Sandy’s OT Exam 4-week Ridiculous Study Guide
Using AOTA Exam Prep/PDFs, NBCOT Study Pack, TherapyEd, and OTExamPrepper
Prior to beginning study program:
• Find a binder so you can be super-organized. Print this document and fill in the dates in the left hand column related
to when you are starting and your test date. Put it in the very front of the binder
• Get some blank pages to go behind this document for notes.
• Go to OTExamPrepper.com and sign up with your email address. Download the PDF files and print them (don’t study
them yet!). Make a section for them in the binder.
• Make sure you have the ability to listen to the OTExamPrepper podcasts on your phone or computer
• Print the 16 PDFs (front and back if possible or there are too many pages) from AOTA Exam Prep, put them in a binder
with labels. (Don’t study them yet)
• Familiarize yourself with how to start an exam on the AOTA practice questions with questions from just one category
or domain, and choosing practice or exam mode.
• Check out on the NBCOT site how to register for the exam (and register if you are in that time frame)
• Familiarize yourself with navigating the NBCOT site and Study Pack materials
• Make a study spot. Try to mimic NBCOT exam such as no TV or radio.
Notes:
• I did not time the days. Some days may be short, some may be long. You don’t necessarily have to do them in order
if you need what looks like a short day to fall on a weekend, for example. I had exactly 28 days so I had to use every
day. Break it up with doing other activities between. Listen to podcasts while you exercise, or in the car. This is a
serious commitment. If you get behind, you may need to double up.
• I included things I have not seen on other study guides, such as doing the OTR exam tutorial, reading Therapyed
sections on the exam itself and study strategies, checking to be sure you have proper ID.
• If you don’t have time to read a whole TherapyEd chapter, skim the base material (anatomy, description of
conditions) and concentrate on anything to do with occupational impact, assessment, and rehabilitation about the
particular chapter or diseases. Read the parts about WHAT we do.
• I used Therapy Ed 8th edition. Your pages may be different if you are using a different version
• As you read the AOTA PDFs, if highlighting is useful to you, highlight important things to come back to on a review
day. Don’t highlight everything. Be choosy.
• If you have more than 28 days, add in some review days and extra test question days or consider a day completely off.
For unstructured review, review the topics you have had the most trouble with so far (worst scores on 25 Q practice
tests). You can also split long days (like the Peds one) into multiple days. If you find extra time, study Domain 3 Flash
cards, pediatric milestones, and splints.
• Each day, you will take at least 25 online practice questions on AOTA. Try to mix this up between “practice” and
“exam” mode. You need to get used to taking questions without knowing if the answer is correct because the actual
exam is frustrating in this way. After you have finished 25 questions, read ALL of the rationales—correct answer and
incorrect answers and try to understand why you missed the ones you missed and why the others are right.
• In the notes section keep track of scores on practice questions, topics that trip you up, or other things you may want
to add back in to review later.
• Each day cross off the things you do and keep notes about your progress. It may help to remove the PDFs from your
notebook after you’ve read each section so you can SEE the material shrinking.
• Start a page which goes in your binder behind the schedule: In any reading or practice questions and rationales if
there is a term you don’t know, write it down in this document to look up later. Write things like “review Glasgow
Scale” or “what is the difference in ataxia and apraxia” or “what is orthopnea?” Look these things up when you have
time or need a break.
• I never ended up doing the Therapyed practice exams because there just wasn’t time. I wanted to do the NBCOT ones
because I wanted a similar score to the actual test to know how I was doing, and the AOTA practice questions because
I like the rationales. Feel free to add Therapyed practice questions or tests into this guide however you think they fit.
• Your goal for AOTA practice questions is an average of over 70% correct. Preferably over 75%.
• Your goal in NBCOT is passing score, over 450. Preferably a cushion of 470 or so.
• Note that in the NBCOT materials it is split up into 4 domains, and the NBCOT test is broken up as follows (Therapy Ed
book lists outdated percentages in Chapter 1, page 3):
o Domain 1: 25% Domain 2: 23% Domain 3: 37% Domain 4: 15%
STUDY SCHEDULE
Day/
Date
Read/Study/Listen
Practice
Notes/Scores
1
TherapyEd
• Ch 1, Examination Content and Examination
Format p 3-4
• Ch 8, Cardiopulmonary Disorders p. 217-243
AOTA PDF
• Testing Tips (7 pages)
• Cardiopulmonary Conditions (2 pages)
OTExamPrepper
• 1.01 MET Values listen to podcast and study
PDF
2
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
• Ch 9 GI, Renal, Endo, Immunological,
Community Mobility
Integumentary Disorders p 245-261
• Ch 16 ONLY Community Mobility section p
419-420
AOTA PDF
• Community Mobility (9 pages)
NBCOT Study Pack
• Take Pre-Test
Score:
• Look through at least 170 Domain 3 Flashcards (there are 342).
• Do Domain 3 Knowledge Match games. Redo ones you missed.
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
Driving
• Ch 14 Psychosocial Eval & Tx p. 339-366
AOTA PDF
• Driving (16 pages)
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
Occ Rehab & RTW
• Ch 15 Areas of Occup Eval & Tx p 369-395
AOTA PDF
• Occupational Rehab & RTW (16 pages)
NBCOT Study Pack
Domain 1:
• Look through all Domain 1 flash cards (359). Break this up with the Match game if needed.
• Do all 8 categories of Knowledge Match game. Redo ones you missed
• Take Mini test Domain 1
Mini test Score:
• Review all rationales, missed and correct
AOTA Test Questions
• Take 50 practice questions on Domain 1 only
Domain 1 Score:
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
Other topics
• Ch. 16 Mastery of the Envir p 397-421
AOTA PDF
• Other Topics (14 pages)
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
Ethics
• Ch 3 OT Process p 27-52
• Ch 4 ONLY section on ethics, p 55-61
AOTA PDF
• Ethics (6 pages)
3
4
5
6
7
8
25 AOTA Questions:
Cardiopulmonary
Conditions
Score:
9
10
TherapyEd
• Ch 4 Standards of Practice p 62-108
AOTA PDF
• Standards of Practice (42 pages)
TherapyEd
• Ch 6 Musculoskeletal Disorders p 157-179
EXCEPT skip burns page 176-178
AOTA PDF
• Musculoskeletal Impairments (26 pages)
OTExamPrepper
• 4.04 Med/Rad/Ulnar Nerve Injuries. Listen
to podcast and study PDF
25 AOTA Questions:
Standards of Practice
Score:
25 AOTA Questions:
Musculoskeletal
Impairments
Score:
11
DAY OFF!! (or review, or do therapyed questions on the topics you’ve studied already. Or look for
interesting youtube videos on topics that stump you. Or listen to other podcasts like “OT Exam
Audio,” or look at other study materials from the facebook group’s files)
12
TherapyEd
• Ch 11: Biomechanical Approaches p 297-308
AOTA PDF
• Hands & UE (19 pages)
OTExamPrepper
• 7.07 Splints. Listen to podcast and study PDF
AOTA PDF
• Burns (10 pages)
TherapyEd
• Chap 6 only Burns section p 176-178
OTExamPrepper
• 3.03 Rancho Los Amigos. Listen to podcast
and study PDF
NBCOT Study Pack
• Look over all 342 Domain 3 flashcards
• Do Knowledge match Domain 3
• Take Domain 3 Mini test and read over all
rationales
AOTA
• Take 50 practice questions Domain 3 only
TherapyEd
• Ch 5 Human Dev (ONLY adults, p142-153)
AOTA PDF
• Adult Mental Health (24 pages)
TherapyEd
• Ch. 7 Neurodegen. Disorders p. 183-213
AOTA PDF
• Neurodegenerative Disorders (34 pages)
NBCOT Study Pack
Study all 153 Domain 2 Flashcards
Do Knowledge Matches Domain 2
Take Domain 2 Mini Test
AOTA
Take 50 practice questions Domain 2
13
14
15
16
(note more questions
because of upper
extremity today)
40 AOTA Questions:
Hands and UE
23 AOTA Questions:
Burns (there are only
23 available)
Score:
Score:
Mini test Score:
Domain 3 Score:
25 AOTA Questions:
Adult Mental Health
Score:
25 AOTA Questions:
Neurodegenerative
Disorders
Score:
Mini test Score:
Domain 2 Score:
17
18
19
20
TherapyEd
• Ch 12 Neurological Approaches p. 311-326
AOTA PDF
• Neurological Impairments (26 pages)
OTExamPrepper
• 5.05 SCI. Listen to podcast and study PDF
AOTA PDF
• Wheelchair (12 pages)
OTExamPrepper
• 2.02 Allen Cognitive Levels. Listen to
podcast and study PDF
Review
• Exam Prepper PDFs:
METS and Rancho Los Amigos.
25 AOTA Questions:
Neurological
Impairments
Score:
25 AOTA Questions:
Wheelchair
Score:
Go to NBCOT website and do the OTR exam tutorial
found here
https://sites.nbcot.org/prometricstutorial/otr/
AOTA
• Look at scores on previous exams by section. You should have done over 350 test questions by
now. Make note of your three lowest scores and what section they are in. Study the PDFs for
those three sections today and take a 50 exam practice test just on those three sections
combined. Did it go up?
• Now look at the score breakdown on previous exams by domain. What is your score in Domain
3? Domain 3 is the biggest section on the actual exam. If Domain 3 score is under 75%, review
all Domain 3 flashcards in NBCOT Study Pack and then take a 50 question practice exam in
AOTA just on Domain 3. If Domain 3 looks good, do this for whichever domain is your lowest.
NBCOT Study Pack
• Take 100 question M/C practice test
Score
• Take clinical question practice test
(bear in mind, you have not studied all sections yet but it is nice to get an idea!)
NBCOT Study Pack
• Study all 186 Flash Cards from Domain 4
Mini test Score:
• Do Knowledge Match Domain 4
• Take Mini Test Domain 4
Domain 4 Score:
AOTA
• Take 40 practice questions Domain 4 only
OT ExamPrepper
• 8.08 Study and Testing Strategies
21
DAY OFF!!!
(or catch up, or review, or break tomorrow into two days, or take some therapyed practice questions,
or listen to some podcasts, or google youtube videos)
22
TherapyEd
• Ch 5 Human Dev: Children p 113-142
AOTA PDF
• Pediatric Assessments & Tx (48 pages)
OTExamPrepper
• 6.06 Pediatric Dev. Milestones
(note—more questions
today because there
just seem to be more
peds questions!!)
50 AOTA Questions:
Pediatric
Score:
23
24
25
26
27
28
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
• Ch 10 Psych & Cogn Disorders (p 265-293)
Mental Health Adult
AOTA PDF
• Pediatric Mental Health (18 pages)
TherapyEd
25 AOTA Questions:
Score:
• Ch 13 Cogn Perceptual Appr (p 329-336)
Vision
AOTA PDF
• Low Vision & Older Adults (9 pgs)
NBCOT Study Pack
Score:
take full practice exam
Afterwards, study sections that threw you, or Domain you scored worst in
• Review OTExamPrepper Podcast PDFs for Splints and Pediatric Developmental Milestones.
• Review ID requirements at Prometrics site and gather the appropriate documents together.
• Plan what to wear to be comfortable and make sure it is ready. (Be sure to look at Prometric
site about what you can and cannot bring in. Choose an outfit with as few pockets as possible
because every time you go in you have to turn every pocket inside out)
• Read over the “The Examination Day” section of Therapyed, pages 7-12.
Rest/Travel Day
• Consider staying in a hotel near the testing center.
• If you have time the day before, drive by the center so you are certain you know where it is.
You can even step inside. If anyone asks, just say “I’m testing tomorrow and wanted to be sure
I’m in the right place.”
• Read “Waiting for and Receiving Examination Results” in TherapyEd on page 13
• Review OTExamPrepper PDFs.
• Review 7 Ethical Principles (Beneficence, etc) in AOTA PDF on Ethics, p 2-3
• Get a good night’s sleep.
• Plan a good breakfast
• Set two alarms
TEST DAY!
•
•
•
•
29-??
You know more than you think!
Allow plenty of transit time
Eat a good breakfast
Plan something fun for afterwards with someone who can boost you up!
Wait patiently for test results. :-0