areas I need to improve in. Guiding my studying to emphasize these weaker areas will hopefully help me do well on these categories in the NCLEX. Creating a success plan that highlights areas of improvement will help me to stay focused and motivated as I study for this test.
Testing and Content Areas
Test Taking Ability and Coping Strategies The CSI report that I took during my freshman year was very informative in regards to my academic abilities and coping strategies. According to this report, I have great study habits, am confident in writing, math and science, have a positive attitude towards educators, am social, have good family emotional support, have a sense of financial security and have social enrichment. I would agree with all of these strengths. According to this report, my limitations include intellectual interests, academic assistance, and financial guidance. Throughout my time at this liberal arts institution, I have found myself to be more and more curious about multiple fields of study so I believe this is no longer a limitation for me. Also, I sought out a large amount of academic assistance throughout my four years in college through the tutoring center and meeting with professors. The Kaplan diagnostic exam that I took a month ago gave me great insight into the different NCLEX areas I need to work on. I scored a 54% percent on this exam. I did not take my time on the exam and rushed through it after a preceptor shift, so I should have taken it on a different day where I was more rested. I am usually a fast test taker, but this exam made me realize that taking a little while longer per question might not be a bad idea. The areas I need to improve in area women’s health and psychiatric nursing. These have always been my weaker categories and I will continue to work on improving in these areas. My own critical thinking scores have been consistently in the higher end of the spectrum throughout all of the tests that I’ve taken as a nursing student. Most of my HESI tests scored me in at least the 900s for critical thinking. I have usually gotten high Bs to As on most of my nursing exams for class. I have grown immensely in my critical thinking skills as evidenced by where I would score myself on the Department of Nursing’s Critical Thinking Rubric. I have learned how to synthesize ideas from different perspectives and effectively plan and carry out actions. I use resources to make sure I am giving accurate, evidence-based care to patients. I believe I have reached the complex level for all of the areas of critical thinking including data collection and analysis, interpretation, evaluation, conclusion and anticipation, and presentation and action.
Strengths
Resources such as the NCLEX blueprint, ATI exams, and HESI exams have helped me recognize my NCLEX content areas of strength.
My strengths from the NCLEX blueprint include pharmacology and physiological adaptation questions. My NCLEX content areas of strength according to HESI exam scores include medical surgical, pharmacology, pediatrics, and management. Each HESI or ATI exam highlighted areas of strength as well. My strengths in fundamentals include safety and infection control, psychosocial integrity, and reduction of risk potential. My strengths in med/surg include evaluation, assessment, management of care, health promotion and maintenance, pharmacology, fundamentals, cardiovascular, GI/hepatic, physical assessment, and coordinator of care. My strengths in OB are med/surg concepts, pathophysiology, professional issues, and psychiatric health. My strengths in metnal health include biophysical concepts, anxiety, ood and affect, assessment, and nursing interventions. My strengths in pediatrics are safety and infection control, community health, medication administration and math, and clinical concepts. My strengths in pharmacology are cardiovascular, endocrine, GI/hepatic, neuro, depression and grief, and safety. The HESI Comprehensive Exam showed that my areas of strength include fundamentals, professional issues, med/surg, pediatrics, and
gerontology.
Liabilities
The resources we utilized throughout our time in the nursing program also highlighted areas that need improvement. My areas of liability from the NCLEX blueprint include psychosocial integrity, health promotion and maintenance. Specific NCLEX content areas that I need to improve in are OB and mental health. Each HESI test also highlighted my weaker areas that I need to improve in. For fundamentals, my weaker areas include basic care and comfort, management of care, and evaluation. For med/surg, my areas of liability include psychosocial integrity, reducing risk potential, and reproductive content questions. For OB, my liability areas include promoting a safe and effective environment, growth and development, applying scope of practice, and promoting safety. My liabilities in mental health include safety, psychological development, and stress and coping. For pediatrics, my weaknesses are mental health and assessments related questions. My weaker areas of pharmacology are medications related to the reproductive and musculoskeletal systems, professional issues, and communication. The HESI comprehensive exam, again, states that my weakest areas of nursing are mental health and maternity nursing.
Success Plan If dates line up the way I would like them to, my plan is to take the NCLEX during the first or second week of June. This gives me three to four weeks to study after graduation and the Kaplan review. I plan on treating studying for the NCLEX almost like a full time job. I do well studying for long periods in a day, so I will most likely study around six to eight hours each day. The first two weeks of studying I plan on reviewing specific content, specifically my areas of weaknesses such as OB and mental health. I will use a variety of resources and learning methods to study the content, including questions and online videos over specific nursing content. The remaining weeks I plan on focusing more on questions. I will do more QBank questions from Kaplan and finish the remainder of the question trainers. I will take the longest question trainer a few days before the NCLEX and treat it like I am actually taking the NCLEX. After taking the NCLEX and, hopefully, passing on my first attempt, I will call Pam to let her know that I passed.
Conclusion
Now that I am more aware of my areas of strength and weakness in regards to NCLEX content, I will use this knowledge in order to effectively study for the NCLEX. I will work to improve my weaker areas and further strengthen content areas that I am already proficient in. I will study diligently for the NCLEX in order to pass on my first attempt.