I agree with alondra1986. I have also been a c.n.a. for 4 years. She mentioned in #3 that you should remember to knock on the door. That is an important step that some people forget about during testing. Well after you knock on the door, introduce yourself to the resident & tell them what you are about to do. (Hi Bob, my name is Kathy & I wil be taking care of you today. I will be making your bed while you are still in it. All I will need you to do is roll for me when I ask you to. Let me grab my supplies, wash my hands and I will be back.) So grab your linen, wash your hands & right before starting care, PULL THE CURTAIN. The door knocking and pulling the curtain are the things people forget because they are nervous & they overlook it because they are all fired up to get started. Also depending on the "fake" room you will be testing in, if there is a window that is in the room, don't forget to shut the blinds or curtains. Thats only if you can't block the window with your pulled curtain. People could be walking outside & see in the room & your resident needs privacy if you are doing peri care. Also remember clean to clean, dirty to dirty. You are allowed to change your gloves if you need to, but don't forget to wash your hands in between. Also take your time. Do not rush through it. The slower you are, the more relaxed you will feel. Then you will be less likely to forget your "steps". The test is not timed. You can take 2 hours if you want. So tell yourself that. You have no other place to be except there. Its very calming. In situations that you are uncomfortable in, your flight response kicks in. You want to rush just to get it over with & get out of there. Try anything to not let that happen. Go as slow as possible & you will start to feel calm & relaxed. A few other random things are (depending what skills you have to do) Don't forget to "Zero Out" the scale before your "fake resident" steps  on it. No matter what, the sink is always considered dirty. So if you are going to set a denture cup or something on it, place a barrier, such as a paper towel on it. If your skill is peri care, first thing you do is get them off the pad if its solied. Next offer them the bedpan. If they say they don't want it, its ok. Then you won't have to put them on. But you must offer one. Those are a few things that alot of people have trouble with. I was a "fake resident" for a year, helping aides in training while they were testing for the state exam. Unless it was a skill that required a "dummy" of course. Also don't forget to address the resident "Mr. or Mrs." Its hello Mrs. Smith, not hello Betty. I hope this helps anyone who is about to become a C.N.A. Its a very physical job & can be so stressful at times. But it is also the most rewarding. You can't understand how it feels (until you do it) to be able to make your residents day so much better. You actually have that much "power" over their lives. I have a few residents that always ask the nurses or the other aides when I will be back to work (if I have the day off) or if I will be there on the weekend or whatever. I take care of them just the way they like to be taken care of, so they always want me to be there. Some of them always tell me: "I missed you yesterday. The girl that took care of me was nice, but she does'nt take care of me like you do. Will you be here tomorrow too?" So that part of it just makes me want to be there for them 24 hours a day. Of course I can't do that. Some aides are better than others. But if you go into work telling yourself that YOU will give the best care that you can, even if everyone else does'nt. I love my job & I hope that you will too!

You guys have no idea how much this helps! After spending weeks awaiting several hospitals to return my calls requesting to volunteer or job shadow with the nurses and not getting even a phonce call returned, I have no choice but to "challenge" the state cna exam. I cannot afford to take the class and I need to start back working soon for financial reasons. So unfortunately besides the little help I can get from a friend who is a cna and my paramedic husband who is working alot of OT, I am taking this test with no experience. :(   Once I am finished with algebra this semester, I will have completed all of my pre-req's for the R.N. program, so at least I have that. If you guys have anymore advise, please help! My test is in a week!