These nursing modules were quite helpful in giving me an outline of where I will be after the next sixteen months and how I will get there. While this was a bit overwhelming, it was also very exciting to see how much I will accomplish over the next year and a half.
Module 1 was helpful in understanding how to be successful in taking the NCLEX. I learned how to read each question carefully and how to understand exactly what it is asking. These types of questions are very different form what I am used to as they are focused on not only my knowledge but also my application of this knowledge in a real life situation. Identifying and highlighting key words are important in the understanding of the question. Additionally, recognizing what answers are ‘definitely’ wrong and ‘possibly’ wrong are key strategies to establishing the correct answer. In fact, this module was useful when taking my first exam as a nursing student and I know I will continue to utilize these skills as both a student and a nurse.
Module 2 focused on the ten nursing concepts required to make clinical judgements. Some of the concepts that were new, and therefore stood out to me, were interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based practice, and priority setting. While I have seen firsthand interdisciplinary collaboration as a medical scribe over the past three years, I have never been able to be an active contributor to the discussion. My experiences with evidence-based practice is similar where I have seen and even assisted in researching patient diagnoses, however, again, I have never been an active participant. Priority setting, on the other hand, is a nursing concept that is quite unfamiliar to me. This module briefly touched on how to accurately follow through with this technique, but I know I will continue to further establish my ability to do this throughout my education as a student. I am excited to further establish and reinforce these concepts over the next sixteen months and become a part of the health care team that plays an active role in my patients’ care.
Susan Goran
What a gorgeous photo to open the ePortfolio! Very nice reflections Heather! You provided some nice insights into what you learned and how you will utilize this knowledge in patient care. You will continue to learn more about priority setting in each semester; you will learn what is the most important task to complete first and when patient conditions change (and they always do) how to reset priorities. Nice job!