Hello all! I noticed my ATI blog post has easily been my best performing blog post views-wise (see that post here). I decided to create a general blog post describing how to study for ATI procted exams in general. My method was a bit different for some exams compared to others, but pretty much the same. This post will delve into that. If you are interested, keep reading!
*Disclaimer: This post will not disclose any acutal content contained on the ATI examinations. This post’s sole purpose is to provide preparation tips for the exam based on personal experiences. The tips given in this post do not guarantee a certain score.
Take the practice exam before you begin.
• This gives you a baseline on topics you may be strong or weak in. This is also what my nursing program required us to do. We always had to take a practice exam before the proctored. I did not study for the practice exams in order to provide myself with a true basline.
Take the focused review seriously.
• So after you complete the ATI practice exam, you will recieve your score as well as a proctored exam. My program required that we spend a certain amount of time based on the level we achieved via. the ATI Focus Review. Level 0: 4 hours, Level 1: 3 hours, Level 2: 2 hours, Level 1: 1 hour. We also had to handwrite three focused review points per topic missed.
If your program requires you to do this, please take it seriously. If you are not required to do it, I would recomend you do this anyway. Completing the focused review helps you go through and potentially remember the questions you missed. This helps you see where you went wrong and how ATI really wants you to think.
Retake the practice test.
• Yes, I want you to retake it. Retake the exam until you achieve above an 85%. This helps reinforce the content you reviewed and helps makes you more familiar with the question style and where you went wrong.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
• I cannot state this enough. Practice problems are the key to success with ATI Proctored Exams. While you are preparing for ATI Proctored exams, you will more than likely still be studying for course exams, working on care plans, group assignments, etc. Practice problems are your best bet.
I would complete 50-100 questions a night before I went to bed. I made sure to create a controlled environment and I READ THE RATIONALES. Please read your rationales thoroughly and do as many questions as possible. The more questions, the better (hint, hint). PLEASE DO PRACTICE PROBLEMS! I know I am shouting via text, but PLEASE!
• Practice problems can be found under your ATI account under the “Test” Tab. Utilize the Learning Systems tool and click on “Quiz by Category” in the middle. Jackpot!!
Don’t read every book, but read every book…
• I NEVER read the book cover to cover for most of the exams (only OB, Nutrition, Leadership and Community). The Nutrition, Leadership and Community books were short, so I was able to read those twice: once during the course and once more after taking the practice Proctored exam. I would make sure to read these three at least because ATI does not provide many practice problems for these Proctored exams.
• I also completed the OB book while completing the course, but made an effort to read as much as I could after the practice, because OB is always a weakpoint for me.
• If you feel want to utilize the book in your study routine, use it to read up on topics you stuggle with. I will be honest when preparing for the Pharmacology Proctored, I tried to read the book and returned to strictly practice problems. I ended up doing solid on the Pharmacology Proctored…
• Mind you I know it sounds like I am saying to not touch the books, but you SHOULD. When? As soon as you start the course. My program incoporated ATI into our classes by including what chapter we ‘should’ be reading each week. Take the time and read them. You will be suprised how much you will retain from the semester.
Random Tips
Alright now that I have given you the same format by which I studied for each exam I am going to throw out some tips based on ATI exams as they come.
- Stay calm when taking the exam and read the questions slowly. You don’t want to miss a simple questions by misreading.
- Read all the answer choices carefully and treat them like true/false statements. (This includes select-all-that-apply)
- You may want to take some time to study for the Medical Surgical Proctored, I found that one the most content heavy.
- Pharm: Do not know just the prototype drugs for general classess, so some of the nontypical medications as well. Know adverse/side effects to look out for with certain classes. Also, know common prefixes and suffixes for classes of medications.
- When taking the Pharmacology Practice and completing practice questions pay attention to what kind of drugs ATI likes to ask about. There is a trend…
- Do not let the Pharm exam overwhelm you. If the book stresses you out just go to practice problems and read those rationales!
- ONLY use ATI resources to study for ATI Proctored exams.
- If you are an audio learner, you may appreciate Cathy Parkes videos via. Youtube. Personally, I am did not find them engaging enough as self study, but many students have had great success because of her!
Well, this is how I passed every one of my Proctored Exams wih a Level 2 or higher (many times borderline Level 3). Hopefully this helps!
Thanks for reading!
Anna
