It's Official!

My mother and I. Hopefully this is the LAST time I have to wear this hideous white uniform!

This is my "gang" Deborah Champagne, Pat Smith (The most Awesome Obstetrics Instructor), me and Leah Anderson.

Our nurses pinning ceremony was this morning at 11:00. It was a beautiful moving ceremony with a lamp lighting before we did the Nightengale Oath. We were allowed 8 invitations each - Randy and the children were there along with my mother (who drove from Arkansas to attend!), Grace and Charles Laird, Joy Lou Hursh, and Don and Theda Jaggers (all loved friends from church).

We have had a glitch in our finals process. We all passed the courses required to take the state boards, but the school has chosen to make the students take a national standardized exam known as the HESI. This has proven to be a huge hurdle for us. I took the thing last semester and got a score of 1022. We needed an 880 to be allowed to take the NCLEX-RN (state boards). I took a three day (eight hours per day) course reviewing the HESI content as well as spent many hours studying for the stupid thing. When my score popped up on Wednesday, I nearly passed out - I got an 828!! Now I found out that out of 107 students only 34 passed the studpid thing!! Apparently the HESI was purchased by another company and the exam and content were changed completely. When they sent us the study books (which we paid for when we paid the $500-something to take the course) they sent the old books - but we were TESTED on the new exam! Soooo.... we are in the process of finding an appeals option. Please pray for us as we go through this - we are all VERY discouraged and frustrated. We have earned a degree in nursing, but they are holding it hostage for one exam - that really has nothing to do with whether we have completed our courses or not. It is simply a money-maker for the college because they can get higher funding when they have good scores on the exams. We are still graduating, they just won't release our temporary license or our authorization to take the state boards until we pass that stupid exam - and they won't let us take it until JUNE!!

Okay, forgive my rant, and just pray for us! Anyway, here are a few pictures of today's ceremonies. Love to you all...