When reflecting on the SMART goals I set at the beginning of the semester, I think I made a solid improvement. I started implementing short breaks whenever I felt I was losing focus. I noticed that before taking a break I was getting more questions wrong, where after taking a break, I often got more questions correct. Another thing that I noticed was that I became more efficient when taking these tests. Towards the beginning of the semester, I was taking a lot more time on questions, and was overthinking and going back and forth between answers. Now, I do have shorter test times, but I feel that I am using my time more efficiently and not spending too much time on one question.
I gained mastery with content gaps through looking at what my weakest categories and topics were in the focused ATI reviews. I think the adaptive assessment worksheets helped me the most, as I really had to think about why I picked an answer, and why it was correct or incorrect. I think that doing this also helped me break down questions easier. I used the dynamic quizzes to study for ATI exams in the past and I will definitely do that again for the peds and maternity ATI exams, as those were pretty helpful for me in the past.
Throughout this year I feel that I have gotten better at being mindful of when I need a break and being able to manage my time in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me. One of my goals was to practice better time management and I feel that I have found a few good ways to do that. Writing everything down I need to do during the day and when I need to do it in my planner or on a checklist helps me stay on track. I found that using a checklist in clinical also helps me manage my time well for doing vitals, med pass etc. Overall, I think I have gotten better about managing stress which will help me as a nurse, and I will use my time management and mindfulness as a nurse every day. I will also work on being mindful of how I am doing when working with patients and recognize when I need assistance. I will also continue to use the strategies I learned this year when starting to study for the NCLEX.
Thank you so much, Amy, for your thoughtful reflection on how all of the work you’ve put in, the strategies you’ve employed, and your focus on stress management have contributed to your success this semester. These are wonderful lessons learned to apply to your new career as a nurse!