Monday, March 22, 2021

Jordann Nagel, BSN, RN beat test anxiety through perseverance!!!

                                                                                         Jordann Nagel, BSN, RN
 

*"Hi, I'm Jordann and I'm gonna be your nurse today."  

I was set to graduate nursing school in May of 2019 but failed a class in the last semester of my program, and had to retake it over the next summer. I took the NCLEX for the first time in October of 2019 and was devastated when I failed the first time and again when I failed in December.

I took my third attempt at the NCLEX in May of 2020 after completing the Hurst review and again, was unsuccessful. The next month I had a miscarriage at 20 weeks and took a break from studying to grieve. I scheduled my next attempt for January 6th of 2021 and failed for the 4th time.

I've battled testing anxiety since the very beginning of my nursing journey and have struggled with answering the NCLEX style questions. I graduated from a 4 year school with a bachelor's degree and have done so many content reviews it's insane.. I know the material and am great in a clinical setting, but you put me in front of a computer for 4 hours and I blank.

I've been very open about my NCLEX journey on tiktok, and I had so many people reach out to me and tell me to listen to the Mark Klimek audios on YouTube. So I listened to all of his audios and took my own notes, slept with them under my pillow, and gave myself the pep talk of my life in the mirror before taking my 5th attempt at the NCLEX this past Thursday.

With tears in my eyes and a fire in my soul I am proudly screaming at the top of my lungs.. JORDANN NAGEL, BSN RN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am here to tell you to never give up on your dreams! Push yourself and keep going until you get there! I freaking did it!!!!!! School is extremely difficult and the NCLEX is terrifying but none of that matters anymore since receiving my licensure number. I am a NURSE and you will be too!

After all, the only time you really fail is if you give up. PERSEVERANCE IS KEY!

Jordann's Tiktok and Instagram are @Jordannnagel.


*This was originally posted to a Facebook group and reposted here with Joardann Nagel's permission.

Congratulations Jordann!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

Donna

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Disabled actor turns to ExceptionalNurse.com for inspiration and guidance developing a character who is a nurse with a disability!


 Recently, I received this email: 

Dear Donna,

My name is Diana Elizabeth Jordan.  I am a Los Angeles based actress who lives with cerebral palsy (which mildly affects my speech and gait). I am reaching out to let you know how invaluable your website was to me recently.

Last Friday, (March 5) I had a guest starring role on Heartbeats (an improvised medical dramedy produced by Jessica Lynn Verdi and Mary Chieffo) which is on Friday's 6 P.M. PST on the Twitch channel). The character I portrayed was Nurse Lollie Blake-Pimperton, Pediatric NP. I was really excited to play a nurse who had a disability and read about other real life  nurses with disabilities. I even got the coloring book.

 I am in awe of what real nurses do and how much you have done especially this past year. Even though the show (which was filmed on Zoom) was improvised and had a lot of comedic elements, it was very important to me especially-since I was a guest star and I am not sure when I will be back, to ground the character in reality. I do hope I represented your profession well.

So I just wanted to thank you. I have included a link to a few of my scenes and also the entire show because the show is really good and the series regulars are awesome.  I hope you enjoy it.  

Thank you for your time and consideration,

 Peace and Grace 


Diana Elizabeth Jordan

Actor*Solo Artist* Theater & Filmmaker

SAG-AFTRA/AEA

 Disability Influencer/Artist Educator

www.dianaelizabethjordan.com

Diana Elizabeth Jordan Lollie Scenes

https://vimeo.com/521935887

Heartbeats episode 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbU9dwL4Kd8&t=32s

 

 Cheers!

Donna

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Exciting news for nurses who use service dogs. Times and guidelines are changing!

 


People Magazine reports that a "golden retriever has been trained to be a laboratory assistant for his disabled neuroscientist owner — and even wears his own canine PPE."

"Service dog Sampson is required to wear PPE for safety reasons as he helps owner Joey Ramp conduct her crucial lab work every day."

"Joey, 56, suffered traumatic head injuries following a serious horse-riding accident in 2006 and returned to education to gain a better understanding of the human brain."

"Sampson, dressed in goggles and a lab coat, is the first-ever canine to be granted access to a chemistry laboratory at The University of Illinois."

"If I drop something in the lab, he'll come to my side, and I can use him as a brace to kneel down and pick up what I need," said Joey of Champagne, Illinois, who is also a disability advocate. Sampson is also on hand to spot signs and react to Joey's PTSD."

Great news for nurses who use service dogs!

Read more at:

https://people.com/pets/golden-retriever-service-dog-works-as-lab-assistant/?amp=true&fbclid=IwAR2LyI74BuaFRzZbqgAQpD5WkTRRiIkd09iZOSIm92z7f2WfX7JQRDDyT2w


Cheers!

Donna