Certified

I took a Pediatric Certification review course in October with an amazing instructor, Dr. Louise Jakubik of Nurse Builders. The course was sponsored by my hospital and over the course of two full days we “reviewed” everything a certified pediatric nurse needs to know.

Reviewed is in parenthesis because some of the information we reviewed was brand new to me. Remember, my Pediatric Nursing rotation was in the fall of 1988. Still- a good portion of the information was familiar- areas where I had practiced were easily reviewed and the tools we were given over the two days were invaluable.

After the course, I applied to see if I was eligible to take the test, and once I got approved, scheduled the exam for December 5^th. I reviewed and studied then did an on-line practice test. I barely passed and I got really nervous.

The test is 175 questions, of which 150 are scored. It is completely multiple choice, but it is the “best” answer of the four… which makes the test harder.

Passing and becoming certified means I can be considered for promotion at some point. That is a really big deal.

So I studied… did practice questions… reviewed.

Finally test day came. I had not realized how stressed I was. The day was foggy, and the 14 car pile-up closed the highway right in front of me, so channeling Tony Stewart, I swung over multiple lanes to get off the highway before I was trapped with nowhere to go.

Driving locally made the trip longer, but I had left a ton of extra time, so I got to the test center ahead of my 9am test time. I had to put all my things in a locker, show the empty pockets of my jeans, and then I was wanded before being seated for the test. 

The tutorial that explained how the computer based testing worked seemed to take longer than the 12 minutes the clock said elapsed.

Finally the test. 175 questions. Some were easy- I knew them cold. Some I outright guessed at. But mostly I just said what I would do in a given situation.

After the 175 questions, I had to evaluate the testing and center… It seemed to take FOREVER!

Finally my results were posted. I passed. I could not tell you if I passed by a point or twenty. But I am certified. And so very relieved!