Overcoming Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is like a insidious weed that grows like kudzu in the fertile ground of nursing school. Like a contagious disease it spreads rapidly from one student to another. One student voices their concerns about how they will do on their upcoming test; another says she heard from a senior that this is the hardest test of junior year; yet another says she spent 20 hours studying for this test but still doesn't feel ready, and the rest who hadn't studied even half as long suddenly are gripped with the fear of failure because they do not measure up to their friend's rather excessive preparation. I've seen it all before and have been apart of similar conversations and felt the real effects that test anxiety can have.

Some of us Anne of Green Gables fans can sympathize with her sentiments shared in a letter to Diana in which she expressed her anxiety over an upcoming exam. She confided, "Oh Diana, if only the geometry examination were over! But then, as Mrs. Lynde would say, the sun will go on rising and setting whether I fail in geometry or not. That is true but not especially comforting. I think I'd rather is didn't go on if I failed!" We've all been there--believing our entire fate rested on a single test. But I'd like to share how I came to realize that my fate does not rest on a "what" but a "Who".

When I was in high school, my youth pastor used to get down on his knees before the classroom, lift up his hands to God and pray a prayer that has impacted my approach to tests and my whole approach to life. He prayed something along the lines of, "God, I humble myself before You, and admit I cannot do anything apart from You. Give me the grace I need to preach this message." By his example, I started praying my own prayer before every exam, "Lord, I humble myself before You and admit I cannot do anything apart from You. Please give me Your grace and supernatural ability to do well on this test for Your glory not mine." By that prayer, I surrender the outcome into God's hands. When I try to do anything in my own strength, whether I pass or fail, the credit belongs to me. Therefore, the best way to overcome test anxiety is not only preparing well by spending sufficient time studying but to surrender the outcome to God and ask Him for His help. James 4:10 promises this: "Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you" (ESV). We have a God in Heaven Whose pleasure it is to shower blessings upon us (Lk. 11:13, Rom. 8:32, Js. 1:17). We don't have to live weighed down by cares and concerns (Matt. 11:29-30). In 1 Peter, we are commanded to "Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you" (5:7, NIV).

A special thanks to the junior nursing student who asked me to write this post. I hope you will be as encouraged by it as I was in writing it.

Everyone Has Those Days

Those days when you feel like giving up are some of the hardest ones you can experience as a nurse. Usually caused by short staffing and a multiplicity of circumstances that lead to you having a hard day, discouragement can often try to bring you down and take your eyes from why you came here in the first place. A few days ago I had one of these days. I was over-stressed and had a lot of things going on simultaneously with my patients. I was on the brink of tears by the time 3:45 pm rolled around I hadn't had lunch yet. When I finally got lunch, I asked the Lord for His grace to do whatever came next when I walked out the door of our break room. Even after lunch, I still faced difficulties, but something was different. I was not as stressed by them. The Lord had given me the peace that prevailed in every circumstance (Phil. 4:7).

Later when I got in my car to go home, I unconsciously took a big sigh of relief. It had not been an easy day, but as I sat in my driver's seat pondering all that had taken place, I was reminded of the goodness of our God. He had helped me get through the day. It was by His grace, not my ability, that all my patients were taken care of (2 Cor. 12:9).

I want to encourage all the nurses and nursing students reading this blog to remember where our strength comes from--He is the source of our peace, our joy, and the grace we need every day. I was reminded this morning of a verse in Lamentations which says God's mercies are "new every morning" (3:23). Before our feet hit the floor on our next shift, let's take a moment and thank God for His faithfulness and the strength He is going to give us to be the nurses He's called us to be (2 Pt. 1:3).

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." ~Ps. 55:22