ATI

Published

Well its in the books, I passed my NCLEX and now a Licensed RN. A little bit about me I have always struggled in school, I was barely accepted into my nursing program, once in I failed Med Surge I by less than a point. I also had to withdraw from PSYCH because in our program you fail twice you're out, with that said i was on my last straw only 2 semesters in. I passed OB with the lowest score possible to get a passing grade and same thing with PSYCH the second time around. Needless to say if it was this hard to get through nursing school how was i ever going to pass my NCLEX, and my instructors were thinking the same thing. Well I graduated from nursing school which is the first step in this long journey and it did come easy however i learned many essential lessons along the way. Always believe in yourself and never underestimate hard work. Well now that i had passed school it was time to prepare for the NCLEX and everyone has their own way of doing things and learning, but for me i always learned from repetition and structure. I chose to use VATI as my main source for preparing and it paid dividens. Our school used ATI so i was used to the format so that was the main reason. The structure of the course helped keep me on track with studying. They break down all the topics into 7 categories and give a hybrid of each topic that is in the books they use to go over and refresh what you already know and provide a way to quickly review things you may have forgotten. they have a bunch of different tests you can take on all the topics as well as specific tests based on what section you are in. the rationals they offer within the tests are short but to the point. They dont give you more information than you need that ultimately would end up confusing someone like myself. the instructor who is assigned to you provides great feedback and follow up questions along with the ability to create a focused review on the topics you did not answer correctly.

With all of this being said i used it on and off for about an hour or so a day for about 6 weeks, and used all of the resources offered for about 8 hours a day for the final week prior to the test.

To fully benefit from this source you need to be open to your instructors feedback, also practice, practice, practice. you may see the same question a few times but dont just memorize answers, memorize rationals. that was what i would focus on to gather all the content i could remember since you will not know everything going into the test and anyone who says they do is a liar. however if you understand reasons then you can make very educated guesses.

I passed in 125 questions and had about 20-25 SATA questions, but mostly priority questions which the ATI pushes very hard at. Remember this is a test to prove you are minimally competent as a nurse, so dont over think each question. also review and remember your priorities of care.

After its all said and done i dont think i could have done this without ATI, many people on here will bash ATI, and it may not work for everyone however for me someone who has struggled and needs constant structure this was an amazing resource. it provided great information that wasnt sugar coated and broken down into barebones basic terms of what you ultimately need to know. the question bank isnt the biggest however it has plenty to give you a diverse selection with great to the point rationales. another plus is the questions seemed to be almost identical to the NCLEX in terms of wording and level of questioning.

Final words of wisdom- "You have come to far to only get this far"- Eric Thomas, and i kept saying that to myself through this whole journey. You have made it through nursing school which is no easy task, the NCLEX is only another step in this journey you have been on, and as you have read.... I was able to do. YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!! just be confident in yourself and your answers since during the test you are your own worst enemy.

Good luck- Jstott15

Up Vote Up Vote ×

ITs very cool to see that someone is successful from using ATI. Congrats on passing your nclex.

I have actually started using Virtual ATI just this pass week. A little background information. I've taken taken the nclex 3 times and I know for a fact that I need help in content.

What advice do you have about using Virtual ATI? Did you rely on doing the focus review on what you missed?

thanks.

-David

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm sorry to hear that. However in my tidying I would read the summary ati provides for all the topics of the section, I then would use the learning systems quizzes and the regular ati quizzes on the topic before I would do the vati quiz. When I missed a question I wrote down the topic it was about and when it was all done I would make a focused review , answering the questions at the end of each chapter any topics I missed and weren't in the focused review I looked up again. I would redo the open quizzes again. Also don't be afraid to do previous topics to keep yourself fresh. Another tip that helped me reading the answers from bottom to top. I hope this helps. And remember "you've come to far to only get this far"-Eric Thomas

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi, This week I contacted a nurse mentor. She recommended Virtual ATI I have failed Nclex 4 times. She stated if I stay committed to VATI 5 days a week 4hours a day. I would pass Nclex. I have tried everything thing I can purchase. I haven't signed up yet I pray this online program will work for me as a repeat test taker. And Congrats on Passing Nclex :-)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

awesome! thank you for the tips Jstott15. I'll continue to ask you questions if thats ok?? haha.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Ganurse2013, I'm surprised the nurse mentor said 5 days a week with 4 hours a day. I feel like thats too little. lol. i think i'll be studying a bit more. Lets get through this! good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you for giving us hope, seriously. And congratulations!

I failed twice so far!!! I'm still sad. I bought VATI in FEB, but didn't really liked it. All my friends used Kaplan and they passed with the first try. I'm thinking using it tomorrow, but I might not be active anymore. Damn it.

One thing I don't like about ATI is my mentor doesn't reply me right away. I always have to wait till the middle of the second day or even later to get a reply from her.

After I did the quiz, she would let me answer a lot of random questions. I mean she wants me to copy and paste her questions on Word, and type the answers for her. Does your mentor do the same thing to you?

Once, I asked a question about what she asked me( I couldn't find the answer), she then gave me a link that she googled from internet but not from ATI book. I was thrown off later when I found the answer in ATI's Ebook, which has a much better and profound answer. From that time on, I felt I didn't want to trust her anymore, but I also did not think ATI team would assign me a new teacher. I'm sort of stuck with her.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Ganurse2013, I'm surprised the nurse mentor said 5 days a week with 4 hours a day. I feel like thats too little. lol. i think i'll be studying a bit more. Lets get through this! good luck!

Not sure why, I assume not to over study so that I can retain the information better. And thanks for your response.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Jstott15,

Did you use any other form of practice, i.e. Kaplan, Saunders, Uworld? I feel like i've just been answering questions that I got wrong on my assessment my virtual ATI coach sends me and not practicing on answering questions. Aside from the exam codes your instructor provided you (only 60 questions btw), did you do any other questions? Thanks in advanced.

-David

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Kaplan and uworld is most helpful !

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Kaplan and uworld is most helpful !

Thanks, yeah I used Kaplan bank already. but the second time around, i felt like i remembered the answers. I think I will give Uworld a shot.

Thanks for replying.

-David

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Kaplan and uworld is most helpful !

How would you compare Uworld and Kaplan? which Qbank was harder? I know some people say Hurst review questions were too easy.

David

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion