Hey Guys,

I’m so glad that you are taking advantage of the information on this site!  The April 30, 2013 National Physical Therapy Exam is quickly approaching.  I thought I’d write down a few tips and thoughts that I had when I was taking the NPTE in May of 2011.

1. I had never prepared for anything like this in my life.  Sure, I had taken the GRE, but the NPTE was an exam that was meant to challenge me in new ways to show that I had actually learned something in PT school.  I used the Scorebuilders study system to prepare for the exam.  I must have taken the practice exams at least a dozen times.  I loved using their iPod app to study test questions at every available moment.
2. My test site was in Pocatello, Idaho, USA.  Even though the facility was small, they were extremely professional and thorough.  I had to let them take a picture, use finger prints, and a monitor came through the test hall every 15 minutes, checking to make sure all was in order.  I admit, it was a little hard not to be distracted by the security measures that were in place.
3. I had prepared well, and the test was not as challenging as I had imagined.  You know how that goes–it is easy to imagine all of the things that could go wrong and create a “worst-case scenario” in your mind.  The test questions were relevant, and I felt like I could pinpoint the correct answer on most of them.  Typically, there are 2 answers among the choices that are the most plausible, and it was only occasionally I had a toss-up where I had to guess.  If I knew the material relatively well, I felt like I did not have to guess.

The 2013 NPTE is designed to be more up to date and use more clinical reasoning, but I feel that it will still be doable.  Just study hard and know the REASON for the answer in all of your practice exams.  This can be challenging because many practice exams do not explain both the RIGHT and the WRONG answers.  Be sure to check out my Physical Therapy Exam Question Archive for questions and explanations.   Subscribe to the blog to stay posted on my most up-to-date content.  Good luck and let me know how it goes!