Gnat In My Lipgloss

Well, I got the results of my written board exam, and I passed!!! I got an 89%! And now that I know I passed, I can blog about it. It was too terrifying to go over it all again before I knew whether or not I had passed! So, here's the scoop:

I woke up at 6:45 and had to pick up my friend, Mallory, at 7:00! I have never, NEVER, been late to class in this program and the one, most important day of all, I set my alarm wrong! I could not believe it! The panic must of lent me wings because I was at Mallory's at 6:55!

Mallory and I pick up Alicia, and we head off! We arrive at the testing center and prepare to take the hardest test of our lives. Gradually, the rest of our class arrives. We all wait nervously for the testing center to open. I hand out some Imodium (won't mention any names here!) to calm some anxious tummies, and pop some Xanax myself! All to soon, the doors open, and we are ushered in.

We step up one at a time and present our exactly, to the letter correct, id's (two forms, mind you!) and place our palm on a sensor that takes a picture of your palm for identification. We are then instructed to place all of our belongings, except our id, into a locker. We are taken back, one by one, to the death chamber. We are placed in a small room, lined with cubicles along three walls, and glass windows along the fourth. Behind those glass windows is a testing center employee whose sole job is to watch the test takers to make sure they don't cheat. Each time you leave the room (which I only did twice, once to pee and once to go to lunch) you have to have your palm read again to make sure you are who you say you are! It felt very strange, but was kinda neat to see the technology! As I sit down, I can't believe the day has finally arrived...

I begin the test. I immediately panic because I don't know the answer to the first question. I HATE when I don't know the first question! It sets a bad tone for the entire exam. I move to the second question, not sure about that one either! Crap! On to number three......you have GOT to be kidding me..... where are they getting these questions??? Finally, the fourth question is reasonable and I have some idea of what they are asking. By that I mean that I had heard of the choices before. I continue on through the test, feeling like I had studied all the wrong information! Finally, I come to the end of the morning session. I just prayed that I had answered enough of the 200 questions correct to allow me to pass.

Mallory and I finish around the same time. We had planned to go to Mom and Dad's with Alicia and eat lunch. However, the ADA failed to tell us that we had exactly one hour from the time we finished the morning session to eat lunch and return for the afternoon session. We thought we were scheduled to take lunch from 12-1, no matter how early we finished. Alicia had finished much earlier than us, and we had no idea where she was. Hoping that she had found someone to take her to lunch, we head to Mom's. We eat as fast as we can and return for the afternoon part. We finally see Alicia and, together, we all complain about the misleading information from the ADA!

We return to the testing room and submit our palms for reading. After feeling so incompetant after the morning session, I pray that the case studies portion is easier. This is one of the most tiring exams you can sit. They give you 15 case studies with 10 questions each. You have to read the health history, perio charting, medication list, hard charting, x-rays and intraoral pictures on each case. I felt that the case studies were rather simple, a definite relief. I was so tired by the last 3 cases, that I was sure I was making stupid mistakes. Finally I answer the last question and submit my answers. I can't believe it's over.

I was completely exhausted after 8 hours of answering question after question. I was so relieved it was over, but I was really worried about passing. I felt as though I had studied all the wrong information! The test did not seem to be very dental-specific. It was more general health questions that any health professional could answer. Looking back on that day, I felt like I was in a fog, like I was only there for a couple minutes, rather than 8 hours. I am just sooooo thankful it is over and I never have to do it again!

We waited almost 2 weeks to find out if we had passed. Today, after clinic, Autumn told me that she had heard from some fellow students that our scores would be waiting in our mail box when we got home! That was the longest ride home ever! Alicia and I rode together, and normally I drop her off at home and then head home myself. Well, today, I was freaking out, so my wonderful friend offered to let me go home first and get my score. We pull up to our mailbox and I open it slowly. I swear, it was happening in slow motion. I see the envelope and grab it! I open it and pull out the paper. All I see are numbers.....numbers everywhere. Numbers that make no sense whatsoever to me. I can't find a percentage sign for the life of me! Finally, I yell out, "I can't find my score!!!" Alicia calmly takes the paper and finds my score for me! What a great girl! After that, we head to her place and her awaiting score card. I stood next to her as she, much more calmly than me, opens her letter. She passed too! In fact, our entire class passed! I was so proud of us!

I immediately call everyone I know and tell them the good news. Cody was so sweet and brought me home some flowers, wine and cookie dough ice cream! Does that boy know me or what? Here's a picture of my beautiful flowers!


Thanks to everybody for putting up with me and my craziness these past 3 years. I couldn't have done it without the support of everybody. Especially Cody. He has sacrificed so much for me to be in this program. Thanks babe, I love you so much!