Cross Examining the NPTE Questions

     The National Physical Therapy Examination questions are from a pool of fine-tuned questions. This means that each questions have undergone vigorous analysis in order for it to be an effective reflection of an applicant's qualification to be licensed as a physical therapist. These exam questions are coined not from a single textbook but from the interrelation and integration of these references in order to better assess the clinical competence of an applicant. So, it is not acceptable if one would say that most of the questions that came out during the last NPTE was taken solely from Differential Diagnosis for Physical Therapists: Screening for Referral (Differential Diagnosis In Physical Therapy) or the Physical Rehabilitation (O'Sullivan, Physical Rehabilitation) yet it will be right if someone would say that a question was so made that it combines Manual Muscle Testing, Goniometry and Therapeutic Exercise. I have encountered questions like that last May 25 and I'm all praises to the Test Item Writer.
     I have mentioned in one of my posts in the Physical Therapy Forum that it would be helpful to write test questions. Writing test questions is a good form of mental exercise and it will improve your understanding on how a test item is developed and you can assess why does the test item writer use the other tricky choices which were almost correct most of the time. Incorrect choices were so damn made to confuse us and its usual target are those PTs who are poor in reading comprehension. Most examinees who have failed to grasp what was being asked by the question always end up choosing the wrong and always beautiful to the eyes choice. It is advisable to refer back to the stem question and ask yourself if this answer choice is the best answer to what is being asked.
     I have encountered pictures in my last exam and what I did was I first assess the picture and have a mental prediction of what will be the answer; then I read the question and answer choices. Always accept the information in a question at face value don't over analyze because you will end up adding information and this will increase the clutters of information in your mind. Practice serenity by answering practice questions with a clear mind. You will be surprised by the outcome. I once indulged myself to do a simulated exam right after reading and guess what I flanked. Then I decided to take a day off and assess myself again with another exam I got a far better result. This is a clear presentation that our minds are sharper when it has rested and have processed and absorbed all the information we have bombarded it with. We have to be kind to our brains. We need to feed and reward our minds with day offs and enough sleep.
     Some say that doing a process of elimination will be helpful but you have to be sure that you have not eliminated the right one. Also, we encounter conflicting choices like hyper and hypo, decrease and increase, usually you have to assess these two choices because one of them is the answer then confirm it by reading the stem question again. Watch out for hedge phrases such as likely, often, mostly, usually, generally, rarely, sometimes because the test writer want to cover all the possibilities so you need to avoid choices that leave no room for exception. You need to stay alert for switch back words or phrases like the word but and however for these frequently alerts you to shift thoughts.
      Don't choose an answer for its familiarity. NPTE is crafted to be tricky and if you find yourself stuck in a difficult, unfamiliar type of case, try milking it and if still not effective DO THE PICK AND GO for this might be a pretest question. Make it a point to abstain yourself from being a speed demon and frequent answer changer. These two dangerous habits will cost you havoc. Trusting your guts is not that bad because the first answer that comes to mind is almost always correct. This is just a thought.  
     Signs that you are in trouble :
        > You have not answered confidently the last 10 question of a set.
        > You have answered refer back to MD for more than 3 times
        > Right after the exam, you can't remember how many sets were there in the exam
        > You cannot recall any items for your own self analysis

     The last two symptoms were a clear description of a test taker who was so overwhelmed. His mind is so full and confused due to cramming a day before THE BIG DAY.
     Please, don't let yourself fall into this category and if once you were then it's time for the big change and it's not yet too late. Remember FOCUS, DETERMINATION and DISCIPLINE is the key and a lot of review books have also mentioned these.