142 - Aysia Ramos: It’s Just a Little Hiccup in the Road

Join very recent graduate and O’ahu, Hawai’i native Honored Guest Aysia Ramos as she chats about her touching inspiration behind becoming a nurse, prep work advice for taking the NCLEX, the importance of self advocacy and asking for accommodations, her favorite parts of nursing school, balancing extracurriculars, how you never want to be the smartest person in the room, and more!

Contact us:
thanks@feedingouryoung.org to send a note of appreciation to any of our honored guests - let them know how they touched you - I'll make sure they read your praises!
info@feedingouryoung.org all other inquiries, including having host Eric Miller speak to your nursing students or nurses!
+1 (509) 666-5636 text/voicemail line

Follow us:
@feedingouryoungllc Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

Many thanks:
Jon Holland (Jomarkho - found on SoundCloud, Spotify, and the like) Music - intro/outro/sting composition
10com Web Development Logo and website design
Jeff Burton (88 Creative) Planting and watering the seeds to start this podcast

Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young podcast. I don't wanna brag, but today we're going really far away for our honored guest. I am going to talk with someone. I'm going to Aysia. I'm going to Aysia. That's it. That's all there is to it. So without further ado, okay, no, I'm not really going to Asia, but this will make more sense when I say hello, honored guests. Welcome this morning. Would you like to introduce yourself? Great intro, Eric. I am Aysia Ramos. um Born and raised in Hawaii. And I'm glad to be here today. Thanks for having me, Eric. I'm so glad to have you aboard. uh In the interest of full disclosure, Aysia's one of my former students and a uh recent graduate, right, of there's some university in Spokane. What was the name of that university again? I think it's called like Gonzaga University. Go Zags! You're a proud Zog. I don't understand how that's even, how do people do that? I don't understand. It's an A. looks, I mean, I don't know. It gon-zay, gon-zog, I don't know. ah it was Gonzaga before coming here, but anyways... yeah. I just don't understand like from a, like how is that a thing? Even though I get why it is, it's just weird. Anyway, so I'm sorry, you've already said it. Where's home for you? I'm from Hawaii, born and raised on the island of Oahu. Perfect, awesome. And that is currently where you are. So, right, you're at home. Beautiful. So I'm not going to Aysia, but we are recording Trans-Pacific. So we'll see how this flies. So far, so good. So Aysia, uh recent graduate of Gonzaga University. Congratulations. So we've established that. Let's ask the other. traditional opening questions. We'll talk about them more at end of your episode, but what are three words that you would use to describe nursing school? I would, the three words that I would describe nursing school is, it's challenging, unpredictable, and rewarding. and then the loaded question, three of your favorite songs in life right now. See, I feel like it's so hard to just narrow it down to three Eric. This sucks, but it also changes every single day. So, but right now guys, give it a listen. It is Seven Seas by Mahina Lawrence. She was mine by AJ Raphael and Blue by Young Kai. Great three songs. So without further ado. There are few things you, Aysia, wanted to talk about. So let's bring up those things in no particular order, everyone. It's gonna drive you crazy. But here we are. ah Let's talk, first of all, I like to open up about family. So whatever you wanna share about your family and specifically your upbringing, all of that. Sweet. Well, I, Eric, I have two older brothers. I have two parents, loving parents. I have one dog, Precious, a little white dog. She's actually here right now. She's sleeping, of course. Do we have to... here. Hold on. White dog named Precious. Okay, is it the most stereotypical thing ever, Eric? Are you judging me right now? have you seen Silence of the Lambs? No, I don't think so. Is there another white dog named Precious? no, no, no, I'm not gonna say, do you like horror movies or psychological horror? Is that something you can sit through? I'm done talking about it. Your assignment, you now have an assignment. Here it is, you're not even my student. You have an assignment, that is to watch Signs of the Lambs. It's the great Anthony Hopkins playing the role of Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster in her incredible role as Clarice Starling. It is a classic. All I'm gonna say is that. You're gonna watch it. People who have seen it already know what I'm talking about. And soon you will too. Okay, so, sorry. About your family, I will not interrupt you anymore. A white dog named Precious, your two older brothers, your loving parents. Mm-hmm. My two older brothers are also like in healthcare. One is a PT right now and one just finished his first year of pharmacy school. So, yeah, I mean, it's great to have two older brothers. They're kind of like my bodyguards almost, you know, but very overprotective. But it's all good. It's all good. But what else? We're also first gen college students. And so I feel like growing up we've always been motivated to make our parents proud and be very hardworking and persevere through all of the obstacles in our lives and it's good that we have each other to back each other up and support each other through hard times and yeah but all three of you being first gen college students, I was gonna ask, you know, if your parents inspired you to go into medical field since you're all there. ah so what role does that play there? Like why nursing for you specifically? And did your parents play any part in that inspiration for the three of you? You know, I feel like growing up, I always said like, I don't want to do nursing. Like, I actually thought about that. like, maybe I don't want to work with people. But my grandparents have always like been in and out of the rehabs and all of the hospitals. And I always was surrounded by like amazing nurses. And I wanted to be like them and wanted to make an impact on patients as well. Because I don't want to get into like a really sad story. just about my grandpa and seeing him ah try to be revived and all of this stuff and getting CPR and I don't know, it was horrific for uh my mom and I, even though we saw him five minutes ago and he was fine. But we had to rush over back to his rehab and we saw that he didn't have a pulse. and wasn't breathing anything. And it was hard to see his, and I think I was like nine years old, Eric. And I thought it was gonna be traumatizing, but I don't know, I feel like it motivated me to wanna be a part of that healthcare team to make the situation better and try to revive patients and try to help patients as well too. And I know exactly. And I felt like I was consoling my mom almost and making all of the calls and she could vouch for that. She's here, but she's listening anyways. ah But I feel like from that day, I feel like it inspired me to be a part of a team who could make an impact on patients and try to save lives. And. I don't know, didn't feel pressured from my parents or anything and I don't think they really pressured it onto my brothers as well. I think it was more like engineering for my brothers, but I don't know. Healthcare is pretty cool and I guess we all like science, so I don't know. And that's, I think maybe that's the commonality there, right? Like that health sciences background. No, and I thank you for being open. I wasn't trying to pry in there a little bit I'm sorry you had to witness that, but I'm also very happy that if there's a silver lining to come from that. It's that, you know what mean, you are entering the healthcare field because the healthcare field will benefit from you being a part of it for sure. Aw, thanks Eric. See, without that experience, see there's positives in every hard experience that you experience in life. I mean, it's got me to be with you. Here talking to you today, you know? yeah. I get to be a better person having known you because of that whole thing that happened, regardless of what happens in the future, and I love that. Yeah, yeah. Well, since we're on the hard subject train and uh we have decided we are not sure if this part is going to make the episode. So if anybody's hearing these words, we've decided this part is making the episode. But you talk about having that support system during difficult times and during challenges, and you've most recently experienced a pretty significant setback. So what do you want to share about it? And I... I'm gonna share what you texted me in the bullet point if that's okay, because it didn't make sense at first and I'm like, I can't wait to find out. And then I was saddened to find out, but it said, NCLEX craziness, two rolling eye emojis. What is that all about, Aysia? That's crazy. See, I didn't want to tell you over text. I just wanted to keep you guessing. And I was right. You know what mean? um But anyways, let's get into that. That was a great segue, Eric. um But anyways, let's let's roll it back to June 24th when I took my NCLEX. Actually, let's go before that. Let's talk about the prep work that I. Okay, love it. of the resources. ah I did all of the practice. include what you are welcome to name drop. What have you been using? my God. Okay, wait, let me bring it up right now. I think one was called Blueprint, which one of my nursing instructors recommended to my cohort. And I think it was like a 60 day free trial. I think so I used that and it gave me like a strict schedule on all of the... like the video resources that I had to use every single day and like do a bunch of practice tests and practice questions. Um, and I did all of that. I also use Kaplan as well. And I also use the NCLEX mastery app that Rachel Williams, shout out, shout out. We'll talk about her more later, but, um, um, but I also use that, which is a great like resource. gives like good rationales and all of the questions that you like get correct and wrong. um And I did a bunch of practice tests within those resources and I was passing them all and I felt very confident like days and weeks leading up to the test day and I thought I was confident to pass it but test day comes I was fine like in the morning but I think I was over stressing myself a little bit and I was looking over content and I shouldn't have done that. And then I, my mom also helped like dropped me off too so that I don't have to like freak about, freak out about trying to like driving, right? Exactly getting there, parking. And we had a general idea of where the testing location was, but we didn't know like what, which room. And I think I was stressing myself out about that and like not knowing having to be there 30 minutes early. And so, and I'm. Sorry, like it was just a very stressful day for me and a lot of My anxiety was skyrocketing and I shouldn't have been in that mindset to take that exam in the first place And I remember it like sitting down was like, I'm not ready today. Like today is not my day. like from the, yeah, yeah. the moment you sat down, but not before. You sit down and you're like, oh no, what have I gotten myself into? Exactly. And I feel like from like the start I was like, my gosh, I'm not in the correct mind mindset and all of the... all of the knowledge and the skills that I've like obtained through nursing school, all of the practice tests, all of the practice questions that I've done to prepare for this moment, like it just went away and it sucked, you know? And I feel like for the first time ever when I was answering the questions, I didn't have that voice in my head. I didn't have Mark K. in my head telling me, like walking me through all of the uh answers and just breaking down the questions. I felt like I wasn't conceptualizing anything. And I ended up running out of time. I went past the 85 questions. I think I was on 113. Well, I'm really exposing myself right now, Eric, but I went past the 85 questions and I ran out of time. The test didn't stop me. I just went past the five hours. And normally I do get accommodations during school and my doctor actually said that I could get like, or he recommends like one and a half extra time and I didn't get that during my, uh when I was taking my NCLEX. So I feel like if I had that time, uh I feel like I could have proven myself that I'm a safe nurse. Yeah. So I don't know, I feel like it just goes to show that testing anxiety is real and you really have to be in a really good mindset before taking that test. especially on that day of, I feel like it's very important to take care of yourself and take care of your health and do all of the things that we preach to our patients. And it's so important to just remember that we have to take care of ourselves and that testing anxiety is real and as much prep work that you do. couldn't be so different on the day of and it sucks you know because I pushed everything back for this test I'm like my friends wanted to hang out you want it I pushed back like our podcast like three times because I was like t-minus 20 days until my NCLEX Eric I have to grind right because I have I was on a strict schedule and I wanted to like focus on that and I like studied like 24-7 like I'm that kind of student where I don't give myself breaks and I don't don't give myself grace either, I'm like I have to be focused on this one thing but I think it was so hard for me to like even come onto your podcast today because I felt like I don't know I felt like I'm a failure like all of these negative things And once I found out my results that I didn't pass, I feel like that whole entire week I went through the five stages of grief, um bereavement, anger, depression, like everything, it was crazy. But I'm so glad that I had the support system that I have here in Hawaii. And like my family is very supportive. My family or my friends too were very uplifting. And it's also very important to have that good support system. And Yeah, and I feel like this is also like a good lesson to other students as well as they're taking the NCLEX and how important it is to have this good support system and that it's gonna be okay. We're gonna get jobs one day, you know what I mean? It's not the end of the world. Like there's other people who struggling to like put food on the table or who don't even have a roof over their heads. So I try to have that optimistic mindset and... And that's incredible. And that's incredible that you do. And it's important that you do. But on the flip side, it's also very real. You know, we acknowledge those very real feelings of, my gosh, I'm one of the ones that failed the first time. um so obviously, you're going to make an incredible nurse. Whatever's going to happen between now, because you have a mandatory waiting period before you can try again, correct? OK. And you talked about not giving yourself that grace and you know what mean? And like just studying 24 seven. Do you feel like that contributed to this? Are you going to do a different approach this time, you know, in that regards or? Mm-hmm, for sure, because I was watching, like... other NCLEX videos and like, it's okay that you failed the next time. This is what, this is the resources and like the steps that we found are most helpful to students. And they said that a lot of their students who passed the first time only took like two to three hours of studying every single day. And I'm like, what the heck? That seemed like it's impossible for me, you know, because I love to like stress out myself and just over prepare. um But right now I'm starting to study again for when I have to retake it. And I'm definitely giving myself more grace and more breaks. um And I think that's important. Like I'm hanging out with my friends later on today, but I'm also maybe not studying two to three hours a day. I think I'll limit it to like six or eight because okay, okay. It's hard to jump from studying 24-7 to like two to three hours a day because I feel like that stresses me out. So I think I'll take it a little by little. Like I have to go from 24 hours to 6-8. That seems a little bit more manageable for me at least, you know? And you have to just do what works best for you. I don't know. But... I don't know, I feel like that makes me a little bit less anxious, but definitely I'm giving myself a lot more time to do what I want instead of pushing things back because of my exam. Like I have to prioritize my own mental health and like family time, friend time too, so. it sounds like you were like a rubber band that was completely stretched to its limit and you stayed there and now this go around you're like, know what, I'm gonna let that just loosen up a little bit. I'm still gonna make sure the rubber band's tight but like, I'm gonna give it some slack, right? Yeah. I do want to touch on something if it's OK with you. Like you mentioned, because this is important for a lot of students I know, needing accommodations and having those medically approved accommodations. Do you, like, is that even an option for the NCLEX? Have you even researched that? Because I honestly don't know the answer to that question. So people who normally receive accommodations like during like at school normally or should be able to receive accommodations for like the NCLEX too and I was but it's very like competitive. And so when I did get my accommodations, I got a separate room, but I didn't necessarily get extra time because it's so competitive and they're very selective with who they give extra time to. um But I feel like it's also very important to advocate for yourself because I thought it was weird because I knew that I was a slower test taker and that I needed to really take my time to read the question thoroughly and make sure I had everything. that I needed to answer the question with like using nursing judgment, right? But it is an option, but I just wish that I advocated for myself more and I wish the same for the listeners who are listening into this podcast right now. Like it's okay to like reach out for the accommodations that you know that you deserve and that you need for this test because yeah, just not passing it the first time kind of. delayed a little bit, delayed things in my life a little bit, but it's okay. It's little hiccup. It's a little like pothole in the road. We'll be okay. But it is an option, but it's very competitive and you should, like, if you want accommodations, you should act on it fast. And yeah, because I think it takes like months for it to improve sometimes and... When it's May too, or April, May, I think it's like a really hard time for all of the accommodations people to really attend to exactly because there's so many people who are requesting for accommodations, but it's a thing. Yeah. because that hasn't always been a thing. And so, you know what mean? Just because I think a lot of students got lost on the wayside who would legitimately be able to do this, that or the other if given accommodations. You know, we're talking decades ago, right? Like, you know what I mean? OK, so thank you for being open. Thank you for being vulnerable. Thank you for being honest. And everyone, if you if you're still hearing these words. This was all discussed beforehand. Like we talked about the option of postponing this one again, which was fine. We talked about talking about it, not talking about it, ignoring it altogether. Aysia, just kudos to you for being like, you know what? I think this is gonna help some people. And so I have every confidence in the world. You're gonna kick that thing's ass in a few, next month. Yes, 100%, 100%. um for the listeners who are listening in right now, I feel like it's also important to realize that like, this isn't gonna matter in like five years from now, or even like a year from now. We're actually gonna be wishing to have this extended break. You know I mean? uh um Exactly, because we're just going to be working for the rest of our lives, you know? And so it's not super important to have a job right away, just like your friends in school. It's, yeah, it's just a little hiccup in the road. It's just a little hiccup in the road. I love that. I love that. then, okay. Let's talk nursing school. Let's talk nursing school before we talk about future plans. Let's talk nursing school. So, Gonzaga, four-year university. What would you say were some of your favorite parts about nursing school? Definitely the people, Eric, and like the carpool rides, really like brought us so much closer. You don't even know, Eric. Like I got uh lunch with uh one of my friends, Sara Curran, right? She's also from Hawaii and we realized that we live like five minutes away from each other. was crazy. But anyways, see, what are the odds? Exactly. And we're in the same nursing cohort. And we live not even like five minutes away. It's like a two minute drive. That's crazy. And we didn't realize until junior. But anyways, but we were talking about like carpool rides and how it like got everyone together. But definitely the community and just having other people to help support you through one of the hardest programs ever. Nursing school, you know, and just to have that support system. And it's like a bond that you would you wouldn't necessarily have with other people. like my friends here either who aren't nursing majors, like they don't understand how hard getting through nursing school is. So it's very, I don't know, it was that I feel like having a community and friends to talk to definitely was the best part of nursing school, I would say. And just getting through the hardest stuff. Well, and like you said, and it's important to have your support people outside of nursing school, of course. That's not what we're advocating here for, you know. Have your non-nursing friends, have your family, have all the things. But there's just something about the people who know the language, who know what you're personally going through, and the, you know, for lack of a better term, it's been brought up before trauma bonding of nursing school. And the challenge is that that those unique challenges that nursing school brings to that. Mm-hmm. The trauma bonding. That was a good way to put it. Yeah. No, I like that. 100%. because you are. You're undergoing one of the most difficult changes in life together. And that just forces you to be closer together. there's something else you wanted to talk about with nursing school and that was balancing it with activities and one in particular named choir. I think you have a shout out there. Indeed. Shout to Rachel Williams, who was actually the ambassador that reached out to me before. like coming to Gonzaga and she was like the person that kind of like sold Gonzaga to me as well. And she was like, we have a nursing program, not nursing program. But we also have a choir that you can join in. Oh, for context guys, Rachel Williams is also graduated from Gonzaga's nursing program, the cohort before me. And she is the smartest person that I've ever met and so inspiring. But anyways, balancing nursing school and choir. Eric, let me tell you. Eric and other people. Let me tell you, that was probably one of the hardest things ever too. Like probably harder than the AnkleX, I'm just kidding. Oh, partially. But anyways, anyways, let me get back on track. ah We had choir every single day for an hour. which was already time consuming, but I was also on uh like a scholarship. So I had to take like voice lessons. And I also had to take like a voice studio class every week with all of my peers where we have to sing in front of each other, all of our repertoire. it's like Italian, German, all of the languages, Eric. And we had to like memorize all of them. And we also had a thing called juries at the end of the semester where we had to perform like our memorized songs in front of the vocal teachers. But we also had to like partake in be like what I said like voice area recitals where it's like open to the public and so there's a lot of like outside work in that too where we have to practice our music of course like in the practice rooms but it was so hard to balance it with nursing school with like clinicals and everything and studying for that but I'm just very thankful for my choir instructor who was very lenient on me I would say and she's like it's just probably just gone doing like a nursing thing, which I was, right? No big deal. She doesn't have to sing with us today. She can come back tomorrow, but I don't know. It was a great community and I don't regret being in choir and trying to balance it out with nursing school because I feel like doing things outside of nursing school and just doing any extracurricular was very good for my mental health and it definitely kept me sane, along with the people, of course. for So, I mean, obviously the benefit is you've made that benefit very real and very obvious. Do you have any practical advice for someone who's listening going, gosh, how did you balance that then? I mean, despite the leniency, obviously that helped a little bit, but you still had to balance stuff. How did you do that? You know, I heard from one, I think it was one of my voice teachers and she was saying like, you make time for things that matter to you. And so I always think about that. I'm like, yeah, she's so right. So everyone that's listening, like if something matters to you, you'll make it work. You'll fit it into your schedule no matter what. And yeah, I'm glad that that like resonated with me because I feel like, I don't know, it just pushed me to. try to make it work. Well, and like you said, I feel like it gives you opportunities where you have these moments of every week at least, where you're not worried about nursing or focused on nursing related things. It gives you a chance to disconnect and focus on something else, maybe even more pleasing, right? Yeah. that's awesome. And it was nice to also talk to non-nursing majors too, you know, instead of, even though I literally just said, like, there's no better community than people who, like, get you and understand you who are in the same program and, like... we're like on the same boat, but it's also refreshing to talk to like business majors or like comm majors too and like just like reset a little bit and not just to have like nursing, nursing, nursing in your mind. So it's good to join other things and make it work. it. And make it work. No, and I love that you bring that up because, you you talk about it being, you know, so enjoyable and all the things and giving you that experience outside of nursing school. So that's awesome and thank you for also shouting out uh Rachel Williams on that as well. She, for those who don't know, she's episode number 36. You can go back and listen to the amazing human being that is Rachel. And this is why I love my job. I get to know people who are just incredible human beings in every walk of life. Rachel, Aysia, everyone else that's come before, everyone that'll come after. This is my most favorite job that pays me nothing and I will hopefully do it till the day I die. uh So, ah Then there's one last thing I want to bring up that you had in your list of things you maybe wanted to talk about, and maybe we already touched on it, I don't know, but tell me what you meant by uh words of encouragement, because in all caps, Lord knows. Lord does know, Lord does know. Did you tell us that quote, Eric? Or just being like, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. Did you tell us that? Because I'm trying to figure out where, okay. Oh, maybe it's Sarah Morasch. Shout out to her too, my queen. I love her. ah But. Yeah, you never want to be the smartest person in the room because you want to be in a room full of smart people. You actually want to be one of the dumber people in the room because that's how you're going to learn and grow as a new and upcoming nurse or whatever you might be doing. And so it's important to be surrounded by people that... oh continues to motivate you and to inspire you almost because you want to always be better than yourself from the previous day and like that whole saying but yeah don't be exactly but what other words of encouragement and like advice one advice that I would give people I guess to like not lose faith in yourself and to give yourself grace, whether um it's about like taking the NCLEX or just like obstacles in your life or like during your job. think it's so important to stay resilient, to have that support group, um support group, support people and to know that everything is going to be okay and that I also heard a saying, sorry to ramble. I feel like this whole entire podcast is about rambling, but I heard like an NCLEX prep expert saying like when she was younger and she would fall off a scooter and she would scrape her knee her mom would tell her like Abby, I don't know her name, Abby, it's gonna be fine before you're pregnant. So basically, it's gonna be fine in the future. You're not gonna worry about this minor obstacle in your life, about this minor scrape before like you're pregnant or something in the future, you know? And so five, 10 years, one year from now, all of your minor problems will probably not seem as big as it is now, but you're gonna get through it. And it's so important to to realize that. And that's a huge perspective, because it's okay to feel like, it's okay to feel like this is the biggest thing in my life right this moment, because it probably is. But like you said, then you remember, down the road, this isn't gonna be as big. This isn't gonna be, it's gonna be something smaller, even though it's very, very big right now. Ah, Aysia, thank you for being so open and just candid, so. Let's close in our traditional manner. What were the three words you chose to describe nursing school and why did you pick them? Let me bring it up here. It is challenging, unpredictable, and rewarding. say challenging for like the obvious sense. I think everyone knows that nursing school is so challenging. Like I asked my brother who even says who went through PT school which is like a hard like program as well like he's a doctor now and so he knows how uh hard like just getting through school is you know in PT programs and just hard programs in general but he even said that nursing school is probably one of the hardest if not like harder than PT school as well so that's why I chose challenging as one of the and then unpredictable you never know what's gonna happen like I uh nursing school is unpredictable because you just don't know what you're going to expect and all of the challenges that um you're going to go through. Maybe you're going to fail an exam, maybe you're going to do super well. You never know. But you just have to keep in mind that just be yourself and just try your best. um But what else about it being unpredictable? I don't know. Anyways, we're gonna cut that out too, Eric. um But you never know. yeah, period. Okay, rewarding. um Nursing school is also rewarding because even though it is challenging and it is unpredictable, it's very much worth it in the end. And if you always have that mindset of why you're doing nursing, then it's just gonna keep making you more motivated to pass all of these exams and to... um make sure that you're thinking to yourself that even though it's hard right now, it's going to be so worth it in the end because it is worth it because we're helping all these people and so I don't know it's very rewarding and it gave me amazing friends, me great opportunities and life experiences that I never thought I would ever experience. Thank you Gonzaga. going to get anywhere else, you know what mean? Like in any other context. So, and then Aysia, what is your one, even if you've already said it before, if you want the listening audience to take away one thing from your episode, what would that be? I would say that one takeaway from my podcast would be just to never give up and lose faith in yourself. Like you're gonna make it through all of these obstacles. Like what Miley Cyrus says, let's bring up her lyrics. That should have been part of my top three songs. It's like, it's the climb. There's always gonna be another mountain. There's always, I'm terrible at lyrics guys. um But you're gonna make it and it's gonna be okay even though it seems like you're in the hardest spot in your life right now. it seems like the mountain is huge but you're gonna you're gonna overcome it as long as you have that faith in yourself and like a good support system as well so you got it guys amen sorry it. Thank you so much for taking time in your Friday morning to just being open, vulnerable, like I said already, but also just talking nursing and having a great time. So Aysia, it was awesome to reconnect with you. Thank you so much for doing this. Thanks Eric, sorry it took so long because I even said that I would do it during the school year but Eric, I have so much anxiety and then I was stressing out with nursing school and studying for all of the exams, studying 24-7, not giving myself grace. But now we're here, so I wasn't gonna postpone it. more honored. I'm even more honored that you are here and that we did this. So, that's awesome my friend. Thank you. I can't wait to see what exciting things are in your future. Yay, thanks Eric! Let me know if you need anything. I'll let you know when I pass that NCLEX next because we're- it's all about like having a good mindset. Hello dear listener. Stay tuned here because we're doing something we've never done here before. Today is August 22nd, six weeks after I last spoke with Miss Aysia. Aysia has a little bit of an update for us. Aysia, uh, what happened since the last time I talked with you? Well, Eric, and listeners, I passed the NCLEX. Let's open the door and let's go! So, okay, so now we have to know what the secret is. There was something you wanted to share last time and both of us forgot. And especially now in light of passing that NCLEX, what are the things you want to make sure the nursing students know? Yeah, so Eric, I just wanted to add more clarification on the importance of advocating for yourself for the NCLEX, because I guess I might have not been too clear on my point of wanting to advocate and go through the extra steps, even though it may be tedious or uncompetitive to ensure you have a fair chance to succeed during the NCLEX. I am diagnosed with ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder and normally receive one and a half extra time for exams that I take on Gonzaga, but did not receive the same accommodations and always felt a little bit odd about it when I was first taking the NCLEX. And however, instead of calling Pearson's accommodations line, since it's notably hard for accommodations to get approved in the first place, I just set my worries aside because I assumed that I wouldn't take as long as I should have during the actual exam, which was detrimental to me exactly of those things that you needed accommodations for, right? Yeah. Yeah. shouldn't have assumed that I wouldn't take up all of the time and so my advice is to all of the listeners listening in right now is try not to Assume and always advocate for what you think is best for you and your disabilities um And when I took the NCLEX the second time around I passed because I believe I did have enough time to do enough questions to prove that I was a safe nurse and when I called the accommodations line, they ended up approving it so quickly. I think it took like a day, less than a day for it to get approved. And so I know exactly. it really didn't take as hard to get my accommodations approved than I thought. And so, so important. Exactly. Speak up, advocate for yourself, what you think is right. And of course you studied in between attempt number one and successful attempt number two, but what else did you do that helped you succeed? Because you said there was a couple of things you wanted to share with people. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and so the second time around I really wanted to like focus more on like my self-care and practicing meditation, which is two things that I really haven't done before and I feel like it definitely contributed to me passing the second time around and like I said in the podcast six weeks ago, I really didn't prioritize my self-care and constantly studied 24-7, Eric. And yeah, and prior to taking the NCLEXIS the first time, I always pushed plans back and didn't really have time to hang out with friends and family, which are usually my sources of happiness as much as I did the second time around. would you say it's possible then to overdo it? Oh yeah, 100%. 100%. I definitely overstress. Man, Aysia, I'm so freaking proud of you. I'm not surprised in the slightest. Of course, you knew you were gonna do it. I knew you were gonna do it. But it's still always a relief when it actually happens, right? All right, my friend. so much weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It's so uh what's your name now? Aysia Ramos what? Aysia Ramos, BSN, RN, all of the good things, it's crazy. Oh, Aysia, you have an amazing day. Go celebrate that fact and thanks for updating your episode. Yeah! Yeah! more thing! I also remember like, right before I took the NCLEX a second time around, I remember hyping myself in the bathroom and staring at the mirror and being like, you got this. You're gonna do so great this time around, which is, yeah, something that I didn't do the first time around. I just felt so rushed into taking the exam and didn't have enough time to really... in the good mindset of taking the test. So be in a good mindset, advocate for yourself, do all of the things, take care of yourself because it's so important. so important and I'm gonna piggyback on that because you're 100 % right. When I took my NCLEX, we were talking 18 years ago people, when I took my NCLEX I just said, I'm going in there and I'm kicking it's arse because I, like my future depends on it, this depends on and did I have confidence? No, not at all, I was terrified. I was absolutely terrified. But I told myself I'm gonna kick it. We're not guaranteeing you're gonna have success if you do it, but man you're have a lot better chance if you go in that way. Then going, well, I've probably got a 50-50 chance. I don't know. No, you're to go kick its arse, right? Yeah. Yes. Yes. Take it from two nurses. Well, Aysia, you're no longer, you are my peer, my nursing peer. Welcome to the uh wonderful, wonderful world of being a nurse. Thank you, I'm excited. Ready to change lives legally and with a license. Yeah. Let's go.