The Med Tech board exam is what your college education has been building up to and it’s literally days from now. You’re pretty sure you’ve already studied as hard as humanly possible. This means that you’ve done everything you could to pass, right?
Not quite.
These last remaining days are not just for some ill-advised last-minute cramming. What you do today up til the moment you step into the exam room could influence how well you do on your test.
Luckily for you, MEDTEK’s got your back. Here are some essential prep tips to keep your smarts AND your sanity through these final nerve-wracking hours.
5 Days Before the Exam
1. Go through all your notes for the first batch of exams (Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology & Parasitology, and Clinical Microscopy). Do not re-read all your books because at this point, that would only overwhelm you. Just stick to your notes.
2. Never underestimate therecall questions (aka the questions that usually pop up on the tests yearly). If you’ve attended review centers, you probably have a list of them. If you’re self-studying (wow), you can always ask your professors, board passers, or batchmates who went to review centers.
3. Stop the all-nighters. You’ve done it for months now. This is the time to give your body a break.
4 Days Before the Exam
1. Do a run-through of your notes for the second batch of exams (Hematology, ISBB, and Histopathology) one last time. Again, your notes are your best friends.
2. Ask someone to create a simulation test for you. Try to make it a written test rather than an oral one. This would then let you time yourself as you answer.
3. Review your old exams and reason out why the right answers were correct. The choices would usually present all possible answers and it’s up to you to determine the best correct answer.
3 Days Before the Exam
1. Go to church and pray for your exams. This is probably the most important test you’ll take as a med tech. You can never have too much guidance.
2. Start drinking and eating better. Coffee may have worked at keeping you awake but the last thing you need right now is the jitters. Stay hydrated with water and fruits from now on.
3. If you’re one of those who have short-term memory for formulas, now’s the time to lock them up in your brain. Create formula flashcards and post them everywhere. On your bedroom wall, on the refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror – anywhere that would make them visible and memorable.
2 Days Before the Exam
1. Verify your school/building assignment. Missing the exams because you went to the wrong testing area would be the absolute worst.
2. Arrange all the things you need to bring on the exam dates and place them in a long, non-colored transparent plastic envelope. – Notice of Admission (NOA) – Official Receipt – At Least Two No. 2 Pencils – Black Ink Ballpens – Metered-stamp Mailing Envelope – Long Brown Envelope
3. Treat yourself. Watch your favorite TV show. Eat some chocolates. Anything to calm the nerves down.
1 Day Before the Exam
1. Visit your testing area. Map out the route to the exam room so that you won’t waste time getting lost the next day.
2. Prepare your school uniform. Examinees not in their school uniform will not be allowed to take the test.
3. Sleep early. You’d have to be in your assigned school building before 6:30 AM the next day. Late examinees will not be admitted as well.
4. Check the PRC website (http://www.prc.gov.ph) for any announcements or notices you need to know.
During the Exam
1. Certain things are prohibited within the testing area. – Books, notes, review materials, and other printed materials containing coded data / information / formula – Programmable calculators – Mobile phone, beepers, portable computers or similar gadgets/devices – Other examination aides not stated in the program
2. Listen to the instructions carefully. You wouldn’t want to fail because you didn’t follow directions, right?
3. Be wary of tricky questions that begin with “except” or “not all”.
4. If you’re going to guess, make sure to make educated guesses.
5. Be precise with your shading. Keep your erasures at a minimum. For clean erasures, we suggest you use Stabilo Exam Grade erasers.
6. Use your lunch breaks for lunch. It may be tempting to chat with your friends about your test but this might disrupt your concentration for the next test.
7. Always review your answers before passing your paper. Do not be pressured by early passers. Take your time.
8. Don’t panic if you didn’t do as well as you’d hoped on the first day. There’s always the second batch of exams the next day. Do better then.
After the Exam
1. Breathe. It’s done. All those long days and late nights spent on studying will make this quiet moment pretty satifying.
2. Don’t forget to thank all the people who helped you during your review.
3. The announcement of results can vary from 3 days to a few months after the exam. Keep yourself updated by frequently checking the PRC website.
