ATI "Nurse in a box"

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I apologize if there is another place to post about textbooks, but I couldn't find it (if there is, please let me know).

I was wondering if anyone here had to buy this? If you did, how was it? I just finished my first day of orientation, and I was stunned by the amount I had to pay for my first semester :eek:. The nurse in the box alone is $450....it hurts. :bluecry1: We need 10 books for the first semester (estimated $900, but I'm a pro at finding cheaper prices), uniforms, ati pharamacology ($50), lab fee ($75)....etc. I wasn't too surprised about anything else, but that nurse in the box price was too much. That price is insane! I wish we weren't required to buy it, but it looks like we have no choice :sniff:.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

What is a Nurse in a Box?

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Specializes in Neuroscience/Brain and Stroke.

Our school provided ATI, but not sure what Nurse in a Box means, is all the books (Mental Health, Funds, Pharma, Med Surg, Nutrition, Peds, ect...)?

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

Is "Nurse in a Box" a bunch of books, divided into specialty areas, in a box, used for ATI? If so, are the printed books a requirement? Does the fee include all the ATI testing you'll need throughout nursing school? If it doesn't include the testing (some schools have a big book/testing fee and some separate the two), the books are all on the ATI website that you get access to, as a student when your school uses the ATI testing program. Check with your school about it.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

also check to see if the school library or computer lab has copies for reference. Could be this is a "help" tool, not a requirement

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I guess it is a box with books & it comes with online modules and assessments....? They didn't tell us more about it. I asked if I had to buy it and they said it was mandatory. I feel like it's a waste of money, but apparently some nursing students thought it was really useful. I can't find any information about it and I can't get a reduced price. They give us 6 weeks to come up with the money to buy it on the ATI website.

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Specializes in Phlebotomist, nursing student.

We used these in our program, and we were required to buy them, but I think it's more that the books come along with buying the computer part of the product. I thought that the books did a good job condensing down what we needed to know for the subject, but I don't like the Pharmacolgy one. We took the section exams at the end of each quarter, and the books are very helpful for those exams. There are also multiple practice exams for each section that you can use as a check on how you're doing. Some quarters the proctored exams were included in calculating our grade, but not in all quarters. You can create study plans based on the questions that you miss. I am now at the end of my program, and the last thing we do is take the ATI Predictor for NCLEX. I don't have any idea how accurate it is, but hopefully it will tell me what I need to study for NCLEX.

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I really like ati. It has helped me study a lot. They're absolutely horrible as a primary source but if they're your supplemental reading they're great.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the General Nursing Student forum

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I also have to purchase one but the price of ours is almost $600. Total bookstore price for all required textbooks is about $1500. There goes the majority of my financial aid... :(

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Specializes in Pediatrics and Med Surf Float.

my school used ATI but it was part of student fees or something; no out of pocket cost to buy books. we got the ATI books in the beginning of the semester and all the codes for online modules, practice assessments, learning areas etc in the first semester and updated them at the beginning of second level.

ATI proctored assessments were worth up to 2.5% of most semester, depending if you got a level 1, 2, or 3. first year students also has to log in hours in order to pass the course. if they do not finish, the grade is an incomplete until the student finishes hours.

I liked ATI for the alternate style book over my regular med-surge book but the exams were a pain. I didnt use it for NCLEX. our school has us do Kaplan (paid for by the students) and I used the qbanks. If i didn't do kaplan, i probably would have used ATI for the nclex.

My favorite part of ATI was the learning system RN (think thats what its called). its the module that has the focused practice exams and finals and you could just do questions on one focused body system

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Specializes in Peds PACU & Peds Psych.

My school has a similar ATI fee, but luckily ours is only $191. We had about six books to buy, and I managed to find them all for $309 (shipping included). I don't know how much they all would have been brand new or anything, but I know that some of my classmates spent $500 - $700 on books. I thought all of this was expensive, but seeing other people's fees makes me feel a lot better!

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