Stop! Don’t Do That: Reality v. Testing for CNA Skills
Nurse Julie Reynolds, AKA Nurse JAR, on YouTube
Have you ever had to do a timed exam? If so, you’ll know that it is nerve-racking! Really! So, what do you do? You prepare for this timed exam by focusing your concentration on the essentials ONLY. Why not do the same with your nurse aide students? This post will elaborate on my “whys and why nots” regarding integrating “real life” actions when training your students on testable skills.
If your State’s Authorized Administrator is Headmaster, Credentia, or Pearson Vue, you are one step ahead of Prometric states, as your Administrators give you the required steps to be performed by testing candidates. I believe it is best to stick to training ONLY these required steps.
Now, there could be many reasons why instructors under these Authorized Administrators integrate “real life” actions into the training of testable skills. What these reasons are, I don’t know! So, if you are a Headmaster, Credentia, or Pearson Vue instructor, share your reasons in the comment section below.
Prometric is different. This Authorized Administrator gives only Indirect Care Behavior Checkpoints. In my experience, this leaves many Prometric instructors somewhat baffled about how to demonstrate these skills and train their students to perform them. In most cases, this is where and why “real life” actions and integrations take place. Prometric instructors, share your thoughts in the comment section below.
As instructors, we tend to forget or not realize that the testing environment is the opposite of reality. Our real environment is not controlled. The most unexpected events occur at the most unexpected times and locations. How nursing tasks are performed depends greatly on the patient’s condition, cooperation, and ability to follow instructions. Also, let’s not forget about the availability of supplies and equipment to perform these nursing tasks adequately.
However, the testing environment is very carefully controlled. The actor playing the role of a resident is usually cooperative and able to follow instructions. We can’t take that for granted in the workplace. Similarly, CNA skills testing sites are equipped with adequate supplies. We all know that’s not always true at work. And the actors are well-prepared and trained. They rehearse their movements and communication repeatedly. Also, our residents are unpredictable and sometimes volatile in the real world. Finally, our students are timed during CNA skills testing, so the testable skills are abbreviated to compensate for this controlled environment and time requirements. That’s completely different from the real world!
That’s why I encourage instructors to stick to the script! If not, simple, testable skills may become too complex for your students, and complex skills may become impossible for students to perform when timed during CNA skills testing.
I know that not everyone agrees with my perspective, so share your thoughts in the comments, and let’s start a discussion!
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