The Battle Hasn't Even Begun Yet

Admit it. You are giddy because you graduated with a bachelor' degree in Nursing. You can't help but wonder if your parents are proud that you will become a nurse in no time and will be earning a salary high enough to make you and your whole family (and i mean the whole extended lot) comfortable.

I hate to burst your bubble but you have to pull yourself out of that miserable stupor. So you think that by graduating you have won your victory, eh? Get real. The battle hasn't even begun yet.

You might be reliving the ceremony over and over. You know, scenes like the dean handing you your diploma and someone probably dignified helping you with your gold-plated nursing pin. You probably are ecstatic as you try to remember everything. Worse, you probably allowed your parents to pay for that expensive class ring. Quite hilarious, really. I find it really hilarious thinking that someone actually assumed that the moment you look like a penguin with diploma in tow, life will all be molasses and honey.

Congratulations, graduate. You have finally entered that phase in your life in which you will realize that nursing school didn't even prepare you for what lies ahead. Go on, find the most expensive review center thinking that it makes the difference. Brag that the school you graduated from is one of the top-performing nursing schools in your region, even in the whole country. Think that since you landed a spot in the dean's list for four straight semesters you are definitely smarter than the rest. Well, if you really think that, think again.

You just might find yourself not concentrating on your review classes because you have to accomplish the necessary requirements for you to be able to take the nursing licensure exam. You just might have a hard time catching up as your lecturers fast-track everything because, after all, you are attending review classes and they are under the assumption that your clinical instructors were conscientious enough to even take their jobs seriously. Lastly, you just might find yourself getting really low scores during your mock board exams. Quite embarassing for somebody who graduated from an upper-tier nursing school claiming to provide quality nursing education to their students.

I am not trying to play the devil's advocate here and actually influence you to go on a very drastic career shift. This is just a painful reminder to those who actually think that manna will fall from heaven and lucky are those who have BSN's attached to their names for they will be the first ones to have their fill. This is a reminder for you to leave that irrelevant dean's list behind, forget your alma mater for a while, and actually study from scratch.

And whatever you do, do not predict that you are finally a registered nurse minutes after taking the licensure exam. Only stupid people do that.

So you totally hate me now. Go on, suit yourself. Be full of yourself. But don't blame me if you took the boards, got the copy of the paper the morning the list of successful nurses are published, only to find out that your name is not on that list.

Really, graduate. No matter who you are, what school you graduated from, how popular your review center may be, or how hard you studied for the board exams, you have to prepare yourself for the worst.

Because, my dear graduate, in this cycle we call life, we don't always come full circle. Shit actually happens. By that, I mean you just might have to be spunky enough to take the nursing licensure exam again.