NCLEX Update

I took my NCLEX exam yesterday morning. Getting into the exam room was like trying to get into Fort Knox! We’re talking fingerprinting, pictures, palm-vein-scanning and the likes. I was not able to bring anything into the testing room such as a watch, wallet, phone, Kleenex (they provided that for me.) It took me all of about 2 hours including the tutorial. I had exactly 75 questions and then got the blue screen. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw that screen pop up. This is what it said, “You have now completed your NCLEX-RN exam. You were only allowed to complete 75 questions because you are SO not going to be a nurse. Thank you, and good luck in your future endeavors.” Okay, it didn’t say that, but that’s how I felt. Some of the questions were fairly easy, others were really, really hard. I had tons of select all that apply. I’ve heard that’s actually a good thing because you are supposedly ready for the higher level thinking questions. I don’t know. There were meds on there that I had never even heard of, much less know side effects and reactions.

I came home and did the “Pearson-Vue” trick. You know, the one where you try and sign up for another test. I got the good pop up that says you are currently unable to sign up for this test. That’s a good sign, but I’ll feel better when I have that hot little license in my hands.

Moving on…it’s Friday and I don’t have a job to go to, no tests to study for. What am I going to do today?

I have NO idea. Wait I suppose.


-DV

It’s only the most important test I will ever take in my life.

So, why so nervous? It’s just a test. Right? It should be easy. It’s multiple choice! What could go wrong. The NCLEX-RN is finally here. In just a few short hours, I’ll be setting in my own little cubicle with my earplugs duking it out with a computer. One on one. Mono a mono. I’ve been studying for this exam since after New Year’s and I don’t really feel prepared. There is so much information, it’s impossible to feel truly prepared I suppose, but I’m not sure how much better I would be if I had postponed the test. I decided against the big name review courses that cost $500 and chose to take the review online from the Board of Nurses website. I also have a really good NCLEX review book that has a disk full of practice questions with rational. If I could change anything, I’d do more practice questions from the BON website. They actually make up the test right. So, one would think that their questions would be more similar to the actual test. After a while you begin to see a pattern of the type of questions that are presented and how to answer them. Unfortunately, my practice test scores were not very good. We’re talking an overall average of 65%. I believe many of my peers from school were getting similar scores on these practice tests. I did manage to score 75% on the pharmacology section though. Maybe I should consider pharmacy school?

Am I rambling? I’m rambling aren’t I?


Anyhow, I have this crazy test to day that is hard for everyone who takes it. If you don’t know anything about NCLEX, the questions get harder the better you do. If you miss one, the question gets easier, but your overall passing score is determined by your answering the more difficult questions correctly. I have up to 6 hours to complete the exam, so I’m just going to take my time and pretend I know what I’m doing.

Be back in a few…..

-DV

An Update

I’ve made it through the holidays now and I still have no job. I’m not really surprised, but I can’t help but feel a little low when every family member and friend asked me if I had a job lined up. All the general public hears is that there is a nursing shortage. Well there is…IF you’ve got experience. Every hospital website I look at has at least 25 - 100 openings for RN’s, but they will only accept applicants with experience. I heard from a reliable source that one hospital had 15 positions for GN’s with nearly 400 applicants. That’s crazy! I’ll just have to wait my turn.

Speaking of GN’s, that is now my official title! Woohoo! My temporary license takes effect today. I wonder if having that would help my applications. Also, I took my state’s jurisprudence exam yesterday and passed. It’s interesting; some states have this and others do not. It basically covers the legal and ethical issues that come up for nurses. The Board of Nurses apparently isn’t there to protect nurses; they are there to protect the general public from you! So don’t screw up. The actual test was 50 questions (multiple choice). In general it was just a lot of common sense, but there were a few answers I had to look up on their website. Yes, it was “open book/web”. I paid $25.00 for their online study prep course. I’m pretty sure I could have passed without it, but I was paranoid about the exam and had the extra money. It helped I suppose. I was familiar with the information that was on the exam because of it.

One of my readers, Candi, asked if I felt prepared to work in a hospital. Hmmm, good question. A little background…I have absolutely no experience in the medical field. I hardly even knew anyone who worked in the medical field. After two years of nursing school I do feel like I can walk into a hospital with a fair amount of confidence. It’s amazing how much you will learn in a couple of years. However, nursing school is the bare bones! You only learn what you absolutely need to know not to kill anyone. There were so many times I wanted to study a topic more in depth. When I did…I ended up failing exams. There isn’t enough time in school to understand everything about everything. Understand the basics and you’ll do fine. I learned more on my clinical days than I did in the theory classes. Make sure you are prepared for every patient you see. If you get to pick patients yourself, never pick someone with a disease process that you have covered before. You’ll be forced to learn more that way.

That’s enough babbling for now. Oh, I’m studying full time for NCLEX, now. That’s way fun (sarcasm). I’ll post about that another time.

-DV

The Job Hunt

Well, I'm still unemployed. Looks like the hospital I interviewed with a few weeks ago has hired someone else from my graduating class. Today I went online and applied for positions with every hospital in a 25 mile radius. Some are requesting an "internship". Unfortunatly, all of the internships have been filled at this point. It'll be a few more months before new internships are available. I also applied for RN positions with the local prisons :) and hospice facilities. I'm sure something will work out. I just have to be patient.

Yea!!!

I'm a nurse!

-DV

The End...or is it?

I’ve been absent from this blog as of late. It has been a very busy semester. Never-the-less, it has come to an end. I am proud to say that I have completed nursing school! I passed all of my tests with a solid B. I took the HESI exit exam and made a descent score a week and a half ago. Tonight my dear readers, is my pinning ceremony.

As I reflect back on the previous two years, I recall that there were many times of stress and insecurities. There were many times when I felt a sense of accomplishment. Also, to this day, I ask myself, “What have I done?” It seems surreal somehow. As a graduate, I feel adequately prepared to begin learning how to become a nurse. Yep, nursing school simply teaches you the very tip of the iceberg. It certainly doesn’t seem that way when you are trying to read through 5 chapters in one week. It doesn’t seem that way when you have a paper, a presentation, a test, and a required professional meeting to attend. It doesn’t seem that way when you are trying to understand concepts that physicians spend a lifetime studying. Nurses have to learn a lot about a lot of things. It’s not easy. However, even with a family and a job, nursing school is not impossible to get through. It seems that way sometimes, but eventually you make it through. Well, most of us…

I have met many friends in nursing school; many of which are the type of people I never thought I would be friends with. We each have our story…that’s the really interesting part. We come from all different backgrounds for the common goal of caring for other people. Some of the people I met in foundations are long gone. They dropped out for one reason or another. Nursing school is a big wake up call for some people. It isn’t just going into a room and talking to people, cleaning up after them and passing out meds. You have somebody’s life in your hands and you are directly responsible for that life. It’s a bit intimidating to say the least. Some of my friends are going through divorce directly related to the stress, and time away from family that nursing school causes. This makes me very glad that my marriage was very strong to begin with, and that I had never-ending support from my wife and family from the beginning.

The job market for new nurses is extremely competitive right now. I am officially unemployed now, but looking. I had an interview with a local hospital a couple of weeks ago where there were 15 GN positions available and nearly 400 applicants. I’m still waiting to hear from the nurse manager. Fortunately, I don’t need a job to survive (my ever supportive wife is still taking care of that). I have faith that God will put me exactly where I need to be in his own time.

To my readers…thank you for following me through nursing school. I haven’t posted as much as I wanted, but blogging was put on the back burner many times. There are at least a few more posts to come…

-DV

The job hunt and testing

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel I see? Maybe I’m just about to pass out instead and I’m seeing stars. Either way, today marks the half way point for this semester. In just a few short weeks I’ll get pinned and then it’s off to the real world of a working RN. In many ways I am really looking forward to getting to that point. In other ways, I kind of wish I could just go back to being a stay at home dad again. That was sweet. Currently, I’m tweaking my resume for the umpteenth time. I’m sending it out all over the place trying to get an interview. Up to this point I’ve got nothing. There is so much competition out there and not too many jobs. At least not like there used to be. I have to remind myself to be open to any job opportunity (near or far). Also, a little patience couldn’t hurt as well. I’ve been studying the book of Exodus recently. The story of Moses is pretty tough for me to handle right now, because I too want things to happen on my time, not God’s.

Remember that test I was going to take a few weeks ago….I failed. Yep, academic advisement came and went. Remember that I was kind of complaining about my current instructor’s lack of ability to present information? My failing grade of 65.9 was bumped up to 79.9 due to several questions being thrown out and points awarded for multiple answers. I was not the only person in class to receive points like this. Is it possible that this person does not know how to teach? YEP! On a brighter note, I just finished my neuro/hepatic unit with another instructor. She was GREAT! Logical powerpoints and straight forward lectures make all the difference in the world. I made an 86 on the test yesterday. Not perfect by any means, but I knew that I was not in any danger of failing. I’m just glad to know that it’s not just me!

This weekend I’m working on my final paper. It isn’t due for a few weeks yet, but it will be nice to get it out of the way. I can’t stand writing papers. The family is out of town today, it’s early and I’m about to get busy. Wish me luck!

-DV