1. Describe a specific accomplishment, hardship, or challenge that you have faced and how it made you the person you are today. (exclude academic accomplishments) 
2. Expand on at least one life goal you are trying to obtain (exclude academic accomplishments). Describe what motivates you to succeed.
3. Describe a time you felt overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious. How did you respond? How did you handle the stress?
4. Your nursing cohort is a team very much like a family. Not everyone is alike, and diversity will make a cohort stronger as they work together to succeed. Reflect on who you are and what unique qualities, abilities, traits, or knowledge you believe you will bring to your nursing cohort?

Reflection Questions

Question One

I believe that motivation is the key to academic success and that it should be enhanced as early as when an individual is in pre-school. Interactions between students, teachers, and other stakeholders in the learning facility are critical for educational achievement. An important aspect of motivation is positive feedback and opinion. It is imperative to monitor how students and teachers respond to each other such as giving praise, approval verbal reprimands, and negative statements regarding an individual’s looks, abilities, and efforts. Whereas I anticipated joining a nursing school, the negative opinions that people had about me took a toll on my motivation to work hard on my studies. I developed a conflicting relationship with tutors and other learners who had a pessimistic opinion about me. Teachers play an essential responsibility in shaping the students’ academic enthusiasm but become problematic when they are watch learners pick on each other and do nothing about it. The differing relationship that I had with my peers impacted my abilities and believes about the education facility. All I required was a high level of support and interaction with people that would offer me positive feedback and clear direction. Positivity reinforces a person’s behavior and makes one feel encouraged and interested to carry on with the immediate tasks presented to them. However, the negative opinion that people formed about me decreased my self-worth, and doubted I whether there was any person that was concerned about me. I had a low sense of intrinsic motivation due to unfavorable self-perceptions that decreased my performance not only in school but also in other aspects of life.

As I grew older, I tried to work on my relationship with my peers. However, past conflicts made me feel insecure regarding my social status, and my stress levels increased. For instance, bullying in the form of negative remarks was common in my school. The norms and regulations in the learning facility did not create an environment of security to foster healthy relationships. Such problems lowered my self-drive to study and school was never fun for me. I had a chronic non-attendance problem and would often lag due to excessive absenteeism. The issue also affected my performance in other aspects of life and I could not comprehend what I was required to do or how to act.

With time, I realized that I could not control what other people felt about me. The only way to overcome the problem was to take responsibility for making my life better rather than pleasing my peers. Moreover, the scenario made me realize that individuals’ opinions reflect more about themselves and not me. Therefore, their judgment could not be true and their perception about life is not reality. Consequently, I made peace with who I am, loved, and appreciated myself, and would not seek approval from others. I no longer defended myself since I had to live my life based on my beliefs and future aspirations than on how people viewed me. With time, I was able to set new life goals and seeking new opportunities to grow my career.

Question Two

Setting life goals has been triggered by my behavior since I am always working towards achieving them. Currently, I aspire to have a happy family and marriage life and also to become a successful RN or NP and build my relationship with God. I have started equipping myself with the necessary knowledge on how to run a family and life harmoniously with my future husband by reading books and other publications that will lead me towards realizing my dreams. It is critical to have individual family goals so that I can grow as a person and build healthy relationships in the coming future. I also ensure that I have realistic expectations such as having a God-fearing man that will not disappoint me and hold my hand towards realizing my potential. I am always curious about learning about marriage and always nourish my mind by exposing myself to new ideas and getting educated about the world around me. I also take part in outdoor activities that will guide me to meet a person with which I share common interests and hobbies so that we can enjoy life together when we grow old.

 Moreover, I cement my marriage and family goal by taking care of my health including healthy eating and attending regular medical check-ups so that I can have a well-balanced life. I also engage in exercises including walking, running, and other sports activities that will promote my well-being. My prayer is that will get a spouse with whom we can communicate regularly about our feeling and expectations. I know that marriage is not perfect but after spending quality time with my potential husband during courtship, we will figure out how to accommodate one another and lead a life of trust, honesty, and empathy. I also aspire to build my relationship with God because I admire people who have already started their life of happiness in the Lord and act as disciples of His son Jesus Christ. I build my spiritual life by constantly reading the bible and praying so that I can strengthen my faith and endure suffering to better my life. Since I have a busy school routine, I start my day and end it with a prayer so that the few moments of devotion can make me feel better as a carry out my daily activities. Moreover, I spend time with other Christians who are conversant with biblical studies so that they can fuel my life and quench my spiritual thirst. I know that I will achieve my goal if I attend church regularly since I have the desire to worship and encourage others.

I am motivated to achieve my life and spiritual goals because I believe that a successful RN or NP should be an all-rounded person. Nursing is a professional mission and I know that God called me to serve His people. Moreover, this is an opportunity for me to develop a good relationship with the people around me and follow the example of the great men in the bible. Additionally, nursing vocation reminds me that I am called to participate in world redemption since is an integral part of building my relationship with God. As I purpose to build a family and succeed in marriage, I am motivated to improve my prayer life since I can support my children and spouse by dedicating them to God.

Question Three

My relationships with other people are often hard for me. Judging by the past when I was deeply affected by people’s opinions about me, I am often anxious whenever I think about my relationship with other individuals. The situation is quite unbearable since I find myself in confusion and doubt due to problems that arise. I pay close attention to the events happening around me and pick up small details that may have no value in my life. Moreover, I analyze issued too much and end up creating more problems on my mind. Overcoming the fear is quite difficult and in such a way things can get hard. Moreover, when starting a new relationship, over thinking makes me cautious about the issues but when we build a rapport, I become confident and anxiety fades. When in an overwhelming situation I feel insecure and unsure of myself since I fear getting hurt and sometimes I feel that I do not deserve to be in a happy relationship. Moreover, the scenario leads me to find fault in myself and get obsessed with non-existent problems.

At one time I got overwhelmed when thinking about my relationship with my peers. At that particular period, I felt they hated me and would not like to associate with me since they would always make negative remarks and had a low opinion about me. I despised myself and since at that time, I knew that they never cared about me and would not trust them anymore. One of the ways that I managed over thinking and emotional torture was by coming up with constructive ways for stopping getting me in such a situation. I understood that one cannot control what other people think. Therefore, I had to accept the situation and avoid sinking into issues that would exhaust my mind.

Furthermore, I tried to establish myself in other areas such as my studies so that I could avoid over thinking. I also distracted my mind by taking part in fun activities such as working on my hobbies so that I could sabotage my relationships. Besides, I talked to one of my friends who I trust so that I can relieve myself from over thinking since my concerns were legitimate. Therefore, we had a positive conversation that made me feel better and lowered the risk of engaging in an argument over things that are just in my thoughts and could not be true. I believe such a situation occurs; I will be better placed to avoid it getting into me.

Question Four

Nursing cohorts are critical because they offer students the opportunity to work together in a group unit. Learners begin studies collectively and take classes as a cluster until their graduation. Therefore, they get a chance to select study buddies since have to learn the same material throughout the course. Beginners have different strengths that they pool together to have a sense of a diverse community. The group members offer each other emotional and educational support. Therefore, the squad is motivated since they work together to ensure that everyone is on track so that they can succeed in their studies.

As a member of a cohort group in nursing school, I possess caring is a unique quality that I bring into the squad. I believe that the career is a calling and requires a compassionate personality since ailing individuals need my help at all times. Accordingly, I ensure that I teach my cohort group members the importance of compassion so that they offer quality services to patients. The nursing profession involves caring for vulnerable individuals that are facing a difficult period of their lives. Moreover, their families are also suffering as they watch their loved ones endure pain. Consequently, I encourage the members of my cohort group to show concern, sympathy, and compassion for the individuals that they serve.

Communication skills are also unique abilities that I bring into my cohort group. During our discussions, I persuade other students to follow the right channels when passing messages to patients and their families. Some ailing individuals are not well placed to speak up for themselves and their loved ones depend on nurses for support. Therefore, medical practitioners should be effective advocates to ensure that all the patients’ concerns and needs are addressed. There are many communication gestures such as smile that critical in a nursing career since this is a way to ensure that ailing people gain a sense of comfort and feel confident that there are people taking care of them.

Additionally, I am naturally empathetic and can listen and try to understand what the other person is feeling. I always advise the members of my group that they do not have to agree with the patients’ and their loved ones’ thoughts but have self-preservation to internalize suffering and pain faced by felt by other individuals. They must understand where other individuals are coming from. Besides, I possess problem-solving skills and offer judgment whenever required. I believe that people are never alike. Therefore, great nurses should be willing to adapt to the patient’s changing needs and solve any unexpected circumstances. I understand that a cohort group can only succeed if people respect one another and form healthy boundaries when working in a diverse team. Therefore, individuals should be mindful and practice confidentiality as well as regard the wishes of their patients. My deep connection with religion enables me to respect other people’s spiritual beliefs and share my knowledge with fellow learners without withholding essential information.

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