CPNE and Me: Rhonda Adams
Rhonda Adams says she sleeps, eats, and breaths nursing. Her mother says it鈥檚 the only thing she knows. Adams lives her profession every day and it is why she was determined to pass her Clinical Performance in Nursing Exam (CPNE) after more than 16 years of being an LPN.
A divorced single parent of four from Tylertown, Mississippi, Adams wanted to show her children that no matter what roadblocks you come across in life, or how much you may stumble, you can still achieve your dreams. The LPN decided to attend Excelsior College to achieve her educational goals because the flexibility of classes allowed her, as she puts it, to 鈥渨ork full-time, take care of my kids, manage my household, and seek the higher learning I desired.鈥�
Adams鈥檚 path to passing the CPNE was not easy. She originally enrolled with Excelsior in fall 2013 and after completing the necessary courses, she took and passed the Focused Clinical Competencies Assessment, and then went on to take the CPNE. 鈥淚 went on to take my CPNE thinking, 鈥榦h I鈥檓 an LPN I鈥檝e done all sorts of things, I got this,鈥� and I didn鈥檛,鈥� she says. She adds there was no one to blame but herself and since she did not want to let down her kids, her mom, or herself again, she was determined to try her hardest to pass the next time around.
Adams鈥檚 greatest asset when studying for the CPNE was the videos posted in the study guide. 鈥淚 imitated those [Excelsior] staff members who were doing demonstrations for the med stations, and the IV lab, and the wound, and the different stations of care, to a science鈥t came naturally to know what to do and when to do it,鈥� she says. She adds Excelsior鈥檚 instructors鈥攐r 鈥渇acilitators of learning,鈥� as she likes to refer to them鈥攁lways encouraged her and she became friends with many other students. She says she found strength in her family and those friends to keep going because with distance learning, it was challenging.
鈥淚 had to apply myself, I lost friends, failed relationships because I had to give it my all, and I refuse to be a loser,鈥� says Adams referring to the demands of balancing her studying with her personal life. She also says that even though she made friends with fellow students, she took the reins when it came to her studying. She explains, 鈥淚 started taking advantage of the phone conferences, scheduling them every week, and I started practicing the care plans. I took control of my own destiny; I didn鈥檛 wait for someone else鈥nd because of that, it made me that strong independent confident nurse.鈥�
Throughout it all, Adams says her mother was the biggest source of support. She says, 鈥淚 was not the happiest person while studying and I would be stressed out and overwhelmed and I would snap, and no matter what she would be there.鈥� She also credits a fellow student in another state as being a source of emotional and educational support. Adams says they leaned on each other and encouraged each other to keep at it.
Adams passed her CPNE on May 4th, 2018 in Wisconsin. She says, 鈥渘othing is impossible for me to learn or accomplish, that鈥檚 how I feel now that I have this degree鈥 can do anything, the sky is the limit.鈥� She says a 鈥渂rain break鈥� is in order, but then she is going on to pursue her bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees. 鈥淢y end result is to become a nurse practitioner鈥nd possibly be an examiner for the CPNE and an Excelsior employee!鈥�
More CPNE Study Tips from Rhonda Adams
鈥淜now your study guide; it is your bible; it鈥檚 your tool; it鈥檚 your guide. I would fall asleep with the videos playing; I鈥檇 wake up to them playing; sometimes in my car, I鈥檇 play the audio over and over again until it was repetitious, until鈥t鈥檚 automatic. I took my study guide and I made flash cards.鈥�
鈥淭ake a time out. Don鈥檛 get overloaded; allow yourself to reboot. Take a day, take an hour, take a few weeks if you need to, and then go back at it because it鈥檚 not impossible and you can do it.鈥�
