Passing the CNA Clinical Skills Test
How to Pass the Clinical Portion of Your CNA Training Exam
It is common knowledge that the prospects of finding employment as a Certified Nursing Assistant are very promising and that employment opportunities are steadily increasing. But before you can find employment as a CNA, you have to take the CNA training exam.
Most people are very nervous about taking the CNA training exam, so no need to be anxious about your own fear of the exam. A good CNA training class prepares you for the exam, covering the material section-wise to ensure there are no areas of confusion. So, before choosing any training program, check if CNA exam preparation is a part of the training course.
The CNA exam has two sections:
1. A written exam involving multiple-choice questions
2. A clinical or hands-on part.
The clinical section involves demonstrating your skills in performing certain medical procedures taught during the course. Here are a few tips for helping you to pass the clinical part of the CNA exam with added confidence.
First of all, remember that when you’re asked to demonstrate a certain procedure, the people grading you will be expecting you to perform a specific set of steps, but they have to be completed in the right order. So it is not enough to only be familiar with the different procedures. You also have to memorize the steps in the right order, and then perform them confidently.
Secondly, you will have to demonstrate around three to five different skills as part of the clinical part of the CNA training exam. Some of the various skills you might be tested on will include those listed below:
- How to strip and put new linen on a patient’s bed while the patient is lying in it
- How to move a patient from a wheel chair to their bed and vice versa, and also how to reposition a patient
- How to provide a patient with a bedpan
- How to check the vital signs of a patient
- How to provide basic personal grooming to a patient
Also, remember that the individuals grading you are not at all trying to trick or confuse you. All they want is that you should include all the necessary steps for each procedure. Many times, those taking the exam fail in the simplest of steps. For instance, for providing a patient with a bed pan always make sure you wash your hands both before and after the procedure. While providing a patient with basic grooming skills, always ask him or her if they prefer having their face washed or their hair brushed before you perform the procedure. Such assistance is related to the dignity and privacy portion of the CNA training given to you.
If you remember these tips it will be easier for you to pass the clinical section of your CNA training exam.
Many individuals who take the CNA training exam fail it the first time. Such an experience is not just disheartening, but it can cause added stress since would-be CNAs have to wait for a specified period after failing the exam in order to retake the exam.
To make sure you will pass the CNA training exam the first time itself, you need to check that you are well-versed in everything you have learned and the material covered in the CNA training manual, besides remembering the tips mentioned above.
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