I kept this verse close to my heart throughout this entire journey.
James 1:2-6
"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
The reason I called myself an "Average Joe," is because academics never played a large role in my life. I coasted through all of grade school and college, I did just enough to get by with somewhat decent grades. I graduated undergrad with an Economics degree which made the transition to PT school very difficult. I was at the bottom of my class throughout PT school and struggled to pass classes. The entire PT school process has been a grind for me, and has pushed me to challenge myself in ways I never thought possible.
I took the boards twice and the difference in my preparation between the two tries were like night and day. I am not the type of person to say I absolutely passed, but I walked out the exam the second time feeling 80% confident I passed. With that said, here are some things I learned between the first and second try.
- If you are a NPTE retaker, reevaluate your study strategies, I would pay for the official score sheet to figure out which areas you need to work on.
- Take as many practice exams as you can. Make sure you review ALL questions. Make sure you take the PEAT, it costs $90, but it is well worth it as is the most replicating of the actual exam. Take ones from scorebuilders and O'sullivan. O'Sullivan is much more difficult. Something I also found very helpful was, O'Sullivan allows you to specifically choose to take all MSK or all cardiopulm, etc.
After I finished studying that content area I would take them all at once and then review it. Something that made a huge difference for me was I had a word document dedicated to each section (MSK, Neuro, cardio, etc). I organized it into sections as they are on the boards; examination, DDX, intervention, and had a miscellaneous section as well. For each exam, I continued to add to the list and it served as a great review. - Do NOT stress about the scores of your practice exams, I legitimately averaged 65% on my practice exams and managed to pass the boards. Keep an excel spreadsheet of your averages broken down by specific content areas so you know where you need to focus on the most.
- This one is one of the most important changes I made. Make DDX charts for the areas you're weakest in, I made DDX charts for neuro, cardiopulm, and other systems. I had examination, prognosis, treatment and DDX on each diagnosis which really helped to keep things organized. I highlighted specific things about each diagnosis that made was unique to that diagnosis. Also, as I took practice exams and found new information, I would hand write them onto the chart to continue adding to it. I found this extremely helpful as it helped me to constantly review them.
- Stick to a schedule and do NOT burn yourself out. I studied 7 days a week my first time around and was completely burnt out with two weeks to go before my first attempt. The second time around I studied Monday-Friday, roughly 4-6 hours a day and did some light reviewing on Saturday. I took Sundays completely off. During the final two weeks, make sure you review the on going documents from the practice exams.
- If you don't study well at home, get out of the house, treat studying like it's a job. I went to the library regularly for 4-6 hours to get in the zone of studying.
- I used flashcards for more straight forward things such as tracts, berg balance scale numbers, spacial tests, ROM, wheelchair dimensions, and anything else you come across while studying. This is extremely time consuming but I found it very helpful. I reviewed flash cards before I went to sleep every night.
- Make sure you read over the question breakdown on the NPTE. Realize that the big 3 (MSK, Neuro, Cardiopulm) make up 75% of the exam. I spent WAY to much time stressing about gastrointestinal or genitourinary when they only make up 3-4 questions each on the exam.
- I took a prep course the second time around as well. I took PT Final Exam with Will Crane. The class itself was helpful it keeping me organized and the live lectures helped to review content in a different way than in the books. The lecturers really want you to succeed and are there to help you.
- I used only Scorebuilders the first time and used O'Sullivan the second time and referred back to Scorebuilders if I needed to review specific topics.
- Try and stay as positive as you can. Do not make the exam bigger than it is. Try to do things you enjoy regularly, whether it be spending time with a significant other and friends, sports, going to the gym, find time for yourself. If I can pass I know you all can to. Stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize, trust me that once you pass, it is all worth it. Stay organized!
- Lastly, stay in a routine, every morning I woke up, made my coffee and read the bible before studying. I felt it helped to focus my mind prior to studying. Have an agenda for the day, whether it be focusing/reviewing a specific topic or going over a specific amount of pages in the review book to stay on schedule.
- If you have any additional questions about my tips, please do not hesitate to ask, feel free to email me at WesleyWang.DPT@gmail.com. I had a lot of help throughout my PT journey and I am more than happy to help in any way I can.
- If interested, I've also started my own physical therapy instagram @ WesleyWang.PT. Don't give up and do not let this exam define you.
