AOTA Resources to Help You Prepare for the NBCOT Exam
Note: This article was originally published in September 2016. The links have been updated to the most recent version of AOTA's NBCOT® Exam Prep.
Felicia Foci, Washington University in St. Louis, and Caroline Polk, AOTA Digital Manager and AJOT Managing Editor
Preparing for the NBCOT® exam is the last step of the transition from student to new practitioner, and it is no easy feat! Students vary in their study preferences, but most would agree that they want their study materials to be closely related to the exam itself. AOTA offers a great study resource for students who are preparing for the NBCOT exam: AOTA’s NBCOT® Exam Prep.
AOTA’s NBCOT Exam Prep is a tool for both OT and OTA students. The resource has two question banks: The OTR question bank has 1,206 multiple-choice questions and 77 OTR clinical simulations; the COTA question bank has 1,044 multiple-choice questions for COTAs. Questions are added to both question banks each year. This fall, in response to NBCOT’s changes to the exam, AOTA is adding 6-option multiple-choice questions to the COTA question bank and revising the OTR clinical simulations to match the new format NBCOT is using.
The question banks cover 19 subject areas, and short outlines on the same subjects are provided as downloadable pdfs. In addition, subscribers are provided with handouts that discuss testing tips and information about the exam. Although many NBCOT study resources are on the market, AOTA’s Exam Prep, used with a solid preparation strategy, is a good match for students’ needs.
Mimic NBCOT Questions in Tone and Style
When designing Exam Prep, AOTA wanted to develop a tool that could match the style of NBCOT questions as closely as possible. To do that, AOTA Press staff reviewed NBCOT practice materials and attended their item-writing workshop. On the basis of that research, a detailed guideline for writers was created. AOTA also worked with NBCOT to obtain some retired items from the actual exams for the question bank. AOTA consults with NBCOT whenever possible to ensure that the AOTA questions are being developed in accordance with the format being used on the current exam.
We interviewed new practitioners for their opinions on the AOTA NBCOT Exam Prep and other available study materials. Exam Prep subscriber Laura Molinar, OTR/L, thought that AOTA’s Exam Prep does a good job of matching the actual exam’s style. She says, “The format of the questions was identical...I really liked the way it was organized.”
Emily Baker, OTR/L, another subscriber who recently passed her NBCOT exam, also liked the practice questions and says, “Without a doubt, they are helpful because they give you a feel for how the questions are worded for the exam, and they also give explanations about the correct answers, which were helpful for actual content as well.”
Create a Teaching Tool, Not Just Practice Questions
AOTA very much wanted the Exam Prep product to function as a teaching tool. To that end, users can create practice tests on specific topics and with anywhere from 5 to 200 questions (for the most part, long practice tests are not recommended, though). A common complaint about other practice tests is that students are told the correct answers, but not why the other answers are wrong. To remediate this, AOTA’s NBCOT® Exam Prep includes explanations for the correct answers as well as incorrect answers, and it provides references for further reading. Another feature is pdfs on specific topics (not a curriculum, but guideposts for further study). Finally, the product lets you track your progress and helps you determine your strengths and weaknesses.
As Molinar noted,
"There were topic outlines … that were super easy to understand and short enough that they weren’t overwhelming. And you could answer practice questions for specific topics or all topics if you wanted it randomized. I’ve heard that the books didn’t have as clear sections."
Address Test Anxiety and Testing Strategies
By providing options for timed and untimed tests, the product aims to help students work on test anxiety and pacing—the timer adds an element of pressure, and getting used to that pressure can help in the actual exam situation. The timer helps students work on pacing, too.
In addition, a handout on testing strategies helps guide users through the product and help them create an individualized approach that works for them.
Kirstie Hamer, OTR/L, another subscriber, who also used both TherapyEd® and Pedretti’s Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction, says she liked how Exam Prep was organized. She noted that “it has a firm structure that I was able to plan out and work through and it wasn’t too overwhelming, which was important to me.”
Create Opportunities to Collaborate With Peers
Finally, because students often learn best when they learn from each other, AOTA’s Exam Prep provides an opportunity for students to collaborate and share their tips for success. The AOTA NBCOT Exam Prep Facebook group has more than 10,000 members now, and there have been many lively discussion threads.
No one can provide better advice than past test takers themselves, so we asked our interviewees if they had any advice for students who are preparing to take the NBCOT Exam. Here are some of their top tips and feedback on study resources:
Hamer says that
"It’s most important to lay out a schedule to cover everything, even the things you feel like you know. Then allow more time to review the things you struggled with on the initial pass and supplement … with other materials, discuss and critically think about the issues with classmates, and move forward to the practice tests."
She notes that she benefited from the structure her materials and study schedule provided. She adds that it’s important not to feel discouraged: Hamer passed even though the practice tests “did leave me feeling like I wasn’t going to pass … a common sentiment heard among classmates.”
Molinar points out that for AOTA’s Exam Prep, “I think the content was a little more detailed than the test. The [actual NBCOT exam] was more application based and problem solving than straightforward facts, etc.”
Baker emphasizes,
"There is no possible way to study every bit of content that we learned (or didn’t learn) during our time in school. Rather than spending hours (or days) memorizing every developmental milestone in order to hopefully get 1 or 2 questions correct on the exam, focus your time on familiarizing yourself with the thought process behind the questions (as opposed to detailed content). There are definite themes throughout the exam, and taking practice tests and reading the explanations for certain answers helped me tremendously."
Hamer sums up the process well: “Unfortunately, I don’t think you ever feel ready enough, but your education has prepared you more than you think.” Emily adds, “After all, most of OT is a certain way of thinking more than anything! Don’t overthink it! Some things really are that simple—it’s not a trick!”
Learn more about AOTA’s NBCOT® Exam Prep and join the conversation on AOTA’s NBCOT Exam Prep Facebook group.
More on the NBCOT Exam:
Felicia Foci is currently an occupational therapy student at Washington University in St. Louis and an associate editor to the OT Student Pulse. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Florida in 2014. Her professional interests include pediatrics, maternal mental health, research, and advocacy.
Caroline Polk is the digital manager for AOTA Press and managing editor of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. She has worked with AOTA Press for a decade and has worked on allied health publications for most of her editorial career. Her current work focuses on converting AOTA Press publications to online platforms.