As I enter my final semester, I feel an overwhelming sense of excitement to start my nursing career. Each semester, I feel more confident in my nursing abilities and knowledge which reflects in my patient interactions. This program has changed me in multiple ways; I have enhanced my critical thinking skills, strengthened my interpersonal skills, and improved my ability to prioritize necessary tasks under pressure. These skills have been acutely refined each semester by working in a variety of environments and with individuals of various backgrounds. These experiences have also enabled me to adapt to new environments. While the clinical experiences have been rewarding, I am looking forward to the completion of this program and moving onto developing my career as a nurse.
After graduation, I plan on taking some time with my family. It feels as though my entire family has been working through this program in tandem with me. I am fortunate to have the support of my spouse and adaptable young boys. Their support and flexibility have enabled me to pursue my goal of becoming a nurse whole heartedly. Although it has been somewhat stressful at times, I know that this work is meaningful, and I look forward to my career as a nurse.
When I enter my first job, I will be excited and nervous to be autonomous. I fear making a mistake or not catching a clinical finding quick enough. Perhaps seasoned nurses still have these fears, and it is the collective effort of the healthcare team that identifies any missed findings through thorough and timely analysis every shift. I look forward to strengthening my weaker nursing concept areas this semester to better prepare for not only the NCLEX but my career after graduation.
My plan for this semester is to continue reviewing my weaker nursing concept areas by utilizing strategies discussed in the ATI NurseLogic 2.0 tutorials. These modules included “Knowledge and Clinical Judgement,” “Nursing Concepts,” Priority Setting Frameworks,” and “Testing and Remediation” (ATI NurseLogic 2.0). In the “Knowledge and Clinical Judgement” module, I learned the importance of effective communication, such as utilizing an effective SBAR to advocate for patients and collaborate with the rest of the interprofessional team (ATI NurseLogic 2.0). This module also highlighted the importance of understanding the facilities’ policies when it pertains to ethical issues (ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Knowledge and Clinical Judgement). Understanding the framework and policies will help prevent errors or confusion during patient care. When I enter the workforce, I also must recognize the individuals who are a part of the interprofessional team as well as their role so that I can prevent communication errors and ensure efficient communication to the appropriate department (ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Nurse Concepts). The “Priority Setting Frameworks” module indicated how a nurse can determine an unstable patient versus a stable patient by understanding their disease process, clinical findings, lab interpretation (ATI NurseLogic 2.0). I learned that understanding “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” can also help determine the patient’s status in priority setting NCLEX style questions in addition to the “airway, breathing, circulation” determinant that I commonly refer to when determining a patient’s condition (ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Priority Setting Frameworks). In addition to content pertaining to the nurse’s role in the modules, I also learned about additional techniques that I could incorporate into my study and test taking skill set. I was unfamiliar with the test taking strategy of isolating each answer option by not comparing them to each other; this helps the test taker focus on each option individually and refer back to the original question to determine if aligns with what it is asking (ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Testing and Remediation). Oftentimes, I find myself comparing answers to one another to see what is “more right.” This is one of my test taking pitfalls that I will work on improving this semester. This “Testing and Remediation” module also discussed rereading the most pertinent information in the question and the stem after reading each answer (ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Testing and Remediation). This technique helps better identify if the option answers the question completely as a true/false statement. In preparation for exams, I plan on reviewing my textbook each day for 15-20 minutes based on concepts that were highlighted for me as areas for improvement in my ATI results, form group study sessions with my peers for 2 hours 4 days prior to exams, and answer at least 10 ATI practice questions per night each week. The ATI NurseLogic 2.0 tutorials also described the importance of creating a reading schedule in small increments to review key concepts, asking questions while reading, and taking time to review the objectives of the subject area at the end of the reading session. These methods will not only help me improve my exam taking ability, but also strengthen my clinical nursing concepts and put them into practice.
References
ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Knowledge and Clinical Judgement (2022) Assessment Technologies
Institute. https://student.atitesting.com/Tutorial
ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Nursing Concepts. (2022) Assessment Technologies Institute.
https://student.atitesting.com/Tutorial
ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Priority Setting Frameworks. (2022) Assessment Technologies Institute.
https://student.atitesting.com/Tutorial
ATI NurseLogic 2.0: Testing and Remediation. (2022) Assessment Technologies Institute.
https://student.atitesting.com/Tutorial
