Heading into the application process for our first official jobs as RN’s can bring many emotions along with it. We are graduating in less than 110 days, we will be taking the NCLEX exam right after graduation, and we will all be on our way into the nursing world. I am excited abotu this opportunity as it is something I have been working towarfs for the past 4 years of my life through college and all of the hard work put into it. It is going to be a new chapter for exploration, challenges, adventure, and learning the ropes of this job we have dreamt of. I am most excited to graduate and celebrate our hardwork, as well as find out where I will be working and what unit I will be on for the start of my nursing journey. Celebration will come with sharing our fondest and deepest memories throughout these past few years, as well as taking some tie off to reflect and relax before our commitment to a job settles in. I see a lot of hugs, tears, and happy stories in the future.

This process is definitely one that brings up anxious emotions and fears as we process the future and look back on the past. We are beginning to think about what our lives will need to look like after we graduate and what we will do to fill our time, as school is no longer a big filler in our schedules! I know for me, that will be one of the biggest changes as I will have more free time to myself, and I will need to find hobbies and activities or things that I enjoy to fill that time. I am most anxious to graduate and start working, and feel like work is everything and that it fills my whole schedule as its going to be a big adjustment in our lives. I want to be sure that I find time for self-care, friends and family, happiness, and fun activities in life to adventure and travel. The application process is nerve wracking, but I am one who gets excited to do these types of things and one who loves interviews, so this will be an exciting process for me.

The work leading up to then end is going to pile on as we have multiple assignments and exams to study for. This requires organization and focus. Each week I use the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound) goals to stay on track with what I need to get done and how I will do so. Each Sunday I evaluate my weekly assignements and organize my planner ensuring that each dya is planned out with time slots allowing for studying, homework, self-care, eating, and working. I look at syllabuses and calanders for each class and mae sure I am not misssing assignements. Each day is slotted with times I do specific tasks and meetings and has periods for breaks in between. I make sure not to load too much stuff into each day or else I lose motivation to continue with gettting work done. I also make sure I am getting tasks done that are relevant and time related to when assignments are due. I try not to overload myself with assignments due too far in advance as it does not allow for me to take breaks during the assignments that are urgently due. I try to write myself a positive affirmation each day to see on my mirror, desk, or door, to keep me motivated through this nursing process. It is a way to keep me smiling. I have written some for my roomates as well as we all need it, especially during times like these. Overall, my execution plan each week is well layed out and organzied, and I stay on track with what needs to be done.

The ATI Nurse Logic 2.0 Modules were a refresh of understanding what this thinking style of cricitial thinking and question answering is like for us as nursing students. These modules layed out the specifics for how to break down questions and the process for entering the NCLEX which is our next big step in senior year. These will support me in the sense that I now have valuable data and knowledge as well as skills that benefit my success mvoing forward. For the ATI assessments we will be taking, we will be practicing for the NCLEX each time we do so and it attributes to how we will answer and improve on those styles of questions. I expect to advance in scores as we continue to take these assessments and remediate on them.