*Sigh* Need some encouragement.

[Vallywillis]

I had posted about this in another post, so I will try make the back story short.

I have a 13 year old case for a misdemeanor, underage possession of alcohol in the state of VA. I live in Massachusetts, and just finished nursing school (yay). :)

I am just feeling really down because I feel like it is going to take forever to get a test date, (if I ever get one).

Part of my issue is that the district court in VA destroyed my records about 2 years ago, so I no longer have access to the necessary court documents that the BON is asking for. In attempt to give them some information I am getting a letter from the court stating their policy on how long they keep documents on file along with a criminal background check through the state police (which interestingly enough, does not show any charges), and a copy of the one piece of info I have, which is a receipt of the fines that I paid.

So I sent the request for this info out on Monday, 1/13 (I actually got these documents over the summer, but didn't realize the BON wanted them in sealed envelopes and had opened them. I thought I had everything I needed, until I spoke to the board last week:bluecry1:).

Anyways, I sent the documents, used the certified mail services and ordered duplicates after paying to have everything notarized. Well, today, after checking on the status of the delivery found out that USPS may have lost my documents.

I just feel like I am NEVER going to be able to take my boards.

I am having so many issues getting my stuff out. 1. My school being horrible about signing my initial application (for no reason, they are doing this to everyone), they wouldn't even tell me where to get the application, I had to call the BON to get the info (no, I am not joking).

2. NOW, the vital documents that I need to send to the board are going to take even longer to get to me.

From what I can tell my BON meets once a month, the next meeting is February 12th. My goal is to get everything they need to them before then, so I can have my application reviewed, and hopefully get a test date by March.

Am I being unrealistic??

I am feeling pretty down right now, so any tips or words of encouragement would be really helpful right now.

[kaydensmom01]

I graduated almost 9 months ago and have not been approved to take my NCLEX yet. It's easy to be discouraged when you are in this situation, but really try not to dwell on it or you may be depressed for some time (not saying that you will have to wait as long as I have but it is a possibility). I graduated in May, and had been gathering paperwork 6 months prior to graduation. I sent the application in in May and did not hear from the board until the end of October, at which time they required me to see a psychiatric evaluator for $3000. I seen him and it took him 4 weeks to fill out the report to send to the BON, in which I assumed they would go over at their next meeting. The length of time that you wait will depend on how often they meet- my BON meets for two days every two months. In my state the BON also needs to receive the needed paperwork three weeks before their next meeting or else they will not go over your case until the following meeting, which also obviously effects the time that you are waiting. I am hoping to hear from them some time in February but do not know if they went over my case at their meeting yesterday or not because they do not answer phone calls/e-mails.

If it does end up taking longer than you hoped/expected and you see all of your classmates receiving their licenses and jobs, don't let it get to you and damage your self worth. I wasted so much time and energy comparing myself to everyone else until one day I realized that it is not a race and that I am not "everyone else". Do what you can and then accept the fact that there are things out of our control. This is a bump in the road and may seem like an eternity while you are going through the process and waiting, but it is not going to make a difference in the future if you didn't take your boards right after graduating. Good luck and keep your head up:)

[Vallywillis]

Thank you for the response.

I think I would feel better if I could at least submit everything to the board already! I mean it is bad enough that my school is stalling (everyone) with signing the verification of graduation, but then my request for documents get lost in the mail, I mean seriously... Also, I wish when I talked to the BON over the summer I was informed that all of the documents that I have for the case should be sealed, I would have gotten 2 copies at the time if I had known.

I am also worried about not having certified court docs...because, well, they no longer exists.

No worries with comparing myself to my classmates, I don't really talk to any of them. I took the Fall '12 off due to having surgery and unresolved medical issues. I transferred into another class in Jan. '13, I never really got close to anyone in that class. I will likely have no idea who takes their exam and who passes...and honestly I don't care that much (sounds cold, but it is true. I am too worried about this, bills and the fact that I am having another surgery in Feb).

Thank you for the encouragement. :-)