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.
