As we get closer to graduation, job applications and thinking about the NCLEX, I wish I could describe what I am feeling. I am the first person in my family to graduate from college and the first person in my family to go into the healthcare field. I have been an LNA for the past four years so one of the things that I am most excited about it being able to transition from that LNA role into the nurses’ role that I have watched for so long. I am excited to be able to practice as a nurse and learn along with the job without having the stress of nursing school waiting for me when I get home. Because of COVID, I think we all are having a hard time when it comes to thinking about celebration after graduation. I would love to be able to take a vacation after taking the NCLEX or having a party with all of my friends, but for now I guess we just have to wait and see what happens! As of right now, I am most anxious about applications and interviews. I am anxious about missing application windows for new graduate or nurse residency programs that I really want. I am anxious about after graduation, when working as a nurse, and having that responsibility on my hands.

To prepare and plan my weekly study, I think about SMART goals. My specific goals are that since I need to work while in school, that I can make a plan of my week with check boxes next to those that are most important to get done. I also have a whiteboard in my room that I try to plan out my days. My measurable goals are when I am studying I say to myself, “you need to get ____ done” or “you need to do _____ minutes of studying,” to help me stay focused. Achievable goals include how many hours I study a day. I think of this as different than my measurable goal above because if I said to myself “you need to do 10 hours of studying today,” I know that is not attainable and so instead I would make an attainable goal of “you need to study two hours this morning and two hours tonight”. Relevant goals are when I am studying a chapter and then I go and do questions on the content afterwards. I consider this a relevant goal because it gives me results based on how much I studied. Time bound goals, for me personally, are meeting with Career Services to go over my resume and cover letter before the end of February. This goal is time sensitive as it is something I need to do before applying for positions.

What I learned from the ATI Nurse Logic 2.0 Modules is that I still do not know everything and honestly never will. I learn from those, every time, to not expect to get a 100% because some of the content on ATI is about topics that we never have touched upon in the past two years. But from getting those questions wrong, I can look at the rationale and be better prepared for next time.