Worried

[*Scarlet_Starlet*]

i am taking my 6 week cna course in ny. i already have a pca for home healt and a little experience in the field. i am doing great in the class and holding firm with a 98% average. my concern is not the written prometric exam, but the skills. im am just afraid im goin to fail over something simple that just slipped my mind when the nerves set in. hos anyone taken the ny prometric exam recently? any helpful advice as to how to keep my nerves in check through the exam? -thanks in advance

[interceptinglight, CNA]

Yeah, EVERYBODY worries about the skills exam. All you can really do is just practice practice practice your skills. Some of my classmates made flashcards with all the steps for the skills so they could learn them by heart, it really helped ease the nerves beforehand. Just remember that no matter how hard you practice you are going to be nervous as you're taking the test. Don't worry about that, your rater will be expecting you to be nervous. Just communicate as you go through the skills: if you forget something, just quickly correct yourself before the skill is finished so that the rater knows that YOU know how to do it right. Good luck !!

[Baubo516, RN]

I agree with interceptinglight - practice, practice, practice! For me, physically walking through the skills, either with a "patient" or without, was very helpful. I talked a lot during my test - I had an unconscious resident, so really, it was ideal for me to just say everything I was doing, as we are still supposed to communicate with them! I was so afraid I would fail, but ended up with 94% on skills. You can even forget a few steps and still pass, as long as they aren't critical ones like hand hygiene, gloving or safety. Good luck to you! If you have a 98% in class right now, you will probably remember more than you think you will on the skills test. Let us know how it goes for you!

[*Scarlet_Starlet*]

thanks girls. i have been practicing as much as possible and i am hoping it pulls me through. i talk through every single step because i am a talker anyway. im more worried about getting so flustered that my brain turns to mush. but, your comments make me feel so much better know i can forget some stuff and still pass. thanks again.

[coffeelover10]

Correcting yourself makes all the difference. I explained half of one of my skills because I was so nervous I just kept tripping up. As I could explain it fabulously, I still passed the skill.

[sunshine100]

When you are taking your test you can talk while you are doing it to make sure the tester knows you are not missing any steps.

[pca_85]

Hi, talking through the steps helps so the tester(is that the correct title?)-knows you didn't miss a step.

[CNANY]

I'm going to give you the advice everyone gave me and I passed NY prometric. First-patient safety. Make sure call bells are within reach of the patient and the bed is lowered. Stand at the end of the bed at the end of the task and make sure you did everything before you say "done" to the state tester. Second-With our class the state tester watched the first time we washed our hands and the rest of the time she said just to make the motion but not really wash. So make the first time really count. If you forget something during a task tell the state tester what you forgot and ask him/her if you'd like to start over. As long as you mention it before you were finished, it was OK.

My class found it really helpful to practice on each other and not tell us what we missed until after the task was done.

Luckily I got three easy skills and it was over in 15 minutes.

Everyone gets nervous. Try to relax and like everyone else said....practice, practice, practive. You'll do great.

Good Luck.