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ATI Medical-Surgical Proctored Exam Test Bank

A free ATI Medical-Surgical proctored exam test bank: original practice questions with full rationales, organized by the five Med-Surg content domains, no sign-up required. ATI does not sell a product called a "test bank" — every question here is written by us, not copied from any exam. This site operates independently and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC (ATI).

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What's in the bank

The Medical-Surgical test bank covers all five ATI content domains — Perioperative Care (pre-op teaching, consent verification, post-op assessment and complications); Cardiovascular & Respiratory Disorders (MI recognition, cardiac biomarkers, heart failure, dysrhythmias, COPD, chest tubes, oxygen therapy); Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders (diabetes, hypo- vs. hyperglycemia, thyroid and adrenal conditions); Renal, GI & Fluid/Electrolyte Balance (potassium and sodium imbalances, acute kidney injury, GI bleeding, fluid volume disorders); and Emergency & Critical Care Priorities (shock, airway emergencies, who-do-you-see-first prioritization). The RN bank runs 96 questions with a full rationale on every one. PN/VN students see the same body systems, scoped to what a PN performs versus what is reported to the RN — see the PN Medical-Surgical pages for that version. Every question includes the correct answer and the reasoning behind it, not just a bare answer key.

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How to use a test bank effectively

Test yourself before you review, not after. Answer each Med-Surg question cold, check it, and read the rationale even when you got it right — knowing why continuous bubbling in a water-seal chamber means an air leak is what transfers when the exam re-wraps the same concept in a new scenario. Drill one domain at a time (cardiac labs one day, electrolytes the next) and keep a short list of the normal ranges and "first action" rules you missed. Working straight through a bank passively, without reading rationales, is the single most common way students waste it.

Sample questions by domain

Five questions pulled from the full Medical-Surgical bank, with the correct answer and rationale shown. All original — nothing here is reproduced from any real exam.
A nurse is completing pre-operative teaching for a client scheduled for abdominal surgery. Which statement indicates the client understands how to reduce the risk of post-operative atelectasis?
A. "I will stay in bed as much as possible after surgery."
B. "I will use the incentive spirometer every hour while awake."
C. "I will take shallow breaths to avoid incisional pain."
D. "I will wait until the pain is gone before I breathe deeply."

Rationale: Regular use of the incentive spirometer promotes lung expansion and helps prevent atelectasis and pneumonia after surgery; shallow breathing and immobility increase that risk.

A client with heart failure gains 2 kg (4.4 lb) in 2 days. What should the nurse do first?
A. Encourage the client to increase sodium intake
B. Notify the provider
C. Document the finding and recheck in 24 hours
D. Restrict the client's oral fluid intake to 500 mL without an order

Rationale: A rapid weight gain of more than 1 kg/day in a client with heart failure suggests fluid retention and worsening heart failure, which should be reported to the provider for evaluation.

A client with hyperthyroidism reports palpitations, heat intolerance, and a 10-lb weight loss over one month. Which additional finding should the nurse expect?
A. Bradycardia
B. Cold, dry skin
C. Exophthalmos
D. Weight gain

Rationale: Exophthalmos (bulging eyes) is a classic finding associated with Graves' disease-related hyperthyroidism, along with tachycardia, heat intolerance, and weight loss.

A nurse reviews laboratory results for a client and notes a sodium level of 125 mEq/L. Which assessment finding is consistent with this result?
A. Muscle twitching and confusion
B. Hyperreflexia
C. Polyuria
D. Hypertension

Rationale: Hyponatremia (normal range 135-145 mEq/L) can cause cerebral edema leading to confusion, headache, and muscle twitching or seizures in severe cases.

A nurse is caring for a client in septic shock. Which assessment finding would the nurse expect in the early (compensated) stage?
A. Hypotension and bradycardia
B. Warm, flushed skin and tachycardia
C. Cold, clammy skin and anuria
D. Fixed and dilated pupils

Rationale: Early septic shock is a hyperdynamic state with warm, flushed skin, tachycardia, and a widened pulse pressure, before the later cold, hypotensive stage develops.

Test bank FAQ

1

Is this an official ATI test bank?

No. ATI does not sell a product called a "test bank." This is an independent, original resource written to match ATI's Medical-Surgical content areas and question style. This site operates independently and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC (ATI). Nothing here is a reproduction of ATI's proprietary exam content. That distinction matters — platforms that sold what they claimed was real exam content have been shut down by court order; see what happened to Naxlex.

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How many questions are there?

96 in the RN Medical-Surgical bank today, organized across the five content domains, with more added as the site grows.

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Are rationales included?

Yes — every single question includes a rationale explaining why the correct answer is correct and why the distractors are wrong, not just an answer key.

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