I'm 80% Sure I Failed

After graduating from Nursing School I have been dreading one huge test. The test of all tests (at least in the Nursing world). The NCLEX. Technically, I have been preparing for this one test for the last 2 1/2 years. Talk about some big pressure.

I originally signed up to take my test Feb 10th. Then I moved it up to Feb 3rd. After my friend Sarah took it really early and passed in 75 questions she told me I should take it as fast as I could. Jan 21st opened up and I took it!!! That meant I only had 2 days to cram as much as I could in my brain! One of those days I took full advantage and studied pretty hard but the day before my test, I barely studied and was pretty nervous about my test, but there was no rescheduling, so I just did it.

Going through the test I was feeling pretty nauseous and for the first 20 or 30 questions I would answer one question and pause, trying really hard to not lose my breakfast. I wanted to take a break in the first 10 minutes, but decided I would feel really dumb if I did that, so I mustered through. When question 75 came around (the minimum number of questions you can have) I just prayed so hard that the test would shut off after that question. I clicked the NEXT button and the screen went blue. I was kind of worried about it but then it said that my test was finished!!! I was so relieved that it was just over. I couldn't believe it!!! It took me about an hour and 45 minutes to complete it and I did not lose my breakfast (so proud of that!). I was scared I failed because of how embarrassed I would feel if I failed in 75 questions!! (no one at BYU has failed in 75 questions...) The only thing I could do was wait.

That day I was checking the Utah License website to see if I passed (but I knew it wouldn't be up... haha). I called the Utah Department of Professional Licensing (DOPL) and asked when the results would be up. They said they wouldn't even get the results until Monday and they wouldn't be on the website until Wednesday!!! (That would be 6 whole days!!!!) I couldn't believe it. It was a long weekend but thankfully I had my family and Rachael here to occupy me!

Today, Monday, my friend Sarah and Rachael were over and they pressured me into checking the "unofficial" results of the test by paying a little extra dough (basically means I don't have a license number yet, but the results are still legit). I caved and found out that I PASSED!!! I couldn't believe it! I seriously was 80% sure I failed!!! The test was so hard and I felt like I was guessing the whole time. It was rough and I was just trying to get through each question the best I could.

Thank you so much to all my friends and family that prayed for me on that day and before. It really helped me to stay calm and be confident in myself knowing that everyone who loves me was thinking about me and hoping for my success.

So, Thank You from the newest RN!!!

-Andrea Gardner, RN BS (registered nurse, bachelors of science)