“Just tell me what systems to focus on for the NPTE (National Physical Therapy Exam)!”If you are preparing for this important exam and have thought or said this, you’re definitely not alone. I often hear this statement from candidates who are just starting to prepare for the PT exam and who want to just pass. I understand that it’s easier to just be pointed in a direction; however, there’s a lot of information to cover to prepare for the exam. While no, you don’t need to know everything to pass the PT board exam, you do need to be comfortable in all of the systems to pass.From Which Systems are the Commonly Missed NPTE Questi...

Did you know that you are given two opportunities to help you on your PT exam? They are the laminated sheets or whiteboards that the Prometric Testing Center provides you. Take advantage of them to help you clear your mind so that you can focus on the NPTE. This helps you to release any extra information in your brain so that you don’t have to worry about remembering everything or worry about pulling out the information during the exam.Use Brain Dumps to Help Reduce Test Anxiety Before answering any questions, take a moment to write down information. This can help you reduce those feelings of anxiety. Utilizing this time before the exam allows ...

As the big day to take your NPTE approaches, let’s imagine you are at the Prometric Testing Center, already checked in and escorted to your computer. You are at the computer about to begin this endurance marathon of answering questions over the next several hours. After a few adjustments in the seat, you are ready to face this important PT license exam. Once you have completed the tutorial section, you take a deep breath and are ready to click on the “Start” button to begin the exam.Ready to Begin the NPTE There’s no turning back on this exam once you start. The anxious moment up until then is similar to being at the stop light waiting ...

I often see NPTE review study guides being sold with “no highlighting or markings” after the PT board exam. I rarely see NPTE study guides being marked up (yes, they are not worth as much - however, this is a missed opportunity). I think to myself, what a shame that the study guides weren’t used as effectively as they could have been while preparing for the NPTE.A Missed NPTE Opportunity There are some references such as textbooks that are meant to be “read.” However, NPTE study guides are meant to be used as an active learning resource when preparing for the board exam; that means you can actually write / draw / highlight in them! ...

Have you ever felt that you may not be studying enough for the NPTE? Or ever feel guilty when you are not constantly studying? I recently received an email from a current candidate feeling anxious that the amount of studying time feels like he is not doing enough and he has the urge to do more studying in order to feel like he is actually accomplishing something. This is a common fear that if you are not constantly in the books or putting in enough time, then you aren’t learning or preparing for the NPTE.This is what I would call "I Gotta Study More" Syndrome. It’s a false sense of security that you learn more by putting in extra hours or ...

In a recent update from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (2017), there are new guidelines that define the blood pressure categories. The FSBPT provided an update of this information in the 4th Quarter of 2017 for questions to be written to the latest guidelines and terminology that will be reflected in the exams starting with the July 2018 NPTAE and NPTE exams.When you are studying for the PT board exam, know that the blood pressure chart, table or list in the study guides from TherapyEd (O’Sullivan) and Scorebuilders (Giles) are now OUTDATED even in the current 2018 version. The blood pressure categorization ...

Before the NPTE, take the time to plan out your meals now so that you don’t have to worry about what to have later on. When you are meal planning, focus on dishes that are simple and don’t take a lot of time to prep and cook. If you have someone else making the meals, great, just let them know you’ll want foods that keep you full and that avoid unsettling your stomach. The last thing you want to do is introduce new foods that could throw off your system before the big day. Remember that any sort of distractions, no matter how small or minor can take away your focus to perform well on the NPTE.Being proactive and planning ahead of time what ...

As the upcoming NPTE exam is nearing, you may begin to feel anxious or even nervous and that’s ok, you’re not alone here. This is a common feeling from many candidates; however, you can actually start reducing your stress and test anxiety starting today. Rather than worrying about every little detail or how others are telling you to ramp up on your studies, I’m going to focus on the other aspects that play a factor in your scores. In this particular aspect, I’m going to focus on reducing your test anxiety at night. Let’s begin to develop your plan of action below.Sleep Plan of Action to Reducing Test Anxiety:Going to bed earlier in ...

What makes up the components of a multiple choice question on the NPTE? We understand there is a question with four answers. However, if you miss an NPTE question, do you know what part of the question or answers steered you in a different direction away from the correct choice? It’s pretty broad as to what part of the question misled you and it is usually assumed that it’s just the question part. But there are different areas in which a candidate can miss a multiple choice question. So, let’s break down the question components:Question - mainly clinically based, ranges from easy to difficult 4 Answers - range from simple to complex ...