Month: April 2022

This CAT exam was more difficult than I was expecting it to be. Some of the material that was covered on the exam I felt we may have not fully covered in class yet or it was material that we didn’t go into as much detail as the ATI had anticipated. I did think that most of the questions that I answered correctly I truly did know from the material in class and some of our other assignments. Towards the end I did feel myself wanting to just get the exam done with so I think that it affected how much focus I had had. It did help me prepare to be ready for taking a longer exam than we typically are used to much like the NCLEX will be.

The proctored pharm exam did not go as well as I was hoping for. I thought that I was going to be able to remember a lot of the questions from both the practice A&B but when it came to taking the exam a lot of what I remembered went out the door. I think that it was partially due to the fact that it was after one of our adult health IV exams, so I was more focused on preparing for that. I also don’t think that waiting around for a few hours in between the classes made me over think the proctored exam.

After taking the practice A assessment overall, I wasn’t very surprised with the score that I got. Despite thinking that pharm is one of my weaker points I felt that when I was answering the questions, I thought that I could easily distinguish which ones were the correct answers versus the incorrect ones. For the ones that I did not know the answer to I thought that I was able to make a very educated guess at which answers were definitely not the answer and was able to make an educated guess at what the correct answer might have been. I think that taking practice A will help to prepare me for the practice B assessment and the proctored assignment

After taking practice A and doing the remediations for that the practice B exam was a lot easier. I was able to remember what I struggled with on the first practice assessment. This made the practice B go a lot better. I made sure to find a quiet place in the library between classes and was able to sit down and not have any distractions when taking the exam. I find pharm to be a struggle for me so overall I was very happy with the outcome of practice B. I still think that there are some things that I need to work on. I’m not sure if I was able to do so well because if it was, I just remembered some of the questions or if it was from doing the remediations. Regardless, I am happy with how this assessment went.

For getting my nursing license I plan to take the exam in Massachusetts. After doing some research I found out that Massachusetts is not a nursing compact state which means I would have to reapply for a license for other states. The application process is fairly straight forward, and all of the information can be found on the Massachusetts government website. There is a link that lets you apply for licensure right on the website and tells you everything that you would need to get certified in the state. In order to get licensed, one needs to graduate from a board-certified nursing program, have passed the NCLEX exam, and to be of good moral character defined by the state law. In order to be considered good character you do need to submit a notarized criminal offense record information form as well as consent to a background check that is done by the Massachusetts Department of Family and Children. If something is found in the background check, you will be required to provide additional paperwork in regard to the findings.

            In Massachusetts they have a program that is designed to help any nurse that may be experiencing any substance abuse impairment. It is a program known as SARP, Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program, that is designed to help maintain the professional standards of nursing by monitoring participants’ ongoing recovery to make sure their return to practice is safe. When joining the program, the nurse is consenting to toxicology screenings, individual therapy, and monitored practice. These are all done with the goal to make sure the nurse is continuing safe practice. The program is voluntary, but it is designed as an alternative to disciplinary actions for any nurses with substance abuse issues.

            When it comes to protecting my license from the commonly occurring legal issues, I am going to make sure I get malpractice insurance. Many of our professors and guest speakers have really emphasized how important it is to get this insurance. In most cases they said it has been the best money they have spent when it came to their career because it really protects you from potential legal issues. While one would like to think the hospitals would be the ones to protect us if anything was to happen that may not always be the case.