Part 1: How to assess if you are ready to take the exam
Part 2: Exam tips and techniques to use for the exam
Part 3: What to do if you didn’t pass

Click here to register for the webinars.

An email will be sent to those that register with the link on the day of the webinar. Flash should be installed to view the webinar.

“As a 45 year old stay-at-home mom for the past 15 years, I was ready to return to the field of physical therapy. That meant meeting the state board’s criteria; the most daunting of the tasks, passing the NPTE. Now, the program has changed since I graduated with a B.S. In 1990, with most P.T. schools these days offering doctorate degrees. I was appropriately concerned about the amount of material I would need to review.

I researched the top reviewers in the field, and found the courses to be far too short in length to be the thorough review I would need. I came across a forum post that mentioned Therapy Exam Prep, so I checked out their website. TEP offers a series of live webinars where participants can interact with the instructors, and a library of on-demand webinars that are scheduled for particular times, and available afterwards as you need them. The live interaction was good for me. It put me in a classroom setting and I could gauge where I was with my knowledge.

The first week was about preparing yourself for the months ahead; eating healthy meals, exercising, getting the rest you need, visualizing your goals, relaxation techniques, and, very practical, a contingency plan for when specific life events occur and could derail your study. Things like, what will you do if there is a death in your family, or your electricity goes out, or you have an unexpected trip. How will you maintain your study schedule? This was an important part of the program for me, as it must be for so many others, because I was studying over the course of almost a year, and life happens. I had some big transitions during that time including: a divorce, a move, and an unplanned surgery. My contingency plan kept me on track.

The next part was about breaking down test questions, finding the stem, determining if it is positive or negative, complete or incomplete, and figuring out how to eliminate wrong answers. Also, what is the test breakdown telling you about your strengths and weaknesses. But after that, it was a daily course of webinars followed by in depth assignments about specific systems and diagnoses. You did the assignments and posted them on the forums. The licensed PT instructors/moderators gave you feedback immediately about your work, and you could glean missing parts from other participants’ posts. There was a high expectation that participants post daily and stay active. Touching base with the forums and getting into discussions with the other participants was vital to my staying accountable over the long haul.

After a three month structured program, covering each of the systems in depth, taking practice tests and analyzing them, I stayed on. As a “senior member” , I could access the forums and post daily about what I was studying that day, or questions I had about a particular diagnosis or intervention, or get involved in a discussion with other members’ questions. That daily activity was important for me to stay on course, and the input from the instructors and the participants was invaluable.

I highly recommend Therapy Exam Prep as a study program for the NPTE. Clinical thinking is strongly emphasized, along with a holistic approach for taking good care of yourself throughout the studying process. Being active on a daily basis, with accountability and feedback from the moderators was crucial for me. I took the NPTE in January 2013 and passed on my first attempt …..since 1990, that is. Thank you TEP! I hope all participants who need a prep program find yours!”

“I want to thank you for developing such an exceptional program to help prepare future physical therapy students to pass the NPTE. And that is what I did….I passed the NPTE!

You are so right when you stated that preparing for the NPTE is a journey.  It is a journey however that I did not have to do alone. With the help of your team at TEP and my fellow colleagues on the forum; I was able to get the self-assurance, the structure, and the complete approach I needed to be successful.  I can not say enough on how thankful I am that a program like TEP was developed; a program that takes a total approach to success; one that encompasses the mind, the body and the soul.

For ever grateful ~Dr. Kimberly Nobrega, PT, DPT”

You can also read her appreciation on TEP’s forum here.

I’m sure the person didn’t believe me but really, how do you increase a score exam 30, 40 or even 50 points with luck? You don’t! You really can’t rely on luck to pass the NPTE by hoping, wishing or praying without actually putting the time in to studying the right things, understanding how the exam works and really implementing tips and strategies for a successful passage. This NPTE is not a guessing game and hope to get the right answer. This is an entry level license exam to make sure you are safe and competent to practice on actual patients. Why wouldn’t you take this exam serious enough to understand and give the proper NPTE exam preparation?

In the present time, patients have access to a lot of information and when being treated they expect that you can answer their questions. If you relied on luck and couldn’t answer their inquiries, the trust won’t be there and most likely they wouldn’t return. They wouldn’t want to know you just barely passed the NPTE but couldn’t apply the knowledge to their current condition. And guess what? A lot of the NPTE questions on the exam are presented in a clinical way and rely on understanding of the information – not luck.

Is it luck that you just happened to get all of the easy questions on the NPTE? No, as I’m sure that’s not going to happen and without knowing how to handle what to do luck won’t help you here.

Is it luck that you understand everything without studying? No and this won’t fare well on the exam or your actual scores.

Is it luck that the NPTE will only test you on the material you studied and not the topics you didn’t? No and most likely the NPTE questions are integrated and require you to really be able to think clinically.

Is it luck that you happened to just miss enough questions to pass? Maybe but how do you know what’s right?

Is it luck that you can memorize the practice exams and can put the answer down without reading the full question? Maybe but really the NPTE is not academic but clinical based which is what TEP emphasizes.

With the new changes in place for the NPTE with a heavy emphasis of clinical thinking – luck just has no place for the NPTE. If you want to truly be successful on this exam, you’ll want to be sure you are completely ready, can think clinically and really have the proper preparation. This is just one aspect TEP emphasizes.

“Firstly, I must admit I wouldn’t have passed the NPTE without Christ’s help. I had a break of almost 12 years after my education. I spent about 4 months of intense preparation for the NPTE. After failing my first attempt by 2%, I was devastated. I realized that there was something seriously wrong in my preparation. Although many suggested to take the exam as early as possible (content still fresh in the mind), I decided to give myself atleast 6 months for active preparation. Here are some measures I took, if it can be useful to others in the NPTE journey.

Here’s what she wanted to share with others about being in the online NPTE webinar program. “TEP has provided me with easy tips and tools to approach the NPTE in a relaxed frame of mind. Eating the right foods and integrating physical activity into your lifestyle is a prudent component to a healthy, focused and relaxed mindset. TEP helped me realize that its not always to your benefit to study 12 hrs a day because your mind needs to process what you learned. TEP allowed and encouraged me to do the things I loved at the same time as studying. Life does not need to be put on hold in order to succeed down this journey. To those who may be reading this, do not give up on your dream. If you made it this far, you are capable of passing this exam. Good Luck to all!”  Chana Engel

Part 1: How to assess if you are ready to take the exam
Part 2: Exam tips and techniques to use for the exam
Part 3: What to do if you didn’t pass

Click here to register for the webinars.

An email will be sent to those that register with the link on the day of the webinar. Flash should be installed to view the webinar.

With the new 2013 changes in place you’ll want to start your NPTE preparation on the right path in the New Year with TEP! Here at TEP, we don’t want you to struggle or guess what will be important on the exam but rather know how to study smarter and clinically. One of the major emphasis that the NPTE focuses on is the clinical thinking aspects and TEP is the only exam prep that provides the strategies and tips to make studying easier.

Learn how to be a better test taker and understand the areas for you to focus on. Learn how to answer a question without being overwhelmed and within the allotted time frame with ease. Learn how to think clinically as a PT with many of TEP’s assignments and guidance. And learn strategies to help overcome fear, anxiety and stress that would increase your endurance, mental focus and your exam scores.

This is all provided with TEP’s 3 month online webinar program where you can join a positive community with the same goal of PASSing the NPTE! Get guidance with the live webinars and on demand videos provided throughout the program. When you have questions, you are able to search through 10,000 threads of already answered questions on the TEP’s moderated forums. You’ll interact with multiple US PT licensed for guidance on while you are studying and preparing for this important exam.

Programs are limited on size to provide individual attention. Click here to enroll. See you in the program and start your NPTE journey to success! This promotion no longer exists and the current price of $375 has been reinstated.

Here’s what she had to say “Being overwhelmed and overcome with stress and pessimism, I tried to read and memorize the study guides end to end and found that this method was futile! I saw TEP’s class on the APTA website and decided to give it a try since they not only covered the material for the exam, but also incorporated health and wellness as a component to preparing for the NPTE! TEP taught me that I know a lot more than I give myself credit for and that what I was lacking were test-taking strategies and confidence.

At first, TEP’s methods were challenging for me because I was set in my old study habits (reading the study guides from end to end and studying for 8-10 hrs a day), but once I forced myself to adapt to their methods of studying, I saw drastic increases in my scores! Miye’s and TEP’s study techniques and methods are quite effective and I could not have done it without them! The more you participate, the more you really get out of it! TEP helped me conquer the NPTE by establishing a strong mind-body-soul connection as well as enlightened me on the important test taking strategies I was lacking! TEP taught me to study smarter and stay positive, which in turn got rid of my pessimism and feelings of being overwhelmed!

Miye and the TEP team are constantly tracking your progress online and I have even received personal encouragement from Miye from time to time! I can’t thank TEP enough for helping me overcome one of my biggest hurdles ever! Keep doing your thing TEP and thanks again for helping me pass the NPTE!! I definitely recommend this program and couldn’t have done it without TEP! Good Luck future PTs and always believe in yourself!”

Visalam also wanted to share her two favorites quotes:
1) “Victory is sweetest when you’ve known defeat.” ~Malcolm Forbes
2) “I hated every minute of training but I said ‘ Don’t quit. Suffer now & live the rest of your life as a champion!’” ~Muhammad Ali ”

She also posted more of her testimonial on TEP’s forum here.

I bought the O’Sullivan Study book and read it cover to cover and felt like I learned nothing by the time my board exam arrived.  I had no confidence in myself to pass the exam and knew the day I took it that I would probably be taking it again.  As I hypothesized, I was unsuccessful.  I have always struggled with confidence, but after my first attempt at the NPTE my confidence fell even more.

My parents and I found the TEP on the APTA website and decided it was worth a shot!  As I went through the program I learned so much about myself as a participant, a future physical therapist and a person. My confidence grew and I knew that I would pass the NTPE in October with no problems, and I was right!  I couldn’t have done it without the TEP and am now a licensed physical therapist in the state of Iowa.  Thank you TEP for all your help, I wouldn’t be were I am today without the help of this great tool!  Thanks again!”