ATI: best study program available?

caliotter3 · Jan 20, 2011

Any way you find to learn the material is a good way. Some people report that they did not find ATI helpful while others are pleased with it. Just go with how you feel about being prepared. If you feel you need more, then get another study resource to help you. Good luck.

Ljune · Jan 20, 2011

I do not yet have my Rn license so I cannot speak on that NCLEX (I wont be taking it until May). However, in my LPN program we were required to take ATIs for Mental health, fundamentals, Peds, Med surg, Ob, and Pharm. We were required to score at least a level two on each exam to stay in our program. I would do all the practice ATI codes given to us many times with the rationales, rather than just answering the questions from memory I would make sure I understood why all the other answers were wrong. These ATIs were the ONLY thing I did to prepare for my LPN Boards and I felt extremely confident during my test. I passed on my first attempt. The LPN Boards seemed much simpler than the ATIS. I definitely plan on using my new RN codes to prepare for my RN nclex this spring.

luv2b_a_nurs · Jan 21, 2011

I do feel like they helped during school. Like the above poster, we used them throughout our program. We were required to take practice and proctored tests. If nothing else, they are good for the repetition of basic and important concepts. I did not use a review course to prepare for boards.

angemay51 · Jan 21, 2011

hello , im a foreign grad nurse , i already taken nclex three times , I tried NCSBN online review for my first try I failed , 2nd self review no luck, it took me another year to take it again coz im so frustrated, then I enrolled at kaplan but same story i did not made it , now im planning to take it again 3 months from now , any help at present im using saunders cd and i want to have a licensed to have a good job, please help ,thank you .

dontra07 · Jan 22, 2011

hello , im a foreign grad nurse , i already taken nclex three times , I tried NCSBN online review for my first try I failed , 2nd self review no luck, it took me another year to take it again coz im so frustrated, then I enrolled at kaplan but same story i did not made it , now im planning to take it again 3 months from now , any help at present im using saunders cd and i want to have a licensed to have a good job, please help ,thank you .

Hi angemay! I'm also a foreign nurse from the Phil. from where are you? I'm planning to take my NCLEX mid feb... i'm also using Saunders... Goodluck to us! :)

PCCUer · Jan 23, 2011

I used Kaplan, Lacharity, Mnemonics, and Saunders.

When you do your questions, look at the rationale after each question or after every set.

The Kaplan test question sets of 75 to 150+ didn't actually help me,

because I was more concerned of my time and how many correct answers I got -

instead of understanding the question presented and the rationale of the answer.

LaCharity is an awesome book. Prioritization and delegation helped me a lot in my NCLEX.

Personally, the strategy of how it answered questions is way better than what is taught by Kaplan.

Mnemonics was a huge help in remembering the essential facts.

But it will be difficult to understand the mnemonics unless you know the significance of each.

Now with the Saunders, I did the questions ONLY. I didn't even bother reading the lecture part.

Afterwhich, I would look at the correct answers and would really concentrate on the rationale.

If there's one detail that confused me, I had my laptop handy and researched online for better understanding.

Do the questions on the DVD provided when you have free time. No pressure on how many questions you should do daily.

Do about 20 per day, as long as you make sure those 20 rationales stay with you.

If you think you are in a great mood and with a clear mind, do as much as 150 in a day.

I would do questions while watching TV or while at work when I'm not busy.

I made some notes of all the normal lab values. Know what those values mean.

It is not college anymore, memorization per se won't do the trick. You've got to know the meaning of those values.

I also made some notes on Pharmacology. Tricks and list of meds.

Just keep going through your notes until it stays in you.

The downside of memorization is that when you forget it, it's gone forever.

Make your own strategy on how you can remember what you read... but as I keep saying, UNDERSTAND what you read.

I printed out a copy of the FACT THROWING page on this website.

I would read it when I am bored, together with my little notes.

Repetition is the key. Read it over and over and over.

Somehow, it stays in your subconscious.

Good luck!

RadBSN · Jan 24, 2011

I didn't like ATI when I was in school, but am finding it helpful now that I'm studying. I think that the ATI books are set up way better than the Saunder's book. People who graduated before me also said that they thought the ATI questions were the most helpful. I also like NCLEX 4000, they have it at my school so I've been going over there and doing questions a couple times a week.

joe007 · Apr 6, 2012

We have ATI, but it's an accelerated program and I don't study for it (though it's 5% of my grade) and get level one as it's a waste of time the way my school "administers it." I view it as a joke as they give it to us right before finals (it's a nice distraction from the tests that matter and are 20% or more of our grade)...

Also, last semester, I thought ATI was based in reality and actually studied and put hours into finding the answers to ATI which don't exist in our text book... Studying is futile because our professors don't turn on rationales and don't tell you which questions you got wrong... they set it so that ATI only gives you a print out that says you got a certain percentile and chapter numbers to review... when I review these areas of the book the answers are not there... Usually, there's no clear answer presented in the book... so it becomes a guessing game... it took a group of my class mates 4 hours of pure guessing to score a 70%. Is it just me, or does this make no sense especially in an accelerated/condensed program?