National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) Study Guide

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STUDY GUIDE
NATIONAL PHYSICAL THERAPY EXAM (NPTE)
2
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Prepare the Course Outline......................................................................3
Chapter 2: Prepare a Time Table.................................................................................6
Chapter 3: Self-Assessment Planning.........................................................................9
Chapter 4: Performance Improvement Planning for NPTE Exam........................12
Chapter 5: A Week Before the NPTE Exam.............................................................15
Chapter 6: During NPTE Exam...................................................................................18
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CHAPTER 1 3
Prepare the Course Outline
4
Preparing for NPTE exam is an experience that is full of anxiety and stress. It
becomes more stressful as the date of the exam approaches. However, planning
earlier will help you get rid of the random thoughts and emotional disturbances.
It will also help you focus on what matters the most learning the concepts and
preparing for exams. Proactive planning helps you realize your strengths and
weaknesses at an early stage of preparation. Thus, you will get sufficient time to
work on your weaknesses and use your strengths to nail the exam.
The first step of planning is to prepare a detailed course outline. You should take
enough time to develop the framework. Ideally, it requires a day or two of your
undivided attention to chart out the entire course outline. However, you may take
more or less time based on your grasp of the subject.
HOW TO PREPARE THE COURSE OUTLINE?

Divide the entire course into a fixed number of sections or chapters. Usually, books
already split the course into several chapters. You may choose the books method
of dividing the entire course or make necessary amendments that suit your needs.
For example, you can split the large chapters into two or three smaller sections
so that it will be easier to study. Conversely, for short chapters, you can combine
the two or three of them to make larger sections. The idea behind it is to help
you divide the entire course into several similar blocks. It also helps in allocating
appropriate time to each module.
Next, note down the main topics of each module. You can get the topics by
skimming the chapters or from sub-titles of the contents of the book. The topics
could be further classified based on the level of difficulty. Mark each topic as Easy,
Moderate or Difficult. This will give a clear indication of the work you need to
do to master the subject. You will also get an idea of the overall difficulty level of
the subject.
5
Analyze the sample question papers of NPTE exam to see which topics figure
prominently and which have the least importance. The topics on which most of
the questions have been asked in several sample papers need to be prioritized for
learning purposes.
At this point, you would have a clear idea of the most important topics and their level
of difficulty. Now, the next step is to prioritize the concepts and chapters that are
more important than others. You may also like to devote more time to challenging
and important topics that can have a huge impact on your performance in the
exam.
Depending on the time left for the NPTE exam, you need to identify the most and
least relevant chapters and concepts. To score better in the exam, you dont need
to study everything. You can leave the topics that carry less relevance and focus on
the fundamental and critical concepts.
NPTE, like every other subject has certain facts, figures, and examples that need
to be memorized. An effective way is to remember the facts, so that you can score
better in exams without spending much time on questions. However, a bad thing
is that many students tend to forget the facts quickly, especially during the exam.
Hence, for the topics that require memorizing things, you need to identify them
and prepare a separate plan for them. You have to allocate sufficient time for
periodic revisions so that you can recall them while writing your paper.
Similarly, there are certain concepts in every subject that are frequently used
throughout the entire course. Many times these concepts are also used to derive
newer ideas or applied directly to understand other subjects. Make sure that you
spend enough time on the basics and have a better grasp of the concepts. It will
enhance your learning speed for the next chapters.
Once you have prepared the course outline, the next step is to allocate sufficient
time to each topic to study and learn the concepts.
66 CHAPTER 2
Prepare a Time Table
7
Making a realistic timetable will help you focus on learning without worrying
about the time constraints and giving sufficient time to each topic. A large number
of students make an ideal schedule but never follow it due to its impractical
approach. While making the timetable, make sure that you are not required to take
an enormous amount of physical or mental stress to support it. Also, breakdown
your study hours in small time intervals as for most of the students, it is hard to
concentrate for longer hours. So, in each sitting, you can study for an hour or so and
take 5-15 minutes breaks depending on your physical and mental requirements.
Here is a quick guide to finding out how much time you can devote to each topic
or chapter.
1. The number of days left for the exam = X

2. Number of days you may have to miss the studies due to
other commitments = Y
3. Number of hours you can devote every day to study = Z
4. Number of hours available for self-study = (X-Y)*Z = A
5. Number of subjects = S
6. Total number of hours per subject = A/S = H
So the total number of hours that is available to you for studying NPTE is H. You
need to divide this time further into the studying time, revision and assessment
time. This signifies that you have limited time to study every topic. Since every
topic is not equally important, you may take more time to complete one topic than
the others. In the previous step, you have already gauged the difficulty level of
each topic. Allocate the time to each one of them based on its difficulty. In reality,
you may take a little more, or less time than planned, however, it will help you
manage your time better.
8
A GREAT SCHEDULE SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
1. Color Coding - Color coding the timetable improves clarity and makes it
visually appealing. So adopt color coding that helps you identify the time
allotted to each subject.
2. Hobbies and Relaxation - A good schedule should also include the time for
relaxation and doing things that you like.
3. Alternate Subjects - Studying only one subject or topic for a few days becomes
boring after some time. Hence, you should schedule various topics in a way
that makes studying them more interesting.
4. Time for Revision and Self-assessment - You should have some spare time
for revision of the course. After a few weeks of study, you may forget a lot of
things. Therefore, weekly or monthly reviews will help you retain the concepts
for a longer period.
Once you complete the course, you need to prepare yourself for the final NPTE
exam. In the next chapter, we will discuss about the self-assessment planning.
CHAPTER 3 9
Self-Assessment Planning
10
Having excellent knowledge of the course and scoring well in the exam are two
different things. Many students have sound knowledge of the concepts, and yet,
they fail to secure higher marks in NPTE exam. On the other hand, some people
study comparatively less but tend to do relatively well in all the exams. The score in
exams depends greatly on your Exam Temperament in addition to the knowledge
of the subject. How do you handle the pressure of fixed time and high anxiety
during the exams? The good news is that the exam temperament can be improved
dramatically.
This chapter will help you improve the exam temperament by rigorous self-
assessment. The idea behind the self-assessment is to prepare you for solving
questions in a limited time and in an exam-type environment.
To begin with, you have to assess your knowledge of each chapter by answering
the questions at the end of it in a specific and limited time. If you have responded
to the questions incorrectly or are unable to answer a few questions, you need
to study relevant topics again before moving to the next chapters. Study them
and answer the questions you wrongly answered earlier and those that you didnt
attempt. You should not proceed to the next section until you have answered all
the questions correctly.
Once you have covered the entire course, you need to take the assessments that
are very similar the actual NPTE exams. It is also called mock tests. The McRee U
Test Prep System is a great way to take NPTE mock tests online. Prepare an exam-
type environment around your study desk. Remove all the additional books and
other items. And sit with only the evaluation paper and answer sheets to take the
mock tests.
11
You need to develop a strategy for every assessment. The strategy includes
identifying an approach that will lead to the maximize score. The following points
can be included in an NPTE exam strategy:
1. How to start the paper?

2. Which questions should you attempt first - Those at the top, the ones
you can answer the best or the one that carries the highest marks
3. In which order, you will try various sections of the paper
4. The time allocated to each part of the paper
5. Deciding the amount of time you should keep at the end for a quick
relook at how you have done so far in the exam
FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING SELF-ASSESSMENTS

Start with skimming the entire question paper. If the question paper has more than
one section, divide the time among all the sections. While taking the assessment,
ensure that you stick to the strategy you have planned for that particular assessment.
You can try different strategies for the first few assessments to see which strategy
works the best for you. Also, after every assessment, spend a few hours analyzing
the paper. Check out the questions which you couldnt answer and the reasons
behind the same. What are the things that you could have done differently to
improve the results? Note down all observations of each assessment and compare
the same with the previous assessments.
Before you move to next assessment, you should thoroughly analyze the current
paper. Spend time in addressing the challenges you faced in the last mock exam. If
you are weak in certain topics, take help of your supervisors to learn the concepts.
Practice more questions related to these concepts. If you are taking more time to
solve a particular type of question, then you should pay special attention to that
particular area. If you tend to forget certain facts and figures in the exam, then try
to memorize them using various anecdotes and stories. Before you appear in the
final NPTE exam, you should ideally take eight to ten mock assessment to fuel your
preparation.
12
12 CHAPTER 4
Performance Improvement
Planning for NPTE Exam
13
This is the last leg of preparation for most of the students. After completing the
course and working on assessments, you need to improve your performance
systematically to secure high grades. Apart from the subject, you need to work
on soft skills to boost confidence, improve exam temperament and minimize the
anxiety. You also need to work on your health to make sure that no health condition
arises on the exam day. To improve your performance and maximize your score in
NPTE exam, you need to do the following:
COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ASSESSMENTS

Comprehensive analysis of all the assessments that you undertake is an excellent
way to improve the scores in the final NPTE exam. If the test time is of 2 hours, you
should spend at least 8-10 hours in understanding the various nuances of each
mock test. You should know what you did exceedingly well, what went wrong, and
what needs to be done in the next mock test.
THE RIGHT WAY TO APPROACH THE TEST

The NPTE exam not just tests your knowledge of the subject but also evaluates
your attitude and ability to handle pressure. This is the reason why any question
paper includes a wide range of questions with different levels of difficulty. Your
approach towards the exam matters the most in the overall scoring. You must
figure out certain things like: What should you do first immediately after starting
the exam. What should you do in the last 15 minutes of the exam? All these you
need to learn and practice through several self-assessment exams at home. The
most efficient way to do this is by subscribing to online exam services provided
by experts who have a brilliant track record of training students for NPTE exams.
McRee U Test Prep System is a great resource for your exam prep. Take the mock
test as many times as you need to and make sure that you pass your NPTE exam
the first time.
14
LEARN TO HANDLE THE EXAM PRESSURE

Exam time should be the time when you ought to be fully relaxed, stress-free and
able to concentrate completely. However, this is not the case every time. You need
to practice how to handle the pressure during the mock tests to make it a habit.
There is no other way to develop this important habit that has the potential to
change your future.
BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY
Several students watch television or indulge in other activities during studies.
Many others prefer to study from multiple sources at the same time. Thus, they
may open the browser to search for study related information. However, there is
a high possibility of getting diverted to social media networks, emails or other
sites that kill a lot of time. Such activities kill your productivity and speed. It not
only takes a lot of time for you to learn even easier concepts, but it also decreases
your concentration. Remember that in the exam; everyone gets equal time. If you
have a habit of getting diverted quickly during studies, it will hamper your thinking
ability during the most precious time of the exams. So, it is better to focus on
one thing at a time. While studying, try to note down the points that you need to
research over the internet. And, do the research only after completing some part
of the course. Working in a time bound manner will enable you to stay focused and
perform better in exams.
TRAIN YOUR MIND FOR POSITIVE THOUGHTS

During studies, negativity can creep in at any moment without your knowledge.
It is important to train your mind to think positively at testing times. In the end,
the status of your mind will decide the person you are going to become. The
moment you recognize a negative thought, ignore it and focus on several positive
thoughts. Never settle without a positive mind set about anything you do in your
life. A positive and happy mind can learn faster and do much better in exams than
a confused or a negative mind, even with similar knowledge and amount of work
put in by the person.
15 CHAPTER 5 15
A Week Before the
NPTE Exam
16
The week before the NPTE exam is the most crucial time during the entire
preparation. To make the most out of this week, follow a structured approach for
preparing your mind for the final battle:
RELAX.
This is the first thing you need in order to make your mind work faster during the
exam. Relax! Reduce the studying hours by as much as 50%. Sleep early and try
to get up early. A sound sleep is as much required as a worry free mind. Yoga can
also help you stay focused and relaxed.
DONT LEARN NEW CONCEPTS

It is advisable to focus on what you have already learned. Avoid learning new
concepts during the last few days of your preparation. This time should be
devoted to revising and making the most out of what you already know. Learning
new concepts will not only create confusion, but it also lowers the confidence just
before and during the exam.
STAYING AWAY FROM NOISES

From television, newspaper to social network, you get to know a lot of things that
are not only unnecessary but also quite disturbing. Keep these things for after the
exam. Stay away from mobile phones, social networks or anything that pushes a
lot of unnecessary information.
TAKE 2-3 ASSESSMENTS

During the last week before the NPTE exam, you should take 2 to 3 mock tests and
complete them within the same time as that of the final exam. This will condition
your mind for completing your paper during a specific time. It will also prepare
you to take the final exam with a lot of confidence. It is strongly advised that you
should only take assessments and do extensive analysis during the last week
of preparation. It helps you in revising the various topics that you have already
learned. However, the mock tests must be taken on alternate days and not on a
daily basis. You should take complete rest on the last day just before the exam.
17
MAKE THREE PLANS FOR THE NPTE EXAM

You should prepare final strategies for the final exam on the day prior to the exam.
There should be one primary strategy if the question paper is according to your
expectations. If the exam is completely different from what you expected, be
prepared to use alternative plans to tackle the situation better. The primary strategy
should include, a) which sections you are going to do first b) which sections you
will do at the end c) what will you do with the most difficult and easiest questions
and d) on what kind of questions you will spend most of the time and what kind of
questions should not take much of your time.
Finally, it is time to tell yourself that what you have done till now is good enough to
fetch a brilliant score in the exam and get ready for the final battle.
18
18 CHAPTER 6
During NPTE Exam
19
The NPTE Exam day makes a lot of difference in our life. A lot goes in the mind just
before and during the exam. On D-day, your primary objective should be keeping
cool and calm, and worry free. Not thinking about the outcome of the exam is one
way of keeping yourself away from the random thoughts.
If you have followed the ideas suggested in this study guide, you already have a
few strategies to deal with the NPTE exam. However, in certain cases, the questions
that finally appear in the exam are entirely different or unexpected. In that case,
it is important for you to immediately start with easy questions and try to attempt
those that are familiar. The completely unknown questions should always be left
for the end if you have sufficient time.
Never make any assumptions during the NPTE exam. Remember that a question
is either easy or difficult for everyone. And it doesnt matter what the result would
be, what is important is what will you do in those 2-3 hours of the exam time. Give
your best and leave everything else to luck.
The luck plays a major role in overall success. However, if you have worked hard,
there is 99% possibility that luck will be with you. We wish you all the best.
Success.
PASS THE FIRST TIME!
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you are ready to pass the first
time. Designed to fit your
lifestyle, McRee Learning
Center provides you unlimited
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your phone, tablet or desktop
computer.
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your goals and pass the first
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THE PATH TO

McRee Learning Center

Chapter 2: Prepare a Time Table.................................................................................6

Chapter 3: Self-Assessment Planning.........................................................................9

Chapter 4: Performance Improvement Planning for NPTE Exam........................12

Chapter 5: A Week Before the NPTE Exam.............................................................15

Chapter 6: During NPTE Exam...................................................................................18

HOW TO PREPARE THE COURSE OUTLINE?

1. The number of days left for the exam = X

A GREAT SCHEDULE SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

1. How to start the paper?

FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING SELF-ASSESSMENTS

COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ASSESSMENTS

THE RIGHT WAY TO APPROACH THE TEST

LEARN TO HANDLE THE EXAM PRESSURE

TRAIN YOUR MIND FOR POSITIVE THOUGHTS

DONT LEARN NEW CONCEPTS

STAYING AWAY FROM NOISES

TAKE 2-3 ASSESSMENTS

MAKE THREE PLANS FOR THE NPTE EXAM

U Test Prep is the only exam

Dont settle for less. Achieve

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