Avery's Site

Category: Self-Care

Preparation for Licensure and Transition to Professional Practice

April 22, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Reflecting on the SMART Goals I set for myself in January, I believe I have become a better test taker and feel more prepared for the NCLEX. Through my individual performance profiles on ATI assessments, I learned many things I could improve on to better my scores. At the beginning of the semester, I was taking tests very quicky and not reading the questions/answers very thoroughly. After reviewing the Adaptive exams, I realized many of my incorrect answers were due to not taking the time to read the questions/answers. After realizing this, I began to take the tests slower and read through the questions slower, this greatly improved my score and helped me differentiate between incorrect answers due to this or incorrect answers due to a knowledge deficit.

After taking these ATI tests, I learned different areas that I needed to improve my knowledge. Some of these areas were deficits because we had not covered the material in class yet. The other areas were content gaps I did not know I had. My plan throughout the semester to improve these gaps were through ATI remediations, reviewing content in the textbook, and learn about the topics in class. These three methods helped me develop a deeper understanding and memory of the content I often forgot. Through these methods, I am now able to answer the questions correctly through memory and understanding.

Throughout this semester, we as students have learned how important it is to have self-care in a profession like nursing. At the beginning of the semester, my last hockey season was still going on. I truly looked to hockey as a huge portion of my self-care and work/life balance. However, in March the season came to an end. This was difficult for me because I needed to discover other ways to provide self-care. I began meditating and working out. These two things helped create a base for my self-care. I believe I am much more prepared to have a work/life balance now than I was at the beginning of the semester and look forward to having the ability to do both work and other fun activities.

The skills I have learned throughout this semester will continue to help me after I graduate. The learning I have done in Transitions will help me prep for the NCLEX by taking practice questions, reading the questions slowly, and understanding why I did not answer the question correctly. These small tools will help me be the most prepared to take my boards. These skills will also help me after boards, transitioning into the field of nursing. These skills will help me time manage, prioritize, and critically think about situations.

Attaining and Protecting Your Professional Nursing License Reflection

March 26, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I plan to become licensed by examination in Maine. It is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). The application for licensing in Maine is web-based and the application requires me to send official transcripts and a sign off from the director of the program. Maine also requires both criminal background checks (CBC) and finger printing. CBC must be completed prior to the date of examination and is only valid for 90 days. The CBC process is through the Maine State Board of Nursing application. To get fingerprinted, I need to travel to a location in Maine that is accepted by the Maine State Board and get go through the process of finger printing there.

After listening to the presentations from the District Attorney’s Office and Medical Professionals Health Program (MPHP), I reflected on how the Maine State Board of Nursing helps provide care and education on different issues that may arise. On the website, it provides information about being required to report suspected impairment or other issues that require disciplinary measures. There are resources for recovery on the Maine State Board of Nursing Website, including links to MPHP. I plan to protect myself and my license from legal issues by documenting in general, as well as documenting incidents through an incident report. I will also notify both the nurse manger and anyone else I need to if an issue arises.

Preparing for Transition

January 22, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As I progress towards graduation and the end of my nursing schooling, I have many mixed emotions. I am excited to begin working in a hospital and taking care of patients. I am also excited to take everything I learned from nursing school and incorporate it into what I am learning at the hospital throughout my orientation and first few years. Although I am very excited to begin my new journey of becoming a nurse, I am also very anxious about it! My biggest fear currently is taking the NCLEX. I believe this is my biggest fear because it is standing in between me and becoming a true registered nurse. However, I am grateful for classes, such as transition to practice, that is preparing me to take the NCLEX. Through these classes and studying small sections of different material each day for 30 minutes, I feel as though I will be able to attain my goal.

In Transition to Practice, I watched modules on four major Nursing Logics. I learned many helpful concepts from these modules. For the first Nursing Logic, Knowledge and Clinical Judgement, I learned different strategies that will help me succeed. These strategies included meaningful reading, sticking to a routine, and foundational thinking. These three concepts will help me when studying for nursing classes but also when I am prepping for the NCLEX. In the second Nursing Logic, Nursing Concepts, I learned about new technology, web-based information, and good resources. These concepts are important to me because many patients will look up what is going on with them on the internet. Through this module, I will now be able to give patient safe and helpful internet resources. In the third Nursing Logic, Priority Setting Frameworks, I learned about survival potential and the different categories within that, I also re-learned about safety reduction, and ABCs. Although I already had knowledge on airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs) and safety reduction, I believe it was extremely helpful to re-learn the material. Lastly, in the fourth Nursing Logic, Testing and Remediation, I learned how to prep and take a standardized test, like the NLCEX. I also learned how to properly read the questions and critically think about the answer. Lastly, I learned about the NCLEX and ways to properly take the test. Although I am very nervous for my upcoming future, especially the NCLEX, I know my nursing classes and materials like the Nursing Logic will help me when taking the exam.

Emotional Well-Being and Resilience in Older People

October 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments

When the pandemic hit the United States in early 2020, I remember my parents calling me to expressing their worries and fears for my grandparents. Both sides of my grandparents are older and were at risk of being harmed by COVID. Due to this, they self-isolated for an extremely long during the pandemic, which was a common theme for many individuals across the world. One of my grandmothers struggled a lot because before the pandemic she taught piano to local students. Once the pandemic hit, she was no longer able to have piano lessons. One way we helped her was setting up facetime and zoom meetings with her students so she could continue to teach. Other activities that my grandparents did were facetiming me and other family members, creating book clubs that they wrote messages in the books and sent them to other friends, and having window visiting with neighbors and family members. During the pandemic, I think my grandparents were very stressed, but I expected that because everyone was extremely stressed out.

After listening to the lecture presented by CECE, I was shocked how much it related to my own elderly family and friends. I was shocked to hear that many older adults have anxiety and depression and that older adults have one of the highest rates of suicide within populations. Throughout the presentation, I kept thinking about how I would incorporate all aspects of care to older adult clients when I began my nursing career. I would first want to focus on both their physical wellness but also their mental health well-being. By having the ability to teach my patients how to take care of themselves through exercising, eating healthy, non-pharmacological pain malmanagement, and safety around the house, I will be helping their physical well-being. By explaining treatment thoroughly, creating a trusting and caring relationship through open conversation and spiritual wellness, I hope I will be able to care for the older adult clients’ mental wellness. I plan to focus on both aspects to create the best environment for my patients.

My perspective has changed greatly on aging, I was very naïve to think that older adults did not suffer from anxiety and depression or suicide. I always thought older adults were at the end of their lives and their health was beginning to decrease. However, after watching the lecture I finally understood and created a new perspective for older adults. My new perspective is how strong elderly individuals are. So much of their lives are changing from new health needs, retirement, or family members, these individuals have so much change happening and handle everything that is thrown at them. Due to this, my perspective on aging has changed to view these individuals as strong and independent. I am thankful for this lecture for opening my eyes to a better view and ability to care for older adults.

Needle Exchange Program Reflection

October 5, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Prior to the Needle Exchange Program Lecture last Thursday, I did not have any preconceived notions about the program. I did not have any preconceived thoughts because I truly did not realize a program that helped people who are struggling with IV drug use find safe supplies existed. I was surprised and very grateful for the amount of work and care the volunteers and workers at the Needle Exchange did to provide to these individuals. Allowing individuals within this population to have a safe handling of medication, new needles, and Narcan can help resolve many health disparities within this population.

Some patients that use IV drugs may receive Hepatitis B or C and other contractable diseases. They also have a likelihood of overdosing due to too much medication. Through this clinic providing new needles and supplies, as well as Narcan, to individuals within this population the risk of health disparities lowers. Some individuals also struggle with receiving healthcare so receiving education and safe supplies can become very difficult. Through this program, these individuals can receive education and safe supplies that they need to safely handle the medication and needles. These are many useful things that I can apply to my future nursing practice. I will provide the resources of the Needle Exchange Program and education on safe handling and Narcan to my patients so they can safely handle these medications.

Human Trafficking Lecture Reflection

September 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Prior to the lecture on Human Trafficking, my pre-existing thoughts were mostly based on sex trafficking. I knew there were different forms other than sex trafficking but through the news and social media, I was more aware of sex trafficking. I also was aware of labor work but very native to it still being super prominent today. I had pre-existing thoughts that traffickers considered the person being trafficked as their “property”, but I thought the individuals being trafficked were being paid. I also had a pre-existing thought that every single person that was being trafficked did not know the person trafficking them. On the news, most of the stories stem from women being captured outside of stores or walking on the streets. I was extremely fortunate to be able to listen to the lecture on human trafficking and learn more.

After listening to the lecture on Human trafficking, a lot of my pre-existing assumptions and thoughts were changed. I was shocked to learn that many individuals know their traffickers before being forced into labor. My pre-existing thought that many did not know their traffickers was changed. It saddened me to hear that oftentimes people are forced into trafficking due to drugs or seeking asylum in the United States. My pre-existing thought that sex trafficking was a huge part of the trafficking ring was correct, but I was surprised to learn that human labor is still a huge problem today. Lastly, I never considered that the trafficked person was not being paid at all. After the lecturer talked about the person barely making $5 and then the price of rent, food, and living plus hospital bills, etc., it occurred to me that some individuals, if not all, would never be able to pay off their debts. Trafficking is a huge scheme that I never realized until listening to the lecture on Thursday. I am grateful for being able to learn more about human trafficking and how to monitor for it in the hospital

In the lecture on Thursday, we discussed ways to help determine if someone in the hospital was being used in the form of trafficking and how to help them. In the future, I will bring this knowledge forward and use it if I am ever in the need to do so. I will also be aware of individuals in my hospital especially if there is an individual trained in caring for patients that have been trafficked. I will also understand that the compassion and care that I will bring to all my patients must be extremely apparent when caring for someone that may be involved in a trafficking situation. I know that my care needs to be very thorough because many individuals struggle to open up to someone. Lastly, I know I must accurately document the situation so other individuals caring for the patient understand the situation and provide more help. I am glad I became more aware of human trafficking through this lecture as well as how to provide the best care for individuals in this situation at the hospital.

Disaster Nursing Reflection

September 20, 2022 / / 0 Comments

When the question of what the nurse’s primary roles are during a disaster comes into question, it can be very hard to reflect on what the nurse should do. It can be difficult because, during a terrible situation, a nurse must decide which patients need more care than others. A nurse’s primary roles include knowing the EOP or Emergency Operations Plan and implementing it during a situation. A nurse must know which patients to care for and which require immediate attention. If the nurse is in the hospital when the disaster occurs, they must know who the medical command and triage officer is, this will help the nurse understand their assignment and help the most patients. Nurses must also be aware of the emergency codes at their hospitals to be fully prepared for any disaster that may happen while they are working. During a mass causality event, a nurse must be able to detect a patient’s problem as red, yellow, green, white, or black. After the nurse understands what each patent is tagged as they can care for the most critical patients first. The priorities in any disaster event are to be fast with your care, assess the patient for a pulse, limit treatment to only what the patient needs to survive, maintain the airway, and control bleeding. As a nurse, the priorities during a disaster are to be fast and provide the best care possible for the greatest number of patients.

            In the event of a disaster, nurses may struggle with ethical codes between saving the patient or saving themselves. This topic can be extremely difficult to discuss because the main goal of a nurse is to provide the best care for their patients. I believe that as a nurse, in the event of a natural and man-made disaster, you should prioritize the patients if you are safe and unharmed. If you’re unable to provide the best care to your patients because you have been injured, then it is the nurse’s duty to care for himself or herself. In my opinion, nurses should always prioritize their patients unless they are injured and cannot provide adequate care to their patients.

Gratitude and Self-Care

April 2, 2021 / / 0 Comments

In many professional settings being grateful and having gratitude for the employees around you is very significant. Being thankful for having a team of professional staff surrounding you and expressing your thankfulness can go along way. There are many ways to express gratitude, some are as simple as saying thank you to a colleague or noticing an individual struggling and helping them out. Having gratitude in a professional setting creates a positive and effective group.

When I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed, the best way for me to manage these feelings is to take a walk or go for a run. If the professional setting I will not have the ability to take a walk or go for a run but I will have the ability to take a step back, take a breath, and reassess why I am feeling the way I am. This step process is a very simple way for me to decompress and elevate some of the stress I am feeling.

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