How I Study for ATI Proctored (CMS) Exams
Okay, so if your school uses ATI you may or may not have already taken a CMS exam. You might not know you’ve taken a CMS exam, because your school might call them ATI Proctored Exams. But for the purposes of this post, I’m going to call them CMS Exams, because that’s what I call them, and it’s my blog, so you’re stuck.
If you’ve taken one of these exams, you already know. They’re a Big Deal™ and you’ve seen your scores represented as something between “Below Level 1” and a “Level 3.” Before we discuss studying for them, let’s talk about what they are, how they’re scored, and why they matter.
ATI is a third party nursing education company that your school may elect to use as part of your nursing education. Don’t flip out if this doesn’t apply to you—some schools use ATI, and some schools use other companies to accomplish the same sort of goal. ATI provides different types of content learning modules, virtual simulations, and skills review modules that you will take throughout the program at the discretion of your professors. They also provide proctored exams known as Content Mastery Series (CMS) Exams, which is what we’re focusing on here.
CMS Exams are standardized, meaning that you’re taking the exact exam that everyone else in your class is taking, and the aim of these exams is to see how well you are understanding or retaining the information related to that specific subject, thereby assessing your readiness for the NCLEX as you progress, your weaknesses, and your strong points. On that note, you will take a CMS in your major nursing subjects: fundamentals, medical surgical, pharmacology, mental health, etc. These tests score your readiness for the NCLEX in the corresponding subjects using Levels.
Below Level 1: Does not meet the absolute minimum expectations for performance in this content area.
Level 1: Considered to meet the absolute minimum expectations for performance in this content area.
Level 2: Considered to exceed minimum expectations for performance in this content area.
Level 3: Considered to exceed most expectations for performance in this content area.
I can’t speak to how these correlate to grades in your classes unless you are in my specific campus at my specific university, so just refer to your facility policy on that ;) But in general, as you can imagine, the higher your level, the higher the numeric grade you will earn from your university for the exam.
So far, I’ve taken two CMS Exams: Fundamentals and Pharmacology. As of the time of publication, I am preparing for my third CMS in Mental Health. By no means am I an expert, in preparing for CMS exams, but I do want to share with you how I’ve prepared for the CMS exams I’ve taken, earning Level 3’s on both!
The excitement on my face after getting that Pharmacology CMS Level 3 was REAL! Still one of my best days in nursing school.
If you are studying for your CMS WHILE TAKING THE SAME COURSE:
Start on day 1. No, really. Depending on your program you might have only 7-15 weeks to prepare for this exam. That sounds like a lot of time, but it isn’t.
Do whatever you normally do to study for the class, but also read the corresponding chapter(s) in your ATI CMS book within 24-48 hours of hearing the lecture on the same topic.
Having said that, let me reiterate: USE THE ATI CMS BOOK. The book is likely a quarter of the length of your textbook, because it is essentially a cliff’s notes version of your text. But also, it’s literally a study guide for the exam. I promise you, whatever you are asked on the exam, it is COVERED IN THAT BOOK. Plus, it just makes sense…if ATI is making and administering a test, it’s probably a good idea to use their materials to study for it!
You cannot prepare for this exam two days prior and expect it to go well. It isn’t that kind of test. It isn’t important that you sit down and study for 8 hours at a time, but it is important that you do the work consistently (I will never get off this soapbox, sorry). For me, that is 5-6 days a week, usually around 1-2 hours a day. That is because my goal is always a Level 3—but please remember that it is completely okay if a Level 3 is not your goal!
Ask your professor if they have any suggestions. My professors have been pretty great at telling us some major concepts that they feel are important to study, although keep in mind that they also have no idea what’s on the exam, as they do not make or even see the exam.
If you are studying for your CMS WHILE TAKING A DIFFERENT COURSE:
See everything above, but also…
Start studying for it as soon as you possibly can. I spent 10 weeks studying almost every single day for my pharmacology CMS, because by the time I took the exam it had been 4 months since I had completed pharmacology, and 6 months since I first heard some of the pharmacology topics!
Create a study plan for yourself. Sit down and look at the ATI book. Divide up the chapters. Allow yourself time to review each chapter 2-3 times. The following is how I studied for the pharmacology CMS, but I encourage you to make your own individualized study plan.
When I was studying for the pharmacology CMS, I identified that there were 48 chapters in the ATI book. I decided to devote myself to studying 2 chapters a day for 24 days, giving myself around 4 weeks to cover the material once through and take some days off as needed.
After studying a chapter, I marked it as something I felt VERY comfortable with, KIND OF comfortable with, or NOT AT ALL comfortable with.
“Very comfortable” chapters got no further attention from me when studying (approximately 14/48 chapters)
“Kind of comfortable” chapters got a second thorough examination (approximately 22/48 chapters)
“Not at all comfortable” chapters got a second thorough examination and later a third skimming prior to the exam (approximately 12/48 chapters)
Next, I reviewed the “kind of comfortable” and “not at all comfortable” chapters, again 2 per day, necessitating approximately 3 more weeks.
In the next week, I again reviewed the “not at all comfortable” chapters, at a rate of 2 per day.
Finally, in the two weeks leading up to the CMS exam, I focused my attention on taking practice exams.
Let’s talk about practice exams, for a second. ATI has an amazing feature called Learning System RN 3.0 which allows you to create quizzes for yourself. I made some mistakes when I was first learning about how to utilize this feature, so let me walk you through exactly how I did it once I figured it out!
Open Learning System RN 3.0 under the “My ATI” and then “Test” tabs.
Under “Dynamic Quizzes” select “Adaptive Quizzes.”
It will launch a fancy pants new window. Here, click the box next to whatever subject you’re studying, such as “pharmacology.”
Choose “study review mode.” This is important because this is what allows you to read the rationales for the answers.
Enter however many questions you want to do. I like doing 60 question quizzes, since this helps me prepare for what it will feel like to take the actual CMS.
Click “Create Exam” and then start taking it!
GENERAL TIPS FOR CMS STUDYING AND TEST TAKING:
If ATI made the test, it’s probably a good idea to use ATI resources. I said it once, but I’m saying it again. Sounds pretty self-explanatory, but I can’t tell you how many students I see completely neglecting ATI resources in their CMS studying!
READ THE FULL RATIONALES ON PRACTICE QUESTIONS, EVEN IF YOU GET THE QUESTION RIGHT. You want to make sure you understand why you got it right, or why you got it wrong. And the rationales to practice questions may help you remember important priority setting frameworks for the exam!
I highly recommend using the youtube videos and/or study flashcards made by LevelUpRN to help you study on the go. When I was studying for the pharmacology CMS, I took my Cathy Parkes Pharmacology Flashcards with me everywhere (in a cute little index card holder I got at Target!). Her YouTube Videos were the soundtrack to my life. I listened to them while brushing my teeth, driving to school (LISTENED to them with my ears!!!), taking a shower, getting dressed, etc. The more exposure I could get to the content, the better! (Plus Cathy and her whole team are amazing and deserve the world!)
Another resource I utilize when studying for the CMS exams is Picmonic (get 20% off using my link). Whenever I just can NOT get a concept down, I turn to Picmonic to help me remember using picture mnemonics, stories, and other memory tricks. This is also a great way to give your brain a break from reading black words on white paper, or taking boring practice exams. I can’t say enough great stuff about Picmonic.
Don’t do anything the day before the CMS. Give yourself a break. Your brain needs some time away from the material before you stress it out in the testing environment. Do something fun. Go for a walk, watch your favorite movie, take a warm bath (my go-to!), or whatever else would help you relax.
GO THE F*** TO SLEEP. Dude, if you are thinking you’re going to stay awake and study late in to the night before any exam, but especially a CMS, please let me know where I can find you so I can shake some sense into you. There is absolutely nothing you can learn the night before an exam that will serve you better than getting good sleep to lay down solid memories and prepare your body for the stress you’re about to put it through.
The day of the exam, avoid anything that’s going to make you jittery (like caffeine, sorry) or sleepy (like a massive meal right before). Use the bathroom before the exam. Bring your photo ID. Wear a thin outermost layer, such as a cardigan, in case it’s cool in the testing room (some proctors won’t allow you to wear anything heavier than that!). Meditate or practice deep breathings or mindfulness or do whatever is going to chill you the hell out before the exam. Personally, I have to be somewhere quiet, away from every other living soul, and just saying in my head “You have done everything you possibly could to prepare. No matter what happens, you’ve earned every single point you get, and you will be proud of yourself. There is not other way you could have prepared better. This is your time to be rewarded for your efforts.”
ATI loves patient safety. If you’re stumped on a question, pick whatever answer has the most to do with patient safety.
Keep in mind priority setting frameworks: ABC, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, etc.
If you’re stuck on a priority setting question, just ask yourself: what would kill my patient fastest?
ATI LOVES SPECIFIC NUMBERS. Oh man. Ohhhhh man. Okay. This may be my biggest tip: pay close, close, cloooose attention to the specific numbers provided to you. An answer may say “get vital signs every 4 hours,” and that sounds like a great option! But look at the “every 4 hours” component and ask yourself “do I know that this is the appropriate time frame?” Or maybe it says to monitor for urine output less than 40mL per hour. 40mL seems low…but is it the appropriate cutoff for urine output concern? Do not pick an answer you like if it has a specific number or time frame you don’t like.
Aaaaand that’s it…heh. No, but really. I know this is a lot of information, but again please let me reiterate as always that this is what works for me and for my individual goals. This is just how I personally study for and take the CMS exams. This is by no means an exhaustive list of every possible way one can prepare for a CMS or any other exam. Feel free to follow the steps I took, alter my tips, or throw the whole thing out and find what works best for you. In fact, I encourage you to ignore me and find what works best for you. No one knows you like you, so go out there and meet your goals!
Don’t forget to take your meds, and stay hydrated.