This week we took the final ATI which was the Comp Predictor. This was proctored and 150 questions so I thought it was great practice for students to get the feel of how the NCLEX will be. The one thing I wish was different was that it was adaptive so it could be more like the NCLEX but I thought it was a great start for us. One thing I did that helped me during this was the 3 key points before taking the test. My 3 key points were to read through the question fully, knock out the ones that are wrong first and to not overthink the question. I did these and I think they helped me a lot but one thing I could have done better was not rush myself. There were a few questions where I felt that I was rushing and passing by because I did not know them as well and was getting overwhelmed. One thing with ATI that is challenging yet helpful is that you can’t go back to questions once you have answered them so I think something that throws me off is being very sure of my answers and not being able to go back if I think about it again later on during the test. This is something that I need to work on the most is being sure with my answers as I go and not going back to answer questions because sometimes that is my downfall. Overall, these have all helped me so much with my test taking strategies and finding out which areas of content I need to focus on the most.
Prepare for Licensure #8
This week the test I did was the Comp Predictor B. I really enjoy these tests, even though they are long, I think they help me a lot to find the content areas that I need to work on the most. I find that I did really well on this Comp Predictor because I did the same thing as last week with my test and wrote down 3 things that I needed to work on during this test. This week I chose to highlight key words again, take a break every 50 questions and think about what NCLEX topic this is helping me with. When I did these 3 things I found that my test taking was much better and helped me with a lot of content areas that I was unsure about. After taking this test I realize my main focus is making sure I can do all of these things when it comes to proctored or in person tests. Sometimes I end up freezing and not taking into account anything that I have been working on while doing these tests at home, so making sure that I set goals for myself during proctored tests as well and keep a calm, level head so I can perform at my best when it really matters.
Prepare for Licensure #7
This week the ATI test that I took was on the Nursing Care of Children. This test was extremely fun for me to take because this is something I am really interested in. With this test I wanted to take everything in that I have been learning and put it into this test. Before the test, I wrote down 3 things that I needed to keep in mind while I was taking this test and they were to be aware of key words, think through the question more than the answers and not second guess myself. I wanted to do this to see how much better my score would improve and it helped tremendously! I find that I do overthink the answers and 2nd guess myself rather than being confident in my answers that were originally correct so I did my best this time around to find a good balance of thinking about the question but not overthinking it to the point where I wasn’t really looking at what the question was asking for. I think this is something that helped me a lot during this test and helped me to improve my score overall. I think it also helped that I was taking this test on a subject I really enjoyed because it motivated me to not lose focus during this test so making sure I do that for the rest of my subjects that I don’t care for as much will be something to work on in the future!
IHI Certificate
Prepare for Licensure #6
The test that was taken this week was the Proctored Pharmacology Exam. This was interesting for me because it was the first proctored ATI exam we have taken in this class after doing all of the practice ATI. In terms of taking the test, I felt much more comfortable while taking the test and making sure that I read through every question properly. I usually get very anxious when testing and put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect and get everything right but this time I just made sure that I took a deep breath before and assured myself that I was confident in my abilities to take this test. It was helpful that this first one was only 70 questions, especially because the practice ones I have been taking are 150 so it made me feel more focused, but it also was nerve-racking that the test was only 70 minutes long. When taking the practice tests I have been making sure to take my time and think through every option and even make myself time for a break but I felt like I couldn’t do that as much with this test. It is good for me to experience that because it will get me prepared for the NCLEX. One thing that was difficult for this test was that weakness in learning is 100% Pharmacology and Medications, so taking this test was hard for me to recall all of the medications but it also showed the ones that I need to study more compared to the ones that I associate with diseases processes and are able to remember more often. I think this test helped me a lot to realize which content areas of medication that I need to do more work on.
Prepare for Licensure #5
Taking this comprehensive test made me feel extremely proud of my work this semester and I felt like I was able to take all of the factors that I wanted to work on into one test. During this test I knew it would be a lot of questions so I made sure to put myself in a good environment with a lack of distractions so that I could focus and get in the right mindset to answer the questions. Since these questions were broader and more incorporated all different types of questions, I knew I had to think of the main points for each question. I believe this is what helped me do so well on this test because when I am memorizing or studying for an exam, I do my best to focus on the priorities and the main focal points that I know will constantly be brought up and a lot of these questions asked me about my nursing interventions and what I would be doing FIRST and I felt like I was WAY more prepared for them this time around. This exam really helped me show my growth and how far I have come to reach my goal of getting better at answering questions and I think the biggest difference that was made was finding a balance between taking my time but also not overthinking the question. If I really didn’t know a question, I just tried to use the process of elimination, but if I did know them I just made sure to come up in my head what I knew the main points of the topics were and be aware of that when reading the answers to the questions. I know I have a lot more to work on and I have a lot of content areas that I need to do better on, especially medications and manifestations of disease processes but I think these exams are helping me realize what I need to go back and study and look over and what my strengths are that I need to continue to be doing when I take these exams.
Attaining and Protecting Your Professional Nursing License
Personally, I don’t know exactly where I plan on becoming licensed by examination. I am currently choosing between Massachusetts, Florida and North Carolina. Massachusetts is not apart of the NLC while Florida and North Carolina are apart of it. I am going to write on North Carolina because that is where I am leaning towards the most. The application is completed and submitted through a web based and requires a transcript to be uploaded directly from the institution. All candidates must undergo a fingerprint based FBI criminal history check. All applicants must provider their fingerprints and the appropriate forms and fee to facilitate a criminal background check prior to the issuance of a license. If a nurse is found impaired the board is allowed to place nurse on probation, impose limitations and conditions, deny issuing a license and revoke a license or privilege to practice nursing in this state. They will also provide education and requires satisfactory completion of treatment programs or remedial/educational training. It also states that any person who has any cause to suspect misconduct or incapacity of a licensee shall report all relevant facts to the board and shall be immune from any criminal prosecution or civil liability resulting therefrom unless such person knew the report was false or acted reckless disregard of whether the report was false. The violation of any provision of the article shall be a class 1 misdemeanor and things that can help are Nursing Insurance to help keep you safe in a time where you slip up.
Prepare for Licensure #4
This reflection I going to be based on the ATI Pharmacology Practice B test that I took. This test went a lot smoother for me and I think it is because of already having the experience of doing the Pharmacology A practice test before this. This made me feel accomplished because it made me realize how much these remediations were helping me with other tests I take in the future and being able to remember certain things about medications that didn’t stick before. I believe that the remediations and the repetition of going through each question is extremely helpful. I also enjoy using the 3 critical points because sometimes it can be overwhelming to try to remember every single thing about a drug, but when you put it in the format of doing 3 of the most important points then its easier to remember for the future.
Something I did notice about myself is that since I was more confident this time around I was answering the questions much faster. This helped for some questions because it helped me not second guess myself but I know some of them I made stupid mistakes that could have been fixed by just reading through all of the answers fully. Ive realized that it is okay to answer the question fast if an answer is really sticking out to me but it is better to go back and really look through the whole question and all of the answers to ensure that I’m not making a reading error or missing out on a better option.
Something I can do better for the future tests is to make sure even when I’m confident going into the test that I still do all of the normal protocols such as highlighting and underlining the important things or key words. Sometimes this slips my mind when I go into a test I feel really confident on but I should be doing the same stuff I do for a test that I’m not so sure of and a test I am sure of. When it comes down to content, I can feel really confident about everything I have learned but in order to show that I have to be able to properly answer the nursing questions so I can display the things I’ve learned.
Post Interview Reflection
For my interview I decided to interview my father since he is a Clinical Leader on an Orthopedic floor and thought he would give some great insight being a leader in and out of the workplace. I am so glad I did this interview because it taught me a lot about my father as a person and as a leader. When asked about leadership in nursing he stated “There are opportunities all around us constantly to improve, but it is being able to take initiative by joining groups and continuing education even if it is just certificates and further training. Gradually being able to move up and take on those responsibilities as a leader is something that never goes unnoticed to others.” It was great to get insight from someone who has had so much experience and hearing it from someone my age who hasn’t even started their career was amazing. He also started off in the Army and found that he was able to get a lot of leadership training in Germany by doing leadership development classes and having such a structures routine really helped when going into the hospital. Something that surprised me was the topic about ethical dilemmas. When I asked how to deal with ethical dilemmas in his workplace he stated “There is an ethics committee that tries to get a consensus and involve different areas of expertise that can help you solve problems that not many nurses deal with on a day to day basis.” This was something that was really great for me to hear that goes on because it is comforting as a new graduate nurse to know that your not always expected to know everything, even as a highly experienced nurse, there are always resources and managers and leaders that has knowledge in certain spots that help the team dynamic to improve patient care. Something that really reinforced my prior knowledge was the topic of managing conflict. When asked about managing conflict he stated “Conflict always needs open communication and being objective. You have to deal with the objective information and not emotions about the situation to be able to maintain a proper work environment.” I thought my fathers insight on being a leader was extremely helpful to hear and also made me feel not as intimidated by the term, leader. Leaders are seen as the final destination when a problem happens but in reality, it is teamwork that makes the workplace running smoothly and having a proper leader that is able to stay organized and objective can make all the difference when dealing with conflicts. One thing I am going to take away with me from this interview is being sure to always look over my strengths and weaknesses as a nurse so I can constantly improve. It is really important to be aware that you will have weaknesses, every nurse does, but the first step to becoming stronger in that area is by realizing you need help and to not put too much pressure on yourself to rush the process because you learn something new everyday and knowledge is the key to continuing education in nursing.
Prepare for Licensure #3
This week I did an ATI that was based on Maternity/Newborn. I was looking forward to this because this is a subject that I am highly interested in and thought it would be great to improve my knowledge on this topic. I think this week I felt more confident about these questions, but I also think that made me rush through some of them a little too fast and not really read into the question. I found that for this exam I was focusing less on the answers and more the questions and if I thought it was something familiar to that topic I would choose that, but that didn’t allow me to critically think about all of the options. I also had some struggles with “priority” or “first” questions because its a word that can be very overlooked, especially on an exam.
To help myself get better at answering these questions I have been trying to put myself in the hypothetical questions and think about how I would realistically act in the moment because sometimes you overlook answers that are just simply positioning the client or checking the clients band. These are all things that need to be done for any interventions and they can easily be overlooked for a medication administration or an immediate intervention, but sometimes that is not the first step.
