When a student is preparing for the National Physical Therapy Exam, it can be nerve wracking trying to figure out what is the best way to really get ready for this HUGE exam.  It condenses 3 years of graduate school into 250 questions that are supposed to be an indicator of your clinical knowledge as a physical therapist.  So how do you prepare?

Obviously, the first thing to do is pay attention in class.  You can’t draw water from an empty well, so fill your head with all the knowledge you can from class.

Second, decide what your most effective study style is, and stick with it.  Some people learn best from written material; others are more visual.  Some people respond best to study groups, and others tend to do better solo.  Whatever it is that works for you, stick to it.

Finding an appropriate study guide is critical, too.  I’ve listed a table of the different study systems I’ve encountered with some pros and cons for each.  Most are relatively inexpensive and can be great supplements to your study.

Third, discover what the NPTE will be like.  You can sample some of the free questions from the handy NPTE Question Archive.  This will also be a great supplement to your individual study.

If you find any of this information useful, please say thank you by sharing and commenting.  My goal is to help you succeed–give me feedback if there’s something more you need!