UGH! I Took The NCLEX.

I just got home from taking the NCLEX-RN exam - thee exam that, if I pass it, makes it so I can work as a registered nurse. I've been studying for it quite a bit, for over a month, and going into it I felt like I was ready and prepared... WRONG. I felt like almost every question I got was a question I had to guess on. It was awful. My mind went completely blank. There was one minute there where I think my mind was stuck, like a record, cause I was trying to figure out the symptoms of Grave's disease and I couldn't stop saying the word "thyroid".

REWIND
May 21st - May 24th: I spend a week driving downtown to attend the Hurst Review - a great review for graduate nursing students preparing the take the NCLEX exam for licensure. It was a good week, and I felt like I learned a lot.

The next few weeks I study whenever I can. I allow time for rest, relaxation, and jubilation - yes - but I study good and hard, and long (don't be a pervert).

June 1st: I receive my "Authorization To Test" and I am able to schedule my exam for whenever I want to take it. I still need to study some, so June 22nd looks like a good day - plus it's the only day where they have an 11:30 am time slot open and I need to have time in the morning to prep.

June 4th: I start my new job, attending a week of orientation and studying in the evenings.

June 11th: The first day of ACTUAL training for my new job in surgery. I LOVE my new job. I study when I can after work. My educator, Jill, actually allows me to study at work! I get paid to study. It's awesome. They REALLY want me to pass.

June 22nd: I wake up, meditate, do some EFT, exercise on the elliptical, have a nice breakfast of blueberries and hard boiled eggs - research suggests that these two foods increase brain power.

10:15 am: even though the testing center is only 10 minutes away, I leave REALLY early- egg burps and all (eww gross) - cause if you are late, you forfeit your testing session and have to pay the $200 to test again and retake it 45 days later or something ridiculous like that.

Sitting in the parking lot, my awesome brother Greg calls to say that they are thinking of me and that they know I will do great. I feel like crying it was so sweet, but I gulp it down and say thanks. What a nice guy. I love ya man.

10:45 am: Time to go in. The lady is nice. She checks my I.D., takes my picture, has me read something, gets my finger print and directs me to the nice man who will be monitoring me during the testing process. HE fingerprints me, and takes me into the room.

It takes me 2 hours, but I finish the test answering the minimum, 75 questions. I took one break - which probably lasted 2 minutes where I went out to my car, sat, stared at my dashboard, and then when back in. Hilarious now that I think about it. What kind of a break is that? hahaha

Yeah - I cried when I got home. Paul was really good about it, and he probably expected it. I had not planned to cry. Apparently this reaction is expected and typical... I hate being a conformist.

Anyway - I'll find out some time next week whether or not I passed or if I have to take it again in a couple months. Cross your fingers, think happy thoughts, and wish on a star that I passed, will ya?