Christina Russell; BSN, RN

I did it! On August the 20th of 2011, I took the nursing boards for the state of Oregon and passed. The exam could be a minimum of 75 questions or a maximum of 265 questions. It just depends on how long it takes the computer to determine competency. My exam cut off at exactly 75 questions and I was sure I had failed it. I had about 15 'select all that apply' style questions which made me very uncomfortable with my answering capability... not to mention I had about 8 in a row! There were lots of meds that I didn't recognize and syndromes I had never heard of. The day after my exam, I met my parents on the Oregon coast for my dad's birthday celebration. Incidentally, I had no reception where we were camped so until I drove in to town on Monday eve, I had no idea of my exam status. As I parked the car for dinner, texts starte

d to come in. Josh's was the first I saw, "Congrats hun! You passed! You are an RN!" :) I was ecstatic and proceeded to run up the road to my parents screaming, "I passed!". I will never forget that day.

Thank you to everyone who supported me through the thick and thin of school. Josh- you were my rock when I came home from clinicals exhausted or grumpy, not to mention with puke on my scrubs. You helped me prep for exams and made me dinner when I was too tired to do it myself. And bless you for letting me spread my study notes all around and even bring them on vacations! You saw all my bad moments and helped me through them. I couldn't have done it without you! To my family- you supported me through it all, from the very beginning- at Albertson when I was an environmental studies major to COCC when I decided to go for it. You were there when I was applying to school, when I stressed about "what I wanted to be when I grew up". You supported me in every way possible and because of your love and support, I have succeeded in school. Thank you for putting up with my last minute change in plans from exams, or that assignment my teacher just decided to give me on a whim. And last but not least, my nursing peeps- I have never met a group of individuals whom I can say more wonderful things about. You are all inspiring to me and I will never forget you. I expect you all to make yourselves at home in Bend when you come visit! ;) Thank you for taking my late night phone calls, and thank you for helping me in clinicals with those rough moments...Adina- cue 'digital removal' memory...not going to say anything more.

For those of you that got frustrated with me and didn't quite understand what 'nursing school' meant, I guess you will only know how hard it was if you do it yourself. Kayaking certainly took a back seat because I had to give school my full attention. That's just how I did it and it got me through. Remember, don't take my being unavailable as synonymous with 'lack of caring' or 'lack of interest'. That would be a wrong assumption...and you know what they say about 'assumptions'. ;)

I am beginning a new chapter in my life and I couldn't be more charged up and ready to go! I have taken a temporary job with Mollen Immunizations in Bend,OR. I will be in charge of flu shots for the Bend area. Woo hooo! Thus, I am in the process of moving. The packing is almost all done and it sure feels great. Thank you to mom and dad for letting me use the trailer! It has made all the difference. It sure feels strange to be in the house with nothing in it. Nala cat seems to be doing just fine and acts as though nothing is wrong. Funny. She sure will know when she is riding in the front seat. Ohhhhh boy. Cue the 'cat freakout'!

Until next time....I will post again once I am home....ah I can call Bend 'home' again!

And because I am choosing to do what makes me happy, here is an inspiring quote:

Life is the sum of your choices.
— Albert Camus