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!
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.
Career Development
During our last class together, we watched NURSES If Florence Could See Us Now. This movie really opened my eyes to all aspects of different nursing and how much it means to be going to school for this career. Watching this movie made me feel extremely lucky and grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to come to UNE and learn everything this is about nursing because even though it is a rewarding career, it is a lot of hard work and dedication to reach your goal. You have to make sure you learn every aspect about all types of nursing before you really know what you want to do, along with some sleepless nights and early mornings studying and educating yourself on things that will help you in your career. One thing I learned from this movie were all the types of positions that nurses can be in, such as a nursing manager or the floor nurse who got infected with HIV and became an educator for others with HIV and workplace needle injuries. This was one thing I didn’t realize about nursing was how flexible it is and how many types of things you can do depending on what you want to do with your life.
An interview is a huge part of the hiring process and can make such a big difference when you’re applying for a dream job. The first thing I would do before an interview is 100% research the facility that I am applying for just to know if that environment is something I want to be in. I would also prepare questions to ask for myself because I feel like that is important, if not more important than answers to questions. I would think about where I want to be in the future and if this facility is going to help me get to that end goal, whether it is at that facility or somewhere else. I believe just being confident in my abilities and my dreams/passions will be able to impress interviewers.
I would say my biggest strength is that when I am passionate about something, I want to learn as much as I can about that particular thing. I may not be the smartest student or know everything there is to know but I am also an extremely hard worker and if I set my mind to something I will do it and never give up. Whatever I do in my life I always give 100% and I think that would be my greatest strength. My greatest challenge is that I am a very visual/active learner so I really don’t understand how to truly do something until I see someone do it and then do it myself. I am taking steps such as making concept maps and putting a lot of work into SIM and clinicals to make sure that that weakness becomes a strength for me over time.
