The NCLEX test blue print will be a useful guide for me throughout nursing school.
It provides me with the basic idea of how the test will be laid out and what kind of information will be included. Having read the first few pages, I find it very useful because it breaks down the nursing process and how to apply it to different areas in nursing. In addition, the nursing test blue print provides several scenarios, in which a patient is at risk for potential body alterations, whether it is psychosocial or physiological, and it explains the rationale of every answer.Critical thinking is a learned skill that as students, we’ll be acquiring little by little. The more I find myself practicing critical thinking questions, the better I will be prepared for the NCLEX upon graduation.
The NCLEX blue print is like a guide, providing generalized information of nursing assessment, planning, interventions, and evaluation. Basically, it teaches how to apply the nursing process to all categories of nursing health care. According to the NCLEX test blue print, client needs are not just physiological alterations, but they are also cognitive, preventative, and spiritual alterations that must be treated.When we treat a client in the hospital setting, we are not just caring for the patient itself, we’re also caring for the patient’s family, community, and groups. It is a client’s right to be treated for spiritual and cognitive distress as much as they should be treated for physical injury. We need to treat clients as a whole, and that includes providing a safe and effective care environment, health promotion, psychosocial integrity, and physiological integrity.
For example, having all the essential tools and qualified professionals available for a patient undergoing surgery will lessen malpractice on behalf of an organization. This will lead to more productive and safe practices, in which safety and sanitation will prevent complications or hospital acquired infections among patients. Part of effective patient care is to acknowledge a patient’s rights and be an advocate for them. For example, protecting a client’s health information by avoiding the discussion of the information in front of anyone who is not in direct involvement of the client’s care.
Another important aspect of safe client care involves the use of delegation. Delegating an assignment to a medical personnel must be done as long as the assignment is included in the employee’s job description or under direct supervision by the RN, otherwise, the client may be put in a dangerous situation. Health promotion and maintenance should be a continuous effort for everyone. Providing education is one of the most important strategies in the promotion of health.
Knowledge will allow the population to recognize when a person is at risk of an alteration to their health.Hosting a blood pressure event, in which a nurse volunteer takes blood pressure on a first come first serve basis is an excellent way to increase awareness in people most at risk. Let’s say there is a new influenza virus roaming around, therefore, advertising and promoting vaccines is another great way to cover those grounds and reach more people. Also, providing a pamphlet to the elder of a community, including information about how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack will help save lives.
Maintaining the psychosocial integrity of patients requires good use of communication. If used well, this strategy will prove beneficial to professionals who are trying to gather information about a patient. Avoiding closed ended questions and using open ended questions will yield more information about a patient concern or issue. For example, asking a patient who seems depressed, are you feeling okay? As opposed to, you seem sad, would you like to tell me what’s going on? Will yield better results.The idea is that a patient’s emotional, mental, and social well-being is part of the treatment of that patient.
Perhaps the patient is suffering from abuse and neglect from those around him or her and it is our responsibility as nurses to use therapeutic communication to extract all that information in order to help the patient. Patients’ spiritual beliefs are very important to them, therefore, taking those into account and providing competent care individualized for that specific patient can make a difference. Perhaps the patient under my care is one who is addicted to drugs, such as alcohol.Referring that patient to an alcohol anonymous meeting may be all it takes to help the patient.
It may take a little bit of time and struggle but if we can’t directly help the patient, we can definitely find someone who can. I plan to use the NCLEX blueprint, together with the ATI scenarios and study cases to improve my critical thinking skills. I plan to use the NCLEX blueprint as a general guide, from which I can go back at any given point throughout nursing school and review both the nursing process and how the information will be laid out in the exams.I also plan to combine this general information with the ATI studies by taking multiple exams that allow me to apply the knowledge I know. My main concern is the constant familiarization of NCLEX style questions. Repetition is key in acquiring the mindset of a professional.
It is one thing to know the information but another one to apply it. It is why I will mainly focus on the ATI case studies and NCLEX style questions until I feel confident on the whole aspect. Then, I’d say it is a good idea to review the NCLEX blueprint from beginning to end again.
