Over the course of this semester, I really tried to put more emphasis into changing my test taking strategies. Throughout the course of nursing school, I noticed that I finished quickly on my exams and often I would miss key information in exam questions that would result in lower test scores. I also noticed that I changed my answers a lot in exams that would also impact my scores. So, over the course of this semester, I emphasized reading the question and highlighting pieces of information that were most important and would allow me to answer the question correctly. I would also try to limit changing my answers unless I came up with a good explanation for a different answer. Through these test taking changes, I noticed a great improvement in my scores on exams.
I used content gaps from the ATI focused remediations review to help me study those topics that I had not the best knowledge on to improve my scores on the following exams. The ATI remediations were helpful in identifying topics of information that I had limited knowledge of and helped me improve in test questions on those topics.
A self-care strategy that I tried to focus on more this year was time management. I put huge emphasis on spacing out my workload which will allow me more time for studying content and I would not have to try to do all my work the night before due dates which would ultimately stress me out even more. I noticed throughout the semester that I had more time for myself to do activities that I enjoyed which meant a great deal for me because it was a stress reliever, and I was able to put more effort into my schoolwork.
I will use these skills that I have developed throughout this year and throughout nursing school to continue in my preparation for the NCLEX which will allow me to space out my studying, so I am prepared on the essential topics of the exam. It is important for me to do this because I noticed that this is the best way for me to study and review, so the information stays fresh in my mind. I noticed that trying to study a numerous amount of content is not helpful to me and rather detrimental. So in preparation of the licensure exam, I will emphasis reviewing content for an extended amount of time leading up to the NCLEX exam.
