The Big Day

Ok, so I took the board exam today and gosh....what can I tell you...my back ached and my butt went numb. Sitting there for four hours with the time ticking down in front of my face was hard. My colleague said that it's more of an endurance test and I agree with him. For a profession that encourages their patients to take breaks and stretch, the board exam sure does not support that for their soon to be OTs. Sure, they say you can take a break but the time is still ticking away. To go to the restroom or to your locker, you have to sign out, sign back in, provide your 2 forms of identification, and get finger printed again...restroom break anyone? I don't think so. What I recommend is building up the endurance to sit without real breaks for 4 hours by test time. (Of course that is in my opinion...i'm not setting long term goals for you or anything.) I only took several seconds after each hour to stretch.

A lot of people have asked me how I prepared for it and I'll let you know if it worked once I get the results on Friday. I used the following books:
1. Occupational Therapy Examination Review Guide (3rd ed.), by Caryn Johnson
2. OTR Study Guide and Study Guide Supplement, by NBCOT
3. National Occupational Therapy Certification Exam Review and Study Guide, by Rita Cottrell & the Course Manual (this is only provided at the review course)

The Cottrell questions are much harder so don't get discouraged when you score yourself on these. I wish I didn't score myself (it was depressing) on these but just used them to go over rationales. The questions from the study guide from NBCOT and the Johnson book will give you a better idea of how the exam questions are worded.

I took the review course and followed the manual, read the chapters in the Cottrell book (cover to cover...not), ok so I skimmed it cover to cover, and took a week to practice questions. I wish I spent more time studying by practicing the questions and building up my endurance with more test taking simulations rather than reading the Cottrell. I learned more from reading the rationale for the answers than reading the chapters. I started out doing 10 questions in a row at 1 minute each then reviewing the rationale for the answers. Next 20 questions in a row, then 50, and building up to 200 in one sitting. After that, I only did one simulation of 200 question in one sitting without breaks. That was not enough. Do at least 2 simulations. I took the exam 2 months after graduation due to the Christmas holidays and training sessions I went to. So basically, I gave myself some breathing room by scheduling it a little later than most of my classmates but the whole studying process probably took about a month if I subtract my goof off time. Good luck to all who are going to take the board exam! Well, you won't need luck if you prepare really well.

Random Post

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.



By Oriah

© Mountaindreaming, from the book The Invitation published by
HarperSanFrancisco, 1999 All rights reserved