Category: Goal-setting

For this ATI exam, I looked over my remediation and the questions asked in the practice Comp ATI A and B. I made sure that before taking the test I did not keep answering practice questions because I knew that would burn me out before even beginning the test. I am glad that I did that because although it was hard toward the end, I was able to focus on the exam that took me just under 2 hours. I am proud of how I stayed focused while taking the exam because that had been something I was working toward with all the ATI’s I have taken. While doing remediations for this exam, I did notice categories that I needed to remediate on that I have already done in practice exams or topics that I should know in general. I was disappointed to see some of the categories that I needed to remediate on, but I also do not recall the specific questions so content may have just slipped my mind.

            This was our last big ATI before taking the NCLEX, and I feel that throughout this semester and even with this one comp exam I gained more confidence that I will pass the NCLEX. Finishing the test after 2 hours and being able to see a 97% chance of passing on the first try was an amazing feeling because I was worried with that I was going to get during the whole exam. Those feelings will reflect on my goals for taking the NCLEX. I want to be able to remain confident for the duration of the exam, even if I am unsure of answers. Freaking out and over thinking will lead to getting answers wrong, and that has been something I have been working on and something I want to continue to work on. Overall, this class and all of the ATI’s this semester have taught me about my test taking abilities and has allowed me to figure out what works and what does not work when preparing to take tests.

Overall, I feel as though this exam did not go as well as when I took ATI Comp practice A. I was losing focus more and it took me longer to complete because I kept pausing the test which did not work out in my favor. However, I realized that taking more breaks made me lose my focus, so that is something I will not do again. Another thing I realized while doing my remediations is that some of the questions I got wrong were like the ones I got wrong for practice A. This was frustrating for me and made me realize I must pay more attention while I do my remediations, so I do not repeat mistakes. I am glad that I made these mistakes between the two exams because I have learned from them, and I know what not to do now. My goals moving forward would be to put all my focus into my remediations, be able to stay focused during my exam, and doing practice questions before the proctored exam. The more practice questions I do, the more I should be able to learn about all the possible questions that could be on the exam. My goals should be reflected in the grade I get on the proctored comp exam.

            This exam went well since we are currently taking our pediatric class. I tried to really focus on each question and think critically about the answers. However, there were some questions that I could have gotten right but did not think deeply enough about it. That is something I need to improve for future ATI exams. I want to be able to give each question my full focus and thought when answering it, so I do not make any silly mistakes like I have this time. I also need to make sure to take these exams in an environment that will not cause me any distractions because that will stimulate the environment we have while taking any proctored ATI exams. When it comes to my smart goals, I just want to continue to give my full focus to all the questions to make sure there were no questions that I got wrong that I could have got right. I should be able to measure this when going over the questions I got wrong and know that there was a reason I got it wrong other than making a silly mistake or not thinking fully about all of the answers.

Out of all the ATI CAT exams I have taken so far this semester, I feel as though this one went the best for me mentally. It was helpful that I am currently in the class, so it allowed me to think back on what we have learned. I feel most confident with maternity information than the other subjects, however there were still some questions that I had to guess and use my best judgement on. Throughout the ATI exams I have taken, I have been trying to improve on keeping my focus and using my critical thinking skills for questions I am unsure of. My SMART goal from the last exam was to be able to identify when I need to take a step back and regain focus before I continued with the exam. I feel that I am improving on that, however there are times where I should have taken a break even if it was for a few minutes or to get up and stretch. I am getting better at recognizing when I need a break and when I am losing focus, I just felt motivated to get this exam done. I need to improve on figuring out when the best time to take the exam is, so I would be able to take it with no distractions or having to stop. I want to try to take the test as if I were taking the NCLEX with no distractions at all.

Regarding SMART goals for my next assessment, I want to be able to figure out the best time to take the exam, so it can mimic the NCLEX. I will measure this by looking back on my experience taking the test once it is completed. I would figure out if I took it in the right place and at a time where I am able to put 100% of my focus in. This seems like a reasonable goal, and I will implement this in the next exam that I take. I am hoping that acting like I am taking an NCLEX exam will motivate me to do my best.

            I was nervous to take this ATI adaptive exam because there are so many medications and we had taken pharmacology so long ago. I was surprised to see how many medications that I remembered and recognized. Even though I may have recognized some drugs, it did not mean that I knew the correct information needed in order to answer the question. I need to work on looking over medications and the information that goes along with each one. When thinking about the medications I find myself getting overwhelmed due to all the information but based on the questions asked I feel as though I should focus on any big take aways from each medication. For example, some medications have major side effects, and some have major contraindications or react with a certain drug. These are the topics I will try to focus on when studying drugs. I also feel as though my preceptor experience has increased my knowledge on medications, as I found myself recognizing them from knowledge obtained in the hospital setting. I started to lose focus during the end of the exam, so for the next test I take I will make sure to take a break if I am losing focus.

            Regarding SMART goals for my next assessment, I want to accomplish taking the full assessment with 100% of my focus, so that I know that my grade is the best I could get. I will measure this by how I did on the assessment along with how I feel afterwards. I can accomplish this goal by recognizing that I am not able to put 100% of my attention into answering these questions in order to realize I need to take a step back and reset. This seems like a simple and achievable goal, and I would like to be able to do this for my next assessment.