I reviewed the Individual Performance Profiles after each ATI assessment to improve my outcomes largely by looking at the time I spent on questions and the overall test. When I was able to see how long I was spending on individual questions, I could determine whether there was a certain style of question I spent too much or too little time on, or if there was a certain point in the assessment where I would speed up or slow down on the questions. This would be an indicator of losing concentration, which I worked on throughout the semester by taking breaks. There would be times when I spent a really long time on select all that apply questions, and times where I went through them really quickly. Both overthinking these and succumbing to the assumption I would answer them incorrectly would cause me to get them wrong. As the semester progressed, I noticed improvements on assessments as I continuously fine-tuned my test taking process and adapted to the challenges I found through reviewing the reports.
The remediation process was helpful for me in discovering content gaps in my knowledge. For example, I noticed that pharmacology was a consistent topic that I needed to remediate on a couple of the assessments, so I knew to refresh myself on that material. I also noticed that some maternity concepts needed more remediation than others as well, so that was helpful in guiding my studies.
Time management skills are something I have also worked a lot on this semester. I have had to do quite a few rounds of remediations for these practice assessments, and I know from experience that they are not something that can be done the night before. They require thought and time in order for them to be meaningful. Consistently breaking up the remediation process into chunks over the course of days proved beneficial for me this semester. I felt less stressed and like I was getting more out of the remediations because of this.
This semester has helped me identify content gaps in my knowledge and solidify concepts. I feel much better prepared to take the NCLEX now than I did at the start of this year. This confidence is what I need in preparation to start working as a nurse after graduation and the NCLEX. This is a big time of transition in my life, which has brought on a lot of nerves for me. However, I feel confident that these ATI assessments and remediations have really helped me in closing the gap and better prepared me to be a competent nurse soon!
