Amy's Site

Welcome!

Category: Reflection

Preparation for Licensure and Transition to Professional Practice

April 26, 2023 / / 1 Comment

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.

Attaining and Protecting Your Professional Nursing License

March 30, 2023 / / 1 Comment

I intend to become licensed in Vermont which is a compact license state. Since I am planning to move to Vermont I can apply for a license once residency is established. The application is a web-based submission and requires you to register with Pearson in order to take the NCLEX. While applying you can select if you want a single state Vermont license or a multi-state license. Vermont requires both background checks and fingerprinting. For the background check there is a release form to complete within the online application and must be notarized and uploaded. To get fingerprints you can go to a Vermont identification center or a local law enforcement agency. You need to bring your authorization form and ID to the fingerprinting appointment. Nurses who graduated in the state of Vermont do not have to submit official transcripts, but graduates applying from out of state do need to submit transcripts to the board of nursing. Nurses who went to school outside of Vermont also need to submit a verification of education signed by the director of their program.

            I found some information on the Vermont board of website for provisions for impaired nurses. It mentions how “diverting or attempting to divert drugs or equipment for unauthorized use” is considered unprofessional conduct and there will be a consequence. There is also a document called “fitness for work” which discusses the “physical, mental, and emotional ability of the nurse to perform assigned tasks competently and safely”. The fitness for work policy discusses factors that may make a nurse unfit for work such as fatigue, stress, drugs, alcohol, and physical or mental state. The fitness for work document does mention that nurses should notify the manager of any employees who may be unfit to work, which can include impaired employees. It also mentions how employers should promote safety and give adequate breaks to ensure fitness to work which I thought was great.

            To protect my nursing license, I will make sure to document everything and double check it at the end of my shift. I will also make sure to always be communicating with everyone on the healthcare team, so no tasks or orders get missed during the shift. I will also always report any unsafe situations that I see.

Career Development

March 2, 2023 / / 1 Comment

The nurses in this film all showed courage, confidence, kindness, patience, and perseverance. One skill that I want to work to develop more is confidence. I felt that I was able to develop more confidence throughout my preceptorship, and I will continue to build on that when I start to learn more during my first job. One location/population that I have not seen yet in my experience at UNE is rural home health nursing. It was very interesting to hear about the nurse’s experience who were treating Navajo people in their homes. One barrier to care that was seen here was the location and access to care. One of the nurses talked about how she might have to drive 2 hours to see one patient. These nurses showed cultural humility when caring for these patients to provide them the best care. One of the nurses talked about how it was very important for them to consider the Navajo people’s beliefs on medicine and incorporate that into their plan to provide them care that they were comfortable with. I would like to learn more about cultural considerations when going into practice to make sure I am providing care that makes patients feel comfortable and safe.

I will describe my strengths by drawing on my clinical experience and how those experiences have prepared me to be a good nurse. I would probably talk about my assessment skills, being able to work as an interprofessional team, and learning from the patients. I would also talk about my experience at my other jobs and how that relates to the nursing position I am applying for. For example, I have been a camp counselor for a few years so I would talk about how I was able to develop multitasking and prioritization skills, and quickly adapting to new situations with that job. One “challenge” I will address is that sometimes I take on too much at once. While I will most likely be very busy throughout my shift at my nursing job, it is important for me to work on prioritizing my care throughout my shift. One way I can work to do this is to plan out my shift at report and try to cluster my care, so I stay organized and don’t get overwhelmed.

Prepare for Transition

January 25, 2023 / / 1 Comment

I am most excited about graduating, starting my career as a nurse, and learning so many new things. I hope to work in the OR as I had my preceptorship there and I loved it. One thing I am anxious about when I start working is the transition and feeling like I have no idea what I’m doing, but I am sure I will feel more comfortable as time goes on. Usually, I plan my weekly studying schedule by writing all my assignments in my planner and making a checklist of other things I have to do like reading for class and writing notes/outlines for class. One way my friends and I celebrate progress is going out to eat after finishing an exam, which I find is a good way for me to relax.

            I learned more about my learning style through the nurse logic modules and figured out that I am more of a tactile learner. Seeing things out and being able to repeat and walk through them is very helpful for me. In the Nursing Concepts module, I learned about the three domains of learning which include cognitive, affective, and psychomotor which involves practicing skills. In the priority setting frameworks module I learned about the different nursing frameworks. ABC, least restrictive/least invasive, and survival potential are some of the frameworks that I have used before. In the testing and remediation module I learned about different types of questions that would be on the NCLEX. This was very helpful for me as they showed examples of the questions as well.

© 2025 Amy's Site

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

css.php