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Category: Self Care

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.

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.

Gratitude and Self Care

April 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Gratitude is very important in a professional setting, and especially in the medical field because everyone is doing a difficult, stressful job. It is important to recognize what your coworkers are doing and how they have helped you throughout the day, or the patient assignment. Inter-professional team members can demonstrate gratitude in many ways, for example through body language (handshake, hug, etc), or verbally by acknowledging a good job, or something helpful they did.

At times when I am feeling stressed at school, one thing I often do to manage that is go to the beach. By sitting at the beach for half an hour I am usually able to collect my thoughts, and calm down because it is a very peaceful atmosphere. While, I will probably not be able to leave work to go to the beach to manage stress, I can try to find a few minutes to center myself and take deeps breaths to decrease my stress, and continue to do a good job at work.

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