Today I had the first part of my midterm exams to become an RN. The last few days have been very hard for me and today wasn’t looking very good either - only managed to sleep for roughly 4 hours.

The first part is a combination of a practical exam and an oral exam. Unfortunately, due to me working in a new nursing home since this year and a long internship at a neurological rehabilitation centre, I didn’t have much time to familiarize myself with my new workplace and the documentation process. I was supposed to get more practice in the two weeks around Easter, but unfortunately after working just 4 days I got sick from the rotavirus spreading at my facility. So no additional practice.

Nevertheless, I somehow managed to pass with a B in total. My practical work wasn’t so great - made some clumsy mistakes and the documentation wasn’t quite up to standard. Only managed a C in total (documentation and practice combined). The oral exams saved my ass - I had to draw from 11 envelopes and had 15 minutes of preparation before 15 minutes of talking. And what did I draw? Anatomy of the spine and vertebrae, importance of muscles and intervertebral discs for movement and measurements for maintaining a healthy spine as a professional nurse. Needless to say, as a former OT I felt right at home with these topics and achieved an A in my oral exam. Whew! Now I am exhausted but really glad that I’m done with everything.

Only the written exams are left now and they’re on the 16th of May. I’m sure I can pass that easily since theory has always been my strong suit. I’m sorry for the long text but it feels good to share this after all the trouble I’ve had. Hope all of you folks and your families will have a nice weekend!