Given the huge number of examinees who took the PNLE this November, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) may take a while before it is able to project a release date for the results. Below are some tips in dealing with the stress of waiting for the nursing board exam results:
• Accept the fact that the exam is over, things are out of your control now. You did the best that you could on the exam, and no amount of worry or stress is going to change the results now;
• Avoid going over the test questions and answers with other examinees. While it may seem a good idea so we can get a general picture of our performance in the nursing exams, doing so now causes more stress and makes us second-guess ourselves;
• Go for a walk or jog, go to the gym, or engage in sports as a means to release adrenaline. When we are reviewing for the exams, our body prepares for fight or flight the same way that it does in an emergency. During the actual exam, our body goes into fight mode, but since taking an exam is more of a mental activity, examinees do not get the chance to physically release the adrenaline. Hence, it is important to find a physical activity that will facilitate the release of adrenalin and calm our nerves;
• Get reconnected with friends and family. If you reviewed for the boards like the way this blogger did, then you would have spent the last few months of your waking hours immersed in review classes, reading books, and doing practice tests leading up to the exam virtually alienating you from friends and families. Now is a good time to get in touch with them;
• Do the things that you enjoy doing. It can be anything. If you are into online games, airsoft, blogging, travel, chatting, surfing, biking, mountain climbing, clubbing, or simply hanging out with friends. Now is a good time for it. Anything that will get your mind off the exams is good; and finally
• If you are a spiritual person, pray. They say that prayer is a very powerful tool. Regardless of your religious affiliation, it is always comforting to know that a higher being looks after you in one way or another.
• Accept the fact that the exam is over, things are out of your control now. You did the best that you could on the exam, and no amount of worry or stress is going to change the results now;
• Avoid going over the test questions and answers with other examinees. While it may seem a good idea so we can get a general picture of our performance in the nursing exams, doing so now causes more stress and makes us second-guess ourselves;
• Go for a walk or jog, go to the gym, or engage in sports as a means to release adrenaline. When we are reviewing for the exams, our body prepares for fight or flight the same way that it does in an emergency. During the actual exam, our body goes into fight mode, but since taking an exam is more of a mental activity, examinees do not get the chance to physically release the adrenaline. Hence, it is important to find a physical activity that will facilitate the release of adrenalin and calm our nerves;
• Get reconnected with friends and family. If you reviewed for the boards like the way this blogger did, then you would have spent the last few months of your waking hours immersed in review classes, reading books, and doing practice tests leading up to the exam virtually alienating you from friends and families. Now is a good time to get in touch with them;
• Do the things that you enjoy doing. It can be anything. If you are into online games, airsoft, blogging, travel, chatting, surfing, biking, mountain climbing, clubbing, or simply hanging out with friends. Now is a good time for it. Anything that will get your mind off the exams is good; and finally
• If you are a spiritual person, pray. They say that prayer is a very powerful tool. Regardless of your religious affiliation, it is always comforting to know that a higher being looks after you in one way or another.
