The NCLEX

I'm back! I finally took the NCLEX (RN Licensure Examination) last Wednesday. It was quite the adventure. I felt pretty confident about the test until I actually took it. I thought that maybe it would take 2 or 3 hours at the most. In the testing center I started to worry at 3 1/2 hours and took a very short brake. I splashed water on my face, popped a mint in my mouth and hurried and chewed it (you can't take anything in the testing room.) I said a prayer for probably the third time during the test and went back inside after being fingerprinted. (Talk about security, you get fingerprinted each time you leave and come back into the testing room.)

At 4 1/2 hours my mind was honestly done. I started bargaining with the computer that I would only take 3 more questions and then it had to shut off. But it didn't. The idea popped into my head that I should just start clicking answers without reading them just to get done because I probably had failed already anyway. I am telling you that if I was not worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost I would not have finished that test or failed it. I was given energy to finish and kept hearing a voice saying that it would be over soon and I needed to focus. There are only a few more questions to go. Suddenly 60 more questions did not seem so bad. At 5 hours I clicked the final question. I answered all 265 questions and I was sure I had failed.

I called Ben and cried to him the news that I got every question and that I could not focus the last hour. I gathered myself together by the time I got to my mom's to pick up Troy and explained my sad expectations. I said that I would take the test again in a couple months. My mom just replied, "Well, I still think you could have passed." My sweet mom always has faith in me.

I felt better the next day after doing the PearsonVue Trick (try to reregister for the test and if it doesn't let you then you passed) and so I had some hope. Ben was sweet and tried to make sure I would be ok with either result because he didn't want a repeat of my freakout after the test. Friday morning I found out that I passed! I am done and can just play with Troy today. We are going to make hand and foot prints of Troy. I love being a mom and I love that I don't have to study right now.