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.
I focused on each category as I progressed through the 6 weeks. I did not look ahead or do any other subject when focusing on each one. This helped me remain focused and absorb the information. I agree, Virtual ATI is fabulous for content, but not so much questions. So if you are weak in content area, then Virtual ATI is absolutely for you.
Definitely review the Ati for content but also invest in a Saunders book if you can , I think that may be very beneficial . And yes uworld is way harder than the actual nclex , but I enjoyed the challenge lol .
I agree. Virtual ATI is wonderful if you are weak on content.
I focused on each category as I progressed through the 6 weeks. I did not look ahead or do any other subject when focusing on each one. This helped me remain focused and absorb the information. I agree, Virtual ATI is fabulous for content, but not so much questions. So if you are weak in content area, then Virtual ATI is absolutely for you.
Ok sounds good! thanks for the feedback. So basically, you just did your focus review and study off that? When did u review the other categories as you progressed in the VATI??
klv5088
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I focused on each category as I progressed through the 6 weeks. I did not look ahead or do any other subject when focusing on each one. This helped me remain focused and absorb the information. I agree, Virtual ATI is fabulous for content, but not so much questions. So if you are weak in content area, then Virtual ATI is absolutely for you.