Is it just me or is ATI incredibly counterproductive?

[swirlies]

I'm in my fourth semester so I'm no stranger to the various modules and proctored exams. However, I still can't get over how bizarre the testing process is.

First and foremost, the exam material is not consistent with the books' contents. You go back and search for this stuff in the book and it's nowhere to be found. Secondly, you're given a "focused review" whereby you revisit certain chapters to review topics you missed. You'd be hard-pressed to find most of the material included in the review.

If there's no way to really study for these proctored exams, what's the point? Or am I just overlooking vast portions of the ATI content?

[caliotter3]

Many years ago I heard similar complaints about ATI.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

The proctored exams, for the most part, are about critical thinking vs. pure memorization of content. So often times, you will have questions and go... where in the world was that in the book? The other issue is that the ATI books are cliff notes vs. all of the content related to a given topic. If you want a more detailed explanation, Saunders often has it.

In terms of studying for proctored exams, I recommend the following:

1. Read the ATI books related to the proctored exam; read a few chapters per day or every other day if possible.

2. One to six weeks prior to the exam, take the related practice tests; try not to look up answers.

3. Use the focused review in ATI to create flash cards, remediation templates, or notes as you please.

4. Use the free app called "RN Mentor" doing "clinical area" NCLEX questions in the area you will be taking your exam; try to do 50 to 100 questions per day as able before the proctored exam.

5. Take your time during the proctored exam to a) really try to understand what is the question, b) being careful of "need further instruction" and the like questions or "avoid" questions, c) if it is a SATA, and then working through the answers as to which answers will provide the best outcomes for the patient based on the question. Keep in mind ATI is about patient SAFETY, and ABC's almost always come first.

[NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN]

I'm also in 4th semester, so have taken nearly all of the proctored exams, and (aside from Pharm), I've gotten a level 3 in all of them. I did read the ATI books, but most of my studying was done from my instructors' lectures and my actual textbooks.

I agree with you that their focused reviews are a joke. They don't tell you exactly what the question was, they just give you a section to read up on. And, yes, I missed a question on ear irrigation and they told me to read xxx chapter in the book. Literally, ear irrigation is no where to be found. It also wasn't in any of my textbooks. I literally had to google it to complete the concept map on it. *sigh* So I get what you are saying.

That said, I do believe that ATI is helpful as far as getting us used to NCLEX style questions and proctored exam formatting and such.