Have you been into a situation where your feelings all mixed up for the upcoming examinations? Where fear becomes the product of your overthinking? Probably, most of the people experienced it, especially students who are preparing for their tests and exams.
For occupational therapist wannabe, anxiety and fear do not end after graduation for they are about to face another battle where these feelings are present and existing.
Thus, the NBCOT® exam is one of the most dreaded tests by nearly all occupational therapist candidates. The national board ensures in this test that these candidates have the accurate knowledge needed to perform the profession of becoming a certified occupational therapist or assistant.
It may seem difficult to all of the test takers, but nothing comes easy if the results are all worthy of your struggles and hardships.
Lock your eyes on the prize
If you are starting to feel nervous and you wanted to don’t face the examinations, always remind yourself about why you even started. Every individual has their pleasing reason that motivates them to pursue with this fierce battle. You, yourself should also find your purpose.
Passing the national board examinations means having the prerogative to work with patients in hospitals, clinics, home care programs, industry, and rehabilitation centers, including schools for children with special needs.
How OT professionals practice their profession
To motivate you to take the upcoming test, here are some of the responsibilities and duties you need to fulfill upon passing the NBCOT® examinations:
- You can now assess clients; This process is where the method of occupational therapy lies, basing on assessments repeatedly. Along with the individual you are working, you, as a professional therapist focuses on the personal and social skills, issues that arise in the client’s everyday life. This assessing process involves the need for standardized procedures, observations, and surveys in a multitude of environments.
- You develop a plan; Assessment outcomes used to create this plan that involves long-term and short-term therapy goals. The project must be appropriate to growth, developmental phase, skill sets, environment, and the preferences of the person.
- You create interventions; These interventions are intended to promote daily activity performances, and setting adaptation wherein the client lives, works, and socializes. The response also relies on environment-oriented and person-oriented programs. These involve educating new approaches and methods, while offering facilities that support personal care independence, producing resources, and decreasing obstacles to the environment.
These are a few of the several duties needed to perform by the occupational therapist, and this profession also adheres to its code of conduct to guide their practice on how and what to do and not to.
Moreover, while preparing for the NBCOT® tests, you need to study more and motivate yourself to push further looking back and familiarizing your past lessons and subjects. Hence, practice analysis outcomes developed the examination contents and its domain sectors:
- For OTR examination, the format of the test includes 170 free multiple choices with single answer items and contains three clinical simulation test.
25% of the exam is about evaluation and assessment, followed by analysis and interpretation, which is 23% of the test. The third domain entails the most substantial part of the exam content, that is for intervention management. Lastly, 15% goes to the fourth domain, which is about practice management and competency.
- On the other hand, COTA examination comprised of 200 multiple-choice items with single answers, with four and three options, and six multi-choice that only 3 of which are correct answers.
Making up the content of the exam is 28% for collaborating and gathering information, domain two is selecting and implementing interventions which are the most significant part of 55%, and 17% for the third domain which is upholding professional responsibilities and standards.
Review courses for OTR and COTA exams will help you along the way and are available across the internet, providing efficient and effective exam prep and study guides. These courses such as the; PasstheOT, TherapyEd, BoardPreppers, NBCOT Aspire StudyPack, AOTA, and a variety of more that can help students simulate the actual examination while practicing their skills and knowledge about their profession. They also offer one-on-one tutoring via phones that can easily be accessible to students.
Takeaway
For the most part, getting yourself ready for an examination means also preparing for anxieties and overthinking that goes with it. In particular, students who are wanting to become an occupational therapist professional soon must fight with all these emotions and continue to live up with their goals.
Passing the OTR and COTA exams means saying hello to new and more significant responsibilities and duties while handling with clients. A life-changing event as it is.
Review courses can give a guide to students who are taking the tests, but above all, your willingness and perseverance to prepare for the upcoming exam is the most crucial component. As long as you are motivated and you have the desire to pass the examination, you are, and you will claim it for sure.
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