Meet Al
My name is Al and I’m an OT. After working for a couple years as an OT in assisted living facilities, I had the urge to travel. I wanted to work, experience new cultures and adventures, and build my clinical skillset. I felt that OT provided me with a swiss army knife of clinical skills, and I wasn’t maximizing my potential. So I decided to attempt the NBCOT © exam and venture south of the Canadian border. I studied for months - while my friends were enjoying festivals and the long summer days, I was in a library trying to soak up knowledge like a sponge. Instead of browsing Instagram, I was flipping through pages of Willard and Spackman's Occupational Therapy in a cubicle. Pedretti's Occupational Therapy textbook was my night time reading material. Finally, exam day came. I showed up early: with my earplugs, my gatorade, my protein bars. And...I failed. I couldn’t believe it. I was in disbelief. I would have to go back to the drawing board. I didn’t think it was because I didn’t study “hard enough”. So then what was it? I remember thinking, I wish there were more practice exams where I could apply my knowledge and better prepare myself for the actual exam.
To clear my head, I jumped on my mountain bike that evening. I found a clear opening with a bench so I sat there and contemplated. I distinctly remember that feeling of being ‘almost there’, and yet; feeling sooo far away from passing. I was terrified. I decided I would double down. I decided to re-register for the exam, follow a routine, purchased study materials, and take timed exams seriously. I knew success would require discipline and focus. I also decided to incorporate 5 minutes of personal reflection daily before bed, deep breathing activities, and most importantly, I would focus on practice exams.
Armed with a newly founded discipline and burning desire, I continued to work my day job while studying on weekends and evenings. 5 months of sitting in a library trying to shift my focus every evening from work to a studying mentality and forcing myself to learn by more than osmosis paid off. My focus became primarily practice exams. I attempted the exam. Once again, I brought my earplugs, my gatorade, my protein bars. And I passed! My journey of completing OT school, writing Canadian and American exams, navigating indecisiveness in my search for a meaningful career has allowed me not to follow my passion, but rather – take my passion with me. With this recent success in mind, I set out to work with professionals and academics to support students by offering practice exam questions. You might know all the material, but the critical piece is being able to apply it.
When I was studying I wish had focused more on test taking skills, and practice exams. I would work during the day – interacting with seniors, adults, and coworkers. On evenings and weekends, I would shift gears and sit in a quiet space and read textbooks. Textbooks are dry and dull. I had to force myself to put my phone away, and really put myself into a high gear so I could pass the exam. I had to develop the practice of personal reflection techniques and deep breathing exercises. Even though I felt optimistic and enthusiastic, I still didn’t pass the first time. The standard set by NBCOT© organization is high - as it should be. The tough thing about OT is that OT practice is not defined by 4 mutually exclusive options. OT is more fluid than this which makes it difficult for studying and even more challenging when taking practice tests: it’s hard to translate our skills and expertise into a multiple choice test. But guess what? The licensing exam is the last thing standing between you and professional sounding credentials behind your name. So you have to be brave and take the plunge.