Rockin' score on my phlebotomy written final!

I had my written final for phlebotomy last week. I'll admit, I was a little nervous. I hadn't studied much in the week leading up to the test. But I figured, I'd been doing a good job of studying the material all along (rather than just finding the answers and moving on, I'd actually write out the questions as a statement).

I was the first person to finish in our class of ... I think we're 13 people now? I turned in my test and waited for the others to finish out in the lobby. It took quite a while. It was a 2 hour, 200 question test and I think I was done in less than 45 minutes. Most of the questions were ones I'd seen before on homework or quizzes at various points in the semester. I was unsure of about 12, but put down my best guess and didn't revisit them.

The last person to finish, a mid-twenties blondie type, was in tears when she left. She said she was sure she didn't pass, and didn't want to wait around for her score. She's had a lot going on this semester...working plus planning her upcoming wedding... but I don't have a lot of sympathy given my own current situation.

Our teacher said that in past years, she has called people individually into the back storage room to tell them their scores. This year, she just told us that "everyone in the room right now passed." Meaning that blondie type probably didn't. She passed out our tests one by one then. When she got to mine, she stood next to my desk, and said..."and you, Smarty Pants!". She was smiling, so I know she said it in a friendly way. I got a 98.5% ! Yay. My friend Stefania got somewhere in the 90s too, and my carpool buddy Cathy got 77%, which is passing, and she was very happy about. She's working full time, got a small child at home, and English is her second language, so multiple choice tests can be a struggle.

I've put in my availability for externship hours, and requested to: (a) if possible, get an externship in the town where I live, and (b) not be stationed at the lab where I worked for 2 weeks this January where I had such a bad experience. I think we're going to find out next week what our assignments are. I'm nervous.

I'm pretty sure that next week is the last week of classroom time, and we're going to use it for practicing, practicing, practicing. I hope it continues to go well.

Family Reaction to my career choice

My family has been for the most part pretty supportive around the idea of me transitioning toward a career in the health professions. Right now they're helping me keep a roof over my head until I can find work again, which is very much appreciated.

But there are some things that are nagging at me:

-My mom insists on saying "nursey-nurse" instead of just "nurse" when we are talking about it. I have told her I find this demeaning and disrespectful, and she didn't say she didn't mean it this way; she said "well how about if I'm allowed to say that about student nurses but once they get their license they become 'nurse'"
-My mom makes little comments here and there about it really would be better if your end goal were to become a nurse practitioner or a doctor, instead of "just a nurse". This isn't too surprising, as several years ago when I brought up the idea of being a nurse as a teen, she told me "nurses just wipe butt".
-My dad expresses concern that it will be hard to get a job as a nurse in our specific town, even though in general nursing jobs are easier to come by right now, because our town is a place where lots of people would like to live.


My dad's comment at least is logical and comes from a place of concern, but my mom's comments I really find distasteful and mean. I read somewhere that nurses (along with firemen) are one of the most trusted and respected careers in the U.S. Why does she have such scorn for them? And why can't she keep her mouth shut when this is something I feel good about and want to pursue?