On this assessment something that went well was maintaining my focus and finding the appropriate environment to facilitate that. I was also able to think about what I do know and not automatically focus on what I don’t know when I see a question. I looked at all the answers as true or false and what do I know about each choice. Based on those two things I tried to make educated guesses on what the right answer would be. Something that I would like to improve on is my decision-making process when deciding whether or not I should change my answer. I need to stop changing my answers and stick with my gut feeling. This has hindered my exam grades in class as well as on ATI. My goal for the remained of the semester is to build back up my testing confidence so that going into the NCLEX I can feel a sense of calm.
Category: Reflection (Page 2 of 4)
My focus was a lot better this time. I shut myself in my room and played classical music through my airpods to drown out the surround noises. I noticed once I got about 20 questions in that I had not been thinking about anything else while answering the questions. I think my mind is my own worst enemy especially when it comes to staying focused and not overthinking. This will definitely be by biggest challenge going into the NCLEX. For next time I would still like to spend more time on each question. I am really finding it hard to balance between taking enough time but not overthinking. I think I would benefit from setting a timer for each question although that would bring other distractions, I think I really need to realize how much time I really do have. My next strategy would be to just do some practice questions and set a timer so I get a feel for how long 60 seconds really is when answering a question.
This ATI CAT did not go well for me, I was trying to take this exam on the bus to a hockey game because that is all that my time allotted for me to get this completed on time. I will consider asking for an extension for the next one if I feel as though there is not a productive environment for me to take this. I need to advocate for myself better and put my academics over athletics but there is only so much time in each day and week for me to get things done. I do think that I was impressed by how much I did remember from pharmacology even though my scores might not reflect that. Another positive thing was that this caused me to look back into my pharmacology notes during the remediation process, which helped me brush off the cobwebs. My goal for the next exam is to be able to maintain my focus and provide myself with an adequate environment to do this.
This exam I was able to prepare better as far as getting sleep before and having food in my stomach so that I was not focused on other things during it. The other thing that I really tried hard to not do this time is second guess myself. Looking back and going through the remediation process I need to find the happy medium of not seconding guessing myself but also taking the time to not overlook key parts the question. As well as taking a second to logically think through the questions because it turns out reading them through a second time, I would have been able to get more questions right if I had done that. My focus for the next exam will be just that.
Nurses in this movie exemplified unconditional empathy and care for their patients. I think that its often times hard to put differences aside when caring for a patient who is the same offender of the same thing every month or couple of months. I think that this takes true dedication and forgiveness. These things cannot be taught in school which is why I think that this can be hard for new nurses especially because in school they always say every patient deserves the highest quality etc. but in reality those more “difficult” patients or the recurring offenders that are hard to provide that top notch compassionate care to.
While watching the movie the one that resonated with me the most of the pediatric patient. We have not had a lot of experience with this population of patients and for me I need to work on being able to connect with them and trusting myself in taking care of them. Honestly kids kind of scare me to take care of because they seem so much more complex than adults. I think that this nurse did a really nice job connecting with the patient she hugged the little girl and was able to gain her trust, I saw no apparent barriers in between the nurse and the patient. The practice of cultural humility helped ready those nurses to care for diverse populations because it helped them go into each situation with an open mind and an untainted view of that particular patient. I think that you can never know all that you need to know, I cant possibly learn all the cultures that might walk through that emergency room door, but what I can do is connect with the patient when they do present, ask them questions about their culture, do my best to get them comfortable, and then go out to the desk and ask anyone if they know anything specific to that particular culture or look it up on the internet.
After the career services presentation it confirmed that I have done what I was supposed to do. I already have solidified the job that I want for after graduation. I used my teamwork and leadership strengths in combination with my collegiate athletic experiences to market myself and set me apart from others. My weakness or challenge is giving myself enough credit and up talking myself, I usually revert to down talking myself. I learned through this experience that now is not the time do that. Looking back on the interview I asked the lady who interviewed me about her educational opportunities for me to earn the appropriate certifications that I will need to be the best emergency department nurse I can be.
I am most excited about starting the next phase of my life. I recently solidified the job that I have been waiting for and centering my focus in nursing school around. I have finally been able to see all the pieces start to fall into place. It is nice to see that everything we are taught in school start to come together and feel like it is finally starting to get me somewhere in life. I will celebrate this accomplishment by going on a vacation with my family and friends.
I am most anxious about having the responsibility of a nurse. I am ready for that responsibility, but I am nervous that my judgment will get clouded in times of high stress and I want to be able to make the “best” or “right” decision for my patients in those situations. I will plan my SMART goals based on a few things one being how to prepare myself to feel most confident in my abilities by working on some of my weaknesses now. I will also stay focused on the task at hand by taking it day by day and creating a schedule for myself that includes the time I need for myself for working out, friend and family time, and rest. I learned from the ATI modules how to study and schedule my time most effectively as well as the importance of good test taking habits.
Prior to watching the videos and reviewing the readings I have had some experience with death both as a family member and as a healthcare provider. I have been an LNA for 5 years and have had numerous patients pass on. I have seen a wide range from “happy” deaths to sad or more tragic ones. I think there is something very special about a family surrounding their loved one at the end of life. Not only does it provide them with closure that they need but it also allows them to be physically present with their family member and sort of experience it with them. I personally am very afraid of death when it comes to me and my family but as a healthcare provider when I am in more of that support role, I handle it a lot better. I think it is very important to maintain the patient’s modesty throughout the entire process, including end of life care or postmortem care. To me that patient that once was, is still my patient even when they have passed on, to the time that they go to the morgue or funeral home. Realizing that the patient can still hear you up until the final moments is of upmost importance because it gives you the opportunity to provide comfort in more than one way.
Death with dignity challenges my beliefs to a certain extent however I do realize that administering morphine and keeping the patient comfortable is helping practice the “do no harm” mentality because it is putting their body through less suffering, in the sense that I helps make the process more comfortable for them. It also helps regulate their oxygen saturation and respirations make it more comfortable, so they are not literally gasping for breath. I think as nurses it’s hard to sometimes see that we are not “killing” the patient by pushing that dose of morphine. I have not been in this position as a nurse yet but I would hope that my feelings remain the same in that I know that this is what is truly best for the patient to keep them comfortable and with hopes to make it less of a traumatic experience for the family.
A patient encounter that I will always remember from my time at UNE was with an elderly lady who had a stroke history and was considered a “feed assist.” I went into the situation like any other, I will probably just give her a few bites of food and then she will be done with it. Well this lady and I spent 2.5 hours together, it took me that long to feed her and monitor her while she ate. At first there really wasn’t much conversation beyond how are you feeling, surface level stuff. Then she began to tell me about how one of her daughters has been a nurse for over 30 years and we got to talking about school and how times have changed especially in the time of COVID. What I learned most from this situation was that just because she had a stroke doesn’t mean that she herself was not there, she might have some difficulty swallowing and things like that but she was still there and is still a real person. We ended up having a really good conversation and she gave me some really good advice, as most elderly people do but she told me to enjoy this time of my life and that yes it might seem like youre always climbing a mountain but once you get to the “top” its hard to mentally shift to the other way of thinking. She also told me that these are the good days, I replied with that I realize how lucky I am to have this opportunity to get an education and to be in the position that I am today. Looking back 4 or 5 years ago I would be looking up to who I am today and proud of who I have become. So yes it is easy to get lost in all the surface level stuff that life throws at you but that stuff really doesn’t matter in the end.
My initial thoughts about the use of electronic health records in nursing were that it is used to document vitals, assessment findings, and medical history. I was pretty blind to the fact they can be used for so much more than just nurses and providers. With the presentation from last Wednesday, I was able to see that there are so many more people involved in the process of documenting in electronic health records and without all those various aspects involved that would not allow all the types of healthcare providers to provide the most holistic care possible. To me modern medicine seems more holistic and in my opinion, this is just another step in that direction.
I will apply what I learned about electronic health records to enhance the care that I provide in two ways. One I will take a deeper dive into the charts of the patients that I am working with to see if there is information in there that would be beneficial for me to know in hopes to provide quality holistic care. Two I will take my documentation process more seriously knowing that this can be used to help other healthcare providers down the line, not only will this help healthcare providers but in turn make the patients care and experience better. I always knew that accurate timely documentation is important but not to the level that I do after the presentation from HIN.
