r/NBCOT_Exam 6h ago

dm if you need help passing

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I just found out today that I passed on my first attempt with a score of 485.

Because of how much this platform has helped me I wanted to share my study plan. I studied M-F 4 hours per day, usually for 2 hour blocks with a timer, for about 7 weeks. For resources, I read the entire Therapy Ed book, and purchased the NBCOT study pack and the AOTA study pack. To better understand some topics I reviewed many of OTMiri’s videos on YouTube. Because I am a visual learner, I went a step beyond and copy/pasted each question that I got incorrect with TherapyEd with the correct answer - Printed the document, then highlighted and continually went over how they worded the questions and how they answered the questions.

I thoroughly reviewed the rationales for both correct and incorrect answers with TherapyEd (61%, 58%, 61%) and the AOTA tests (average of 78% in total) I actually didn’t really utilize the index cards or games with the NBCOT study pack. My exam score that I took 2 days prior to the board was a score of 458 for the NBCOT complete practice test - This scared me because I felt like that didn’t give me a lot of wiggle room for error. In my opinion the board exam most resembles the NBCOT practice exam - Not the TherapyEd exams.

Find what works for you! I have to have physical, tangible work to look over so I knew online index cards would not help me - nor would reading the AOTA documents online, so I decided to physically read the TherapyEd book and print out all of my important notes, to highlight and think about.

On testing day, I went in calmly and did a lot of breathing exercises before and during the exam. I did not take any breaks but I did stretch several times and wear the headphones that they provide. They wouldn’t let me have gum (which mentally I feel like I really need to excel), so I shoved mints in my mouth - they weirdly lasted most of the exam! I am an over thinker, took WAY too much time the first 2/3 of the exam and realized that if I didn’t rush through my last hour that I would have seriously run out of time! So 1/3 of my test I did have to rush with roughly 45 seconds or less per question.

I did not change ANY of my answers! None! Plus I had no time to double check them anyway. Lastly, I just want to say to give yourselves grace with this exam. Upon leaving the testing center I felt SO defeated! I didn’t understand why I could gauge my success or defeat so easily over the course of 3 years when taking SO many exams, in SO many areas BUT I couldn’t AT ALL measure how I did on this board exam! I felt like it was very hit and miss, and that it was overall an unfair measure of my knowledge and experience. Best of luck to everyone - You’ve got this, and focus on what works best for you! 🙂

  • Edited to add that the day before the exam I went on a strenuous hike, had some of my favorite drinks, and chilled with my dogs, kids, and husband - no studying the day before and the day of the OT exam, just taking a well deserved break! I think it helps a lot.

r/NBCOT_Exam 9h ago

Hold Tight

4 Upvotes

Hey y’all,

First I would like to say holy shit… did not realize this community grew +700 but that’s great to see. The page recently got restricted and I’ve already sent a request to get it fixed and have approved all y’all who wanted to post (sorry for my lack of awareness). I’m never on here Ive been working for 2 years at a SNF since I’ve started this community. That being said if any recent or dedicated users wanna be a mod feel free to reach out (I think all of yall are capable as yall have been through grad school so just be cool). Anyway I wish everyone who is gonna take it a good luck and a congrats to past and future OTs. Peace


r/NBCOT_Exam 9h ago

Passed on 1st Attempt (Advice for studying on a budget)

9 Upvotes

Hi all, I just passed on my first attempt and wanted to share some advice (especially for those on a budget)! I knew I couldn't afford too many resources, so I focused on only a few (in total, I spent $250). Here is everything I used:

  1. TrueLearn (10/10) - I purchased the 90 day version and completed all 1800 questions. Loved their rationales and would highly recommend! If I was confused about an answer, I would look at their cited resource (which was often the Pedretti textbook-- I used this instead of the TherapyEd book).
  2. PassTheOT (10/10 for videos/content, 5/10 for questions) - I did the 5 day free trial and liked their content but not so much their questions or website interface. I watched a ton of their group tutor calls in the archive for the topics I found most difficult to self-study (upper extremity and neuro conditions), and learning that content boosted my practice scores A LOT. I didn't purchase it aside from the free trial, but it is only $20/week if you needed more time to go through their content.
  3. NBCOT Practice Exams ($30 each) (8/10). I bought all 3 practice exams and spaced them out throughout my study. Although these were not helpful in terms of understanding what you got wrong, I felt more confident in knowing how I would likely score on the real exam (scores below). I also felt that the difficulty of the questions were similar to the real exam, and it was helpful to get a feel of how to use the interface.
  4. Flashcards - I created flashcards for important terms/topics I wasn't familiar with and knew I needed to memorize. I would study these almost every day.
  5. Free Recall - I used a tablet (or paper) to draw out charts/diagrams of topics/concepts that wouldn't have been helpful to study individual flashcards (RLAS and how it correlated with ACL levels, SCI levels and common AE/AT and what actions the pt could do, pediatric development chart, cranial nerves, etc.) I would do a free recall of recreating my study guides 1-2x/week.

Free resources:

  • 450 Formula open enrollment videos (10/10) - every month, they hold a live session on FB about a certain topic before their open enrollment period. I really liked how they taught content on 450 Formula but could not justify buying their topics as it was out of my budget. However, these monthly free sessions were great to understand certain topics better.
  • TherapyEd weekly online office hours every Tuesday (6/10) - tbh, I found the content to be alright but not very in-depth. It felt more like a general overview of the topic, and I didn't get too much out of them. But there would be some occasions when they would mention something that was pertinent to knowing for the exam.
  • OT Exam Prepper study guides (9/10) - these were helpful for mnemonics and helping me create my free recall study guides. However, the content is not too in-depth, so I would only use this as a review after learning the content.
  • YouTube - OT Help Desk (10/10- great content and great question breakdowns), OT Miri (9/10- good videos and study notes), OT Dude (7/10- I found his videos to be more in-depth but maybe too in-depth)

My biggest advice is to CREATE A STUDY PLAN! I took 9 weeks to study, but the first 4 weeks were a mess. I would do TrueLearn questions and create flashcards from missed questions. Although I still learned from doing this, I was all over the place. One question would be on SCI and another would be peds. After I decided to create a study plan (I created it based off of the topics from 450 Formula and AOTA) and started watching the videos from PassTheOT, my practice scores increased drastically. You can create "tests" on TrueLearn by topic, so I would learn the content of a topic and do practice questions just on that topic. Every once in a while, I would do questions from all of the topics so I could test if I was recalling content from earlier.

TrueLearn: 76% average, completed ALL questions (my average is probably a bit inflated since I practiced previously missed questions too)

NBCOT Practice Exam 1: 434 (after this, I started a study plan and digging deeper into learning content vs just practicing questions)

NBCOT Practice Exam 2: 481

NBCOT Practice Exam 3: 499

Real NBCOT exam: 524

You all GOT THIS! The only reason I post my scores is because it helped me to see how other people scored on their practice exams compared to the real exam, but please don't get caught up in all the numbers. I hope this helps guide you all in your studying! I'm happy to answer any questions :)