Reflection Of My Clinical Study

I have always known that becoming a nurse was not going to come easy. However, I was up for the challenge. I’m a particularly shy person who needs to study a lot before grasping a new concept; but I never held back during nursing school. I took challenging classes and in clinical I always looked for the patients with the most complex health conditions, taking every opportunity I could to participate and learn. The requirements for this program were rigorous; anything below an 80% was a failing grade. I spent hours completing practice exams, studying, crating flash cards, and going to group reviews; all well working full time as a Lead Resident Associate (CNA manager), a job that required 24/7 on call duties. Although, it was never easy, it …show more content…
This course was designed to review everything we had learned in detail and apply it to real patient care. The number one focus in this class was critical thinking. Of course, the health care field is complex and demands professionals who can critically think. I decided to choose the section with the “hardest” instructor. She was said to have failed the majority of her students. I doubt all the rumors were true, but this seemed perfect for me, if I could pass her class I was truly ready to be a nurse. As the first test approached, I studied just as hard as I had in the past. However, this test was different. My study methods didn’t prepare me for what was I was reading, the questions were worded differently and the more I read the more I doubted myself. An hour after completing the test, my failing grade was posted a …show more content…
The class required an 80% test average and I was starting the class 17% below that. I had very little options, continue the class or drop. Dropping the class meant postponing my graduation for another semester. This option didn’t appeal to me; I was ready to be a nurse and unwilling to postpone graduation over one test. However, if I continued the class and failed, I would have been forced to complete a refresher class in fall and retake the class in spring. Had this happened I would have had to wait another year to graduate. My instructor suggested I drop, she stated that although it could be done, it would be very difficult. Dropping at this point meant I could keep my GPA high and be refunded some of my money. Against what had been advised, I continued forward in the course. I changed my study methods completely: I looked for patient examples to relate our material too, I stopped working with large groups and started only studying with one classmate, I also asked for a decrease in hours at work. I was able to obtain all passing grades going forward and received a B in the class. Most importantly, I was able to walk the stage with my classmates and graduate with