Today is the day!!!!

It is 9:19am and I just finished going for a run, ironing my nursing uniforms, and now just doing last minute packing. I will be driving 2 1/2 hours up to Albany, NY where I will stay for the weekend. My exam will be taking place at a hospital in downtown Albany.

The first part of the exam starts tonight at 4pm. First we will be oriented to the exam and the weekend. Then we will do the first part of the test. This part consists of mock scenarios. We have to do 2 of the 4 following: IV push, IV piggy back, IM/Sub q injection, or Wound management. We are allowed one repeat if we make a mistake.

Then Saturday morning we arrive at the hospital at 7:30am. We will then be given 2, 2 1/2 hour blocks of time where we will take care of a patient. In this test we are to research the patient, do 3-5 areas of care that they choose for us like Respiratory Assessment, Musculoskeletal management, IV, Medications, etc. Then we must finish all of our documentation on what we did and write a care plan for what we did. If we make a mistake or if we don't finish in the 2 1/2 hours allotted we fail. We will have 2 patients Saturday and 1 on Sunday. 1 is a pediatric patient, and the others are adult patients. We can have one repeat in the pediatric and one in the adult section.

After the 2 scenarios Saturday we are finished unless we have to repeat one of the labs. Then Sunday we arrive for our last 2 1/2 hour scenario at 7:30am. If there are no pt repeats then we would be done after that patient. If there are any repeats it could last till as late as 6pm.

My specific prayers beyond passing are;

No repeats

Calmness (which I have so far)

Documentation would go smoothly

Care plan (this is a very subjective area and as I have sent in multiple care plans for review each person is looking for something different) please pray that this will not be an issue.

That things would go smoothly as if I do it every day and that my memory would be quick and clear.

I believe God has me at this point for a reason, and I believe firmly that I am going to get through this weekend with His help. I don't know if it is the process of going through brain surgery and all that I went through the past year or two, but I have such a different perspective on life. I have no doubt God is a God of His word and when He says in the Bible, "I will never leave you nor forsake you!" He means it. When He says, "I love you with an everlasting love!" He means it! When He says, "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!" He means it! Sometimes things don't go the way we want them to go but I am learning that often it is not the route that was best for me but I just couldn't see that then.

As all goes well, and as God guides me, I will be an uncertified nurse at the end of this weekend! Thanks to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me over the past few years as I struggled through this process!