WA CNA

Hey guys! I’m going to take you on a little snapshot of the past couple of days and what is has been like regarding my Washington State CNA exam and the before and after prep and results! So here we go!

February 8th, 2018 – Thursday evening:

I went over my study materials one last time before the big day. I took practice tests and acted out all my skills, not once, but multiple times. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. It got to the point where my brain physically hurt. I just needed to test. NOW!

Before getting into bed around 8:30pm ( I know, I am NOT a night owl. I mean, I can be when I want to be, but I had a big day ahead so I knew I wanted to get some sleep. I’m on a tangent now). Anyways, before heading to bed, I said a prayer. I asked God to take away any anxiety and to take this exam out of my hands. I cast it upon him. I knew, no matter what the outcome on the test was. I was going to be okay. I still had a roof over my head, a job, and if worst comes to worse I would just have to retake the test. I knew in my heart nursing is what I feel called to do, so I gave it all to God and fell asleep peacefully.

February 9th, 2018 – test day:

I woke up early in the morning, showered, tossed on my scrubs, and got to the testing center by 7:30am. My whole drive there, I was listening to worship music. My anxiety was very low and for the most part, I felt very peaceful. I kept telling myself, “this is in God’s hands.”

8am sharp, the process and written test began. As I began to read to questions, I felt very confident about my answers. I ended up finishing within an hour and we had two hours to take it.

After taking the written, it was onto the skills test. But first I had to wait… and wait… then wait some more. I ended up waiting almost three hours before taking my skills exam.

I had 25 minutes to complete five skills. These were the skills they gave me:

Hand washing
Assisting a patient on a bedpan
Measuring urinary output
PPE gown (which I seriously ALWAYS get)
Catheter care

I could not make any mistakes, but I was so ready. I was smiling and so pumped, the judge made a comment and stated most people aren’t smiling for their test. I simply said, thank you and that I was ready to test. If she knew me, she would know that I am not like most people.

Skill after skill, I got more and more excited. I was almost done! By the time I finished, I was so confident! Whatever happens was in God’s hands. I left the testing center smiling.

When I got home, I immediately grabbed my computer to see if I had passed. Nothing yet… I still needed to wait. This was definitely teaching me patience.

I checked again…

I DID IT!!!!!

I PASSED the Washington State CNA exam! I am now Sydney Romine-Black, CNA!! In just a couple of weeks my name will be in the state registry. This honestly, means so much to me! I never thought I’d be pursuing career in nursing, ahhh but look at me now!

I went from questioning weather or not I’d ever be able to walk again, to now walking and choosing to walk with others in their pain. My accident and 11 hip surgeries changed my life… I didn’t see the purpose of it back then, but I see it now!

Thank you, God, for never letting me give up, closing doors even when I didn’t understand why, and using me for the glory of you. You are the reason why I am still here today. When you call me out, I will continue to listen. ❤️ Happy tears!!