NCLEX Run-down

I couldn’t sleep last night. I was in bed at 9:30 p.m. but I just tossed and turned. I guess I finally drifted off eventually, but I was awoken at 3 a.m. by Teak and Riley, who I am pet-sitting, because they had to go outside. Then my alarm went off seemingly ages later at 5 a.m. I was restless, so I got out of bed right away. As I was getting ready I kept thinking, “I can’t believe I’m going to take this test today.” I was so nervous my stomach was doing flips. I can’t remember the last time I was that nervous about anything.

I got to the testing center half an hour early. My car was the only one in the parking lot.

So I went and sat on a bench outside of the building, and just tried to calm myself down mentally.

After a few minutes my friend Lauren walked up, and we talked until it was time to go in the building. We had to wait until exactly 7:30 a.m. before they would let us in the suite. We each took a number, and that was the order we were checked in. I took number 3. I showed them my ID, my authorization to test, signed a signature pad, had my picture taken, and was fingerprinted. I put all of my stuff in a locker, except a sweater that they let me take in. Then I was given a dry erase board and a set of earplugs and was led to a little cubicle. I ran through a tutorial of how the test would be given, and then my first question popped up.

I’m not allowed to talk about the exact questions I got, but I do know that I got 6 questions about pediatrics, 2 about OB, 9 regarding specific drugs, 1 calculation, and 14 “alternate item” questions that were “select all that apply” rather than multiple choice. The rest were mainly a mixture of med-surg, delegation, and teaching questions. I had 75 questions total, the minimum amount. It took me an hour and a half.

My impression? It was hard. REALLY hard. If it were a test in nursing school I would be extremely upset and just know I failed. BUT, the NCLEX is not scored on a percentage; you just have to get more right than wrong. It was very similar to the practice tests I had been taking, and I passed all of those. So, I honestly feel pretty good about it.

The results will be ready for me to view on Friday, but I will be at work. I could check them there, but if I happen to fail that would be extremely embarrassing because everyone in my orientation group will ask me about it. So I’ve decided that I’m going to wait until I get home that evening and I’m with my fiance David to check it. I want to be with him either way it turns out.

I feel exhausted for one, and a little numb to it all. I also feel apprehensive, because I can’t quite relax yet. But it’s nice to have the rest of the day off. After I finished the test I immediately went to get a manicure and pedicure. Then I met David for lunch, and now I’m going to take a short nap before going to meet David again for dinner and a movie.

If you prayed, thank you. I can’t tell you how much it comforted me to think about all the people that were praying for me. Now if you could just pray for two more days until I find out my results, that would be great!