THE NCLEX

Sorry about the overload of nursing posts, but I felt that this was very significant event in my life that needed to be shared. The NCLEX-RN, is the name of the feared and dreaded nursing board exams. The equivalent to the Bar for lawyers (ok, maybe not that bad), the NCLEX must be passed in order to receive a license to practice as a registered nurse. Like most students, the thought of taking this test caused my heart rate to accelerate and a large lump to form in the back of my throat. To help me prepare, I took a prep course offered by the school which discussed the format of the test, offered studying help, and focused on the importance of practice questions. Graduation was a wonderful time, but my schooling certainly didn't feel complete as I still had the test hanging over my head.The next few months were spent filling out loads of paperwork, paying hefty fees, and doing thousands of practice questions (3,050 to be exact). It is a very unique test in that you can receive anywhere from 75 to 260 questions, and no one has the exact same test as the questions that you get change based on the answer to your previous question. If you are getting the questions correct, the test will continue to get harder and harder, if you continue to answer questions incorrect the questions get easier--thus the test is trying to assess your comprehension level--when it feels that you are far enough above or below the standard as the confident interval narrows (more or less), the test shuts off. You don't know if you passed or failed until you get your results in the mail, or pay to get them early online. Is your heart rate increasing yet? Mine is just discussing it.

Anyway, so after doing thousands of practice questions and stressing out beyond reason (but seriously, I think Isaac was really worried about me for a few weeks there), the day to take my test finally arrived. My test wasn't until 4, but I vowed not to study that day to keep my mind fresh and clear no matter how much I wanted to pull out those notes and lock myself in the closet to study. Isaac took me mountain biking to get the blood flowing and get my mind off the test in the morning. It was a wonderful idea and I loved our new found biking spot. However when we got home, I still had 3 hours until I needed to leave: three tortuous, long, ulcer forming hours to wait, try and relax, and not freak out about the test. I was so worried about not being able to concentrate out of fear that I wouldn't perform well. Isaac gave me a priesthood blessing, which really helped calm me down and prepare me to go. My family also said some special prayers in my behalf that day, which helped significantly as well. I just had to trust in the Lord that I had done everything I could to prepare, and he would help bring to remembrance the things I had learned, and help me to be able to focus.

When I arrived at the testing center I had to show 2 forms of ID, lock all my items in a locker (which lockers were missing the number 13 by the way...superstitious as we are), have my fingerprints, taken, my photo taken, my palm scanned, my jewelry removed, my pockets emptied and every other precaution to prevent cheating you can imagine. It was insane. We then met with a man who went over more instructions with us, told us that we were all being watched on video camera, scanned our fingerprints again, and let us into testing room. I took a deep breath and answered my first question: something about infection control. I felt good about it and hoped that I had answered correctly, moved on to the next question. During the whole test I tended to spend a lot of time worrying if the question I was on was more difficult than the last question. When I hit question 75 I answered the best I could, held my breath, clicked submit, and prayed that it would turn off---the screen turned blue. I let out a big sigh of relief hoping that my teacher was right and I had passed. My teacher told me that they had never had a BYU student fail in 75 questions, and she didn't think that it was at all possible, no matter how poorly we think we had done. I am glad she had said this, because the test was really difficult and I was almost positive that I had failed, but I just held on to those words in my mind-- "if you only got 75 questions, you passed." I had to be fingerprinted one more time as I left the testing center (in case I wasn't the same person I was coming in), but I left feeling like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I said a prayer of gratitude in the car and took off for home on top of the world. Isaac took me out to Cafe Rio for dinner and we played frisbee in the park feeling so grateful it was over. Three days later I paid the $7.50 to get my results early saw:
Taniel L. Proctor, RN. Passed. It was official, I had passed. I got my official lisence in the mail about a month later (so worth the 7.50 to get the results after 3 days. You can't put a price on peace of mind).

So now I am officially an RN, although I haven't worked as one yet. I applied for Jobs all over the Utah County and had several interviews, but since I would only be able to work for a few months before we moved, I wasn't able to find anyone who would hire me. I was so sick of filling out applications, and have spent the rest of the summer enjoying the sunshine, and having a summer off. I am now focusing on getting a job in Illinois. I have applied for several jobs in the Champaign, Urbana area at the Carle Foundation Hospital, and Covenant medical center, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I can find something that I enjoy that will pay the bills to put Isaac through school, even if I do have to work nights (boo). Say a little prayer for me and I will keep you updated on how my nursing adventures go.