I can say after taking my NPTE this time, I was confident weeks prior to entering the exam room. I owe this to TEP for teaching test taking skills, which truly boosted my confidence!!
Before beginning the TEP program, I had taken the NPTE twice previously. I felt lost and confused after receiving the score I received. Almost all my fellow classmates were all receiving their great news of passing, meanwhile, I was at the other side of the tunnel. I understood I needed to re-evaluate what I was doing previously and change things when preparing for my next NPTE. Prior to enrolling in TEP, I would read chapter by chapter, week by week. I was not focusing on the exam in a clinical way, instead, I was studying to memorize not understanding how to apply the information per say.
I believe there was a great amount of benefits that came from TEP. First of all, I was able to interact with individuals from all over the world in the same position as myself, I was not the only individual who did not pass the NPTE on their first go-around, or even a second go-around. This gave me a sense of comfort and understanding that this was not the end of the world. Not passing was just an obstacle put in my path, but this was not going to stop me from pursuing my dream career.
Secondly, TEP provided one-hour webinars twice a week which included discussions with other future physical therapists lead by Miye and Karen. The live webinars were awesome, we were given questions each time and were placed in a real exam situation (time limit and multiple choice). After answering the question, we were given feedback and clarification on the question and answers provided. At any point during the discussion, if I did not understand something, I was able to ask the question right away and receive feedback from others on answering my question.
Also, when taking the NPTE it isn’t always about the PT content aspect, there are other challenges that one may encounter during their journey. TEP gives you so many ways to help decrease the amount of stress you may encounter from everyday life. Life happens, good and bad, we can not always control it, but we can control how we react to what occurs. Another beneficial aspect of the program is the weekly clinical topic discussions, which you and others collaborate on various diagnoses going through the examination, evaluation, and interventions. This was awesome because it allowed me to really think clinically when studying.
I would be lying if I said prior to beginning studying this time around I wasn’t nervous, anxious, scared, shoot I knew if I didn’t pass this time around I had to wait quite some time until I could retake the exam again. But, I also knew that if I was all those things, how would I focus? TEP helped me organize my day to day activities, and develop a personalized plan. This plan immediately calmed me down and showed me that I can do it! TEP’s structure and daily posts helped me hold myself accountable through the journey. TEP gave me so many great ideas to be able to relax each day, which allowed me to focus and have an accomplished day of studying.
During my previous two attempts of the NPTE, I was nervous the night before all the way until I finished the test evaluation at the end. I can say after taking my NPTE this time, I was confident weeks prior to entering the exam room. The day of testing, yeah I had some nervous jitters, but if I wasn’t nervous that would mean I didn’t care. But when I sat down and pressed start on the exam, I had an uplifting feeling, that I got this, I know this stuff, I will succeed, I will pass. When I walked out of the test, I had this gut feeling that I did not need to worry when I got home for a week, I knew the results were good. I owe this to TEP for teaching test taking skills, which truly boosted my confidence!! If I had to redo this all over again from the beginning I would have started with the TEP program!
One piece of advice I wish to give to those preparing for upcoming NPTE’s, take a deep breath, do not get overwhelmed, stay focused, and hold yourself accountable. There are many others on this same journey as you, do not give up! You have made it this far in your journey, there is going to be obstacles every day that you WILL overcome, do not let this obstacle stop you from reaching your dream! You will be a great PT! Good luck to all, I wish you great success!
-Sarah Holmes, PT, DPT