Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

I usually feel a great let down after the holidays when all the world reverts back to the same-old routine of daily living.  It seems that we have a grand whirlwind of friends, family, fun, and free time that screeches to a halt suddenly with the beginning of the new year.  This year was no exception, although I didn't seem to notice as much as I jumped back into the grind with a major exam looming over me. My employer strongly  encouraged all of the faculty to take the C.N.E. (Certified Nurse Educator) exam.  I scheduled my test the end of January.  I studied, and studied, and studied!  Every spare minute this month was spent in my office studying like crazy.  ~ Side note:  during the last few months I have been seriously considering continuing my education to obtain a doctorate degree.  When you are working in the collegiate world of education there is some pressure to obtain that degree.  I had even started the application process...

Friday I took a test.  It was, hands down, the hardest test I have ever taken (even harder than the State Nursing Board - NCLEX) test.  It is a national test for certification as a nurse educator.  Here is a description from the NLN (National League of Nurses): Certification in any field is a mark of professionalism. For academic nurse educators, it establishes nursing education as a specialty area of practice and creates a means for faculty to demonstrate their expertise in this role. It communicates to students, peers, and the academic and health care communities that the highest standards of excellence are being met. By becoming credentialed as a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE), you serve as a leader and a role model. The reason this test was so hard was because: 1.  They used a lot of big words that I had to learn and understand 2.  The testers wrote the test to be at a "Higher Order Thinking" or in other words a very difficult level.     ...