While taking each ATI practice assessment, I was able to learn valuable skills to carry on to the next. I made sure to take all the ATI practice assessments honestly and secure an environment similar to that of the NCLEX. When I first started, I did not do this and I could tell I was becoming easily distracted leading to poor focus on the questions I was reading. As a result, I was forced to reread them multiple times before understanding what they were asking. I think this was a super important change because it helped me simulate an environment I will be taking NLEX in and help me to focus and get the most out of the practice tests. 

I made sure to fill out the ATI remediations thoroughly, especially with the 3 critical points. For those, I chose what I thought were the most important things to know or what I didn’t know that I assumed was important so I could use them for studying purposes. I went back to textbooks and websites as resources to gain more information on the topic. This was especially helpful and important for the recurring topics that I missed. 

For self care reasons, I really focused on getting quality sleep. Unfortunately, with other school assignments, studying and work, this was a bit challenging. However, I still made it a priority and something I worked to achieve. I am hoping to keep this as a priority that will be easier to accomplish once I have graduated and do not have as many things on my plate. I also developed better time management knowing that these assessments could take a while. I made sure to plan ahead when I was going to take each assessment, not only to allow myself more than enough time, but also that it was completed by the due date. I got rid of any distractions and made sure to give myself a short break halfway, especially if it were one of the longer assessments. This was another change I made because when I first started taking them, I would answer a handful of questions and then stop and go back the next day. However, I quickly realized it was not benefiting me to the extent that it could since it did not set the same expectations as the NCLEX. 

Overall, I feel that I have learned a lot of skills that I will take with me to prepare for the NCLEX. Not only general knowledge and confidence in certain topics that I will likely be tested on but also crucial test taking skills. These include the importance of simulating an environment to that of the NCLEX, being able to cross off answer options by only looking at the wording of it and being better at identifying key words in questions and answers. I will also carry these skills to my professional practice as I plan to continue education with my nursing career, whether required or not.