwise I too forget. I also take it and say what is was out loud. This helps me to remember. Good luck!

[aundrea543]

My test is scheduled for June 5th. I'm a bundle of nerves and it's nice to hear from people who've experienced this. I do want to encourage you to go back if you didn't pass. I had a friend who failed it in 03' and never went back to get certified. She could just kick herself for letting all her hard work go to waste, so please don't make the same mistake. Good luck and thanks again for sharing :wink2:

[naide88]

I'm scheduled to take the test again on June 7th.

[CLUVRN, MSN, RN]

The key is not to get nervous before and during the test; you have the skills down pat; just perform them as you would if it weren't test day. I took and passed my Boards about a year ago and was one of the first to perform the skills in front of the facilitator. I just told myself, relax, be natural, you'll do fine. And I did! Really, just don't get worked up so much and you'll pass! I swear!:wink2:

[Absolutely13]

You're going to be just fine! If you need any help or encouragement, please PM me.

[BL7162]

I'm an instructor, was a skills tester and CNA! Always pump up the B.P. to 180, everyone is nervous and V.S. are always higher than usual. Talk out loud as you perform your skills (like you are talking to the patient), you can hear yourself, and is calming. If you know you left something out you can always correct yourself at any time. Never give up, you are past the unknown aspect. You can do it, it's just common sense! Good luck, let us know when you pass. Idaho

[Cathyxis]

Oh how I feel for you! I didn't pass my skills exam the first time because I forgot to brush the tongue when I provided mouth care (it was a bolded skill in the handbook). Talk about a humbling experience. I just recently took it again and passed with flying colors. The difference between the first time and second - I talked to the client all the way through telling them what I was doing and why. It calmed me down, helped me think about what I needed to do and filled the silence.

I also prepped differently the second time. For several days I verbally went through the skills with someone to make sure I wasn't missing any steps. This helped a lot because one of the skills I had to do a second time was transfer from the bed to the wheelchair and I kept forgetting to lock the bed wheels - I remembered them on test day because of the verbal reviewing.

Good luck to you!

[MOM38]

I was so nervous,my mind went blank.I was on my last skill,and had done ok.It was weighing an ambulatory resident.Im thinking ok,this one is easy,Ive got it made now.I weighed the lady,and recorded it 10 pnds more than she really weighed.I was so nervous,I couldnt even read the scale right.How stupid is that!

[Speed Freak]

I really wonder how I am going to do. I can take comfort in one thing though, whatever conditions I do my skills testing under, my daughter practiced her skills under conditions that were much worse. She was a medic with an Military Police unit in Iraq and had to practice her skills with bullets flying all around her head and flaming vehicles strewn all over the road.

If she did okay there, I will be fine.

[mizfradd, CNA]

"someone told me "you're not nervous yet, but when she (the examiner) calls your name, that's when your heart will start beating fast..."

and it did!!!!!"

omg...that is sooo what happened to me & i still wonder why that person said it to me as i got up to go to the clinic room with the examiner. took me a few minutes to regain my composure after meeting the model pt. & then being told the whole scenario of what i was to do for my 5 skills.

my mind went blank and i felt like a fool until the pt. smiled at me and that put me at ease.

i just kept telling myself, "i can do this".

and you can too, nstudent88!!!!

p.s. if somone says that to you again,"you're not nervous yet, but when she (the examiner) calls your name, that's when your heart will start beating fast...", just look 'em in the eye and say, "oh i'll do just fine."

(sure wish i'd thought to say it to the person that psyched me out first thing on test day.) :angryfire

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

^This thread is 6 months old. Here's hoping she passed by now.