Registered Nurse

Graduation was a huge relief for me. However, not all the stress was gone. I still had to worry about taking and passing my state nursing boards aka NCLEX, because basically, if you don't pass, all that hard work was for nothing (not really, but theoretically). UNR had had the highest pass rate in the state of Nevada, until the semester ahead of us. 7 of the graduates didn't pass on the first time. This made all of us REALLY nervous. Throughout December and the first part of January, I studied one hour every night, but I didn't want to go overboard.

Finally I got my authorization to test! I hurried online and signed up for my date, but I told NO ONE. I didn't want anyone to know when I was taking my test because I didn't want the pressure of anyone asking me how it went. I did end up having to tell Elise and my boss because I was originally supposed to start working on January 13, but my test was the 14th, so I had to wait until the 15th to start because I wanted to be really focused that week. It was my week to pick lunch for Friday and one of the girls was going to call me on the 14th to ask what I wanted for the next day, but Elise suddenly said, "Holly is NOT taking calls today." haha

The day of the test I was a nervous wreck! It also happened to be the same day that my grandma had a big shoulder replacement surgery. I felt so bad that I didn't call or go to the hospital that day, but my stress level was at an all time high and my head had to focus. My appointment was at 1 and I just felt sick walking in. The security is INTENSE for the NCLEX. They take your fingerprints, picture, and they do a palm vein scan. Anytime you leave the room for any reason, you have to have a palm vein scan to be allowed to reenter the room. Finally I sat down in the chair and put my silencing head phones on.

The test ended up being everything everyone said it would: HORRIBLE. It was *so* hard. It was like nothing I had ever taken before. For an explanation on how the test works you can click here. I always thought I'd feel really good if I only got 75 questions and the test turned off, but as I approached question 75, my mind was racing. I was praying it wouldn't turn off because the questions were so hard that I needed more questions to prove that I would make a good nurse! However, after question 75, I pushed the next button and it shut off. I really wanted to throw up. I cried the whole way home. The good news is, I was not overreacting because I hear that from pretty much every person I know that's taken the test.

Normally you can wait 2 days and get a quick result online. However, I took my test right before a holiday weekend and it said '2 business days.' On Saturday, my mom was here visiting my grandma and I decided to just take a peak and see if the results were available. My heart about stopped when I saw that my results were available and I pretty much screamed when I saw the tiny little "pass"! Best feeling ever! My mom took me to Outback to celebrate. I now really know what true relief feels like!
I started work on January 15. For those of you that don't know, I am back working at OMS Associates in Reno. My intention was to work at St. Mary's, since I had been working as a Nurse Intern there, but when I got the offer to work 3, 10 hour DAYS, with no nights, weekends, or holidays, it was a no brainer. I am working as the office manager and RN at the office. I will be getting my ACLS certification so I can do more nursing duties with the IV sedation and whatnot. It's not my DREAM job, but for now, it's definitely the best choice for our family. I get to be home with Liam more and won't be a sleep-deprived wreck working nights. I figure that I have a LONG career ahead of me to develop my mother-baby career that I dream of.

Plus, I have WONDERFUL bosses. When I told them that I passed my boards, they got me this AMAZING cake from the Austrian bakery. It said "Congratulations, Holly" on it.
And they also got me these beautiful flowers. How sweet is that?!
And here are my new uniforms! It's pretty surreal. It feels like I've waited for this forever.

I'm settling into my job nicely. It's always a transition starting a new job, routine, etc, but it's going well. Each graduate has their own set of challenges that they face as a new nurse, and I am no exception, but I feel incredibly blessed to have such a great job and to finally be able to call myself a Registered Nurse!