Christopher A. Wheeler

The NCLEX-RN exam, as I have told many people, is the only exam that made me cry before, during (yes, DURING), and after taking it. I took and passed the boards a year ago today, and I’m using this anniversary to reflect upon my experiences over the past year and being a nurse in general.

I feel very grateful that I was able to finish nursing school and pass this exam. There isn’t a single day that has gone by in the last year that I haven’t thanked God for where I am now, and for the people who have been in my life to allow everything to fall into their places the way they did. My job is challenging, but at the end of the day, despite  the occasional complaining, I have a feeling of satisfaction. I feel like I’m doing something real and important and useful in my life and in the lives of others. These feelings exist even when it seems the patients aren’t receptive to change; at least I can say I tried.

I am grateful to have a real job career. I have a job where I started accruing paid leave from my very first day. Paid leave! I have health insurance. I have a 401(k). I make significantly more than the minimum wage (or less, think cab driving days) that I’d been accustomed to over the past dozen+ years. These were foreign concepts to me before.

I hear complaints that nurses don’t make enough. Yes, we work hard, and maybe should make more, but I’ve made twice as much this year as I have any other year in my life. Its hard for me to argue that I am not compensated fairly. Complaining would make me an ingrate.

I have made a number of very good friends both in nursing school and since landing this sweet job. One such friend is Rhonda (the name has been changed to protect the guilty), who asked for a shout-out while I was writing this. Of course I’ve made friends in any job I’ve ever had but for some reason I’ve always felt that the connections I’ve made with my peers in nursing have been on a deeper level than other jobs I’ve had. I remember talking with my friend Josh about this a few years ago while I was still in school. I honestly can’t put into words the exact feeling. Perhaps its has something to do with the fact that oftentimes we are dealing with potentially life-or-death situations, as opposed to trying to make sure our customers are getting their soft shell taco supremes in sixty seconds or less, that bonds us in a different way. Or perhaps this is something I’ve created in my head and is merely a figment of my imagination.

I hope I can remain healthy enough (both physically and mentally) to do what I’m doing for a long time. Being a nurse is awesome, really awesome.