"It's kind of like I've made it, but I haven't yet," she said. "I'm happy that I've graduated, but I still have that anxious feeling regarding the boards.

"The boards are something that takes a lot of preparation," said Dauplaise, who credits her husband, Jon, with helping her manage a dual life: a family that includes sons aged 8, 5 and 2, and the final year of a nursing degree. "I felt like I literally had to put my family on hold for the last year of nursing school in order to accomplish what I have," Dauplaise said.

To deal with the scare stories that every future nurse hears, such as a low pass rate the first time through the NCLEX exam, she has completed an additional, commercial preparatory course that teaches test-taking strategies and mimics the type of questions that will be asked and the type of answers that are sought. It also identifies strengths and weaknesses to more effectively direct precious study time.

For more than a decade, Dauplaise, 32, has known she wanted to be a nurse. With licensure, she will bring to the profession experience as a women's advocate and an appreciation for the nurse's role as an educator.

"I'm a survivor of domestic violence," Dauplaise said of a previous relationship. Since then, she has served as a first-responder for a Duluth coalition that educates victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Law officers alert the Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse, where Dauplaise and other volunteers enter the picture with a wealth of resources for victims.

"If they want to meet [at home], we go there. If it's a sexual assault, sometimes we'll meet them at the hospital. If they just want to talk on the phone, we talk," Dauplaise said. "Educating women about the cycle of violence is what brought me to volunteer with that organization. Women's advocacy is very important to me."

She said it is disappointing when women return to the cycle of violence, which begins with verbal abuse and intimidation, escalates into assault and is followed by a honeymoon phase: "Honey, I'm sorry. Don't leave."

But Dauplaise said that as an advocate for a victimized woman, "I'm here to give her information and educate her on domestic violence. I'm not here to criticize or tell her what to do or even give my opinion."

Dauplaise said she is certain she will continue as a domestic violence and sexual assault volunteer and one day may seek sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) certification. Initially, though, she plans to experience the variety of nursing before choosing to specialize.

"I enjoy psych," Dauplaise said, recalling her clinical rotations. But "I'm really unsure where I want to be. I enjoy the physical aspect of helping people, emotionally being there for patients and being a patient advocate," she said. "So, I'm going to be working in a float pool so I can get experience and find out where I want to go."

Whatever her eventual direction, Dauplaise said she believes that a bachelor's and a master's degree are on the horizon, along with a teaching position where she can pass on the caring and encouragement that nursing school faculty showed her.

"My instructors picked me up when I was down. They were always pushing us and telling us we could succeed," Dauplaise said, and she fully expects to prove them right in her first attempt at the state boards.

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