Now, I know the subject of this post sounds really exciting...but I didn't actually pass some big test. But I do have good news. Today in class, our professor handed out a copy of an email sent from a recent Shawnee State University OT graduate who passed his NBCOT (National Board for the Certification of Occupational Therapists) exam on the first try! Passing this exam is REQUIRED for therapists to practice in the state of Ohio, so this is a pretty big deal. As you can tell by my lack of updates, I've been pretty unmotivated lately...feeling pretty crappy about being in school and wondering why I chose two more years of it. This letter put me in a great mood tonight. It made me feel really good about my school work, my field of choice, and the "second-choice" institution I just happened to end up at because my Alma-mater didn't accept me.Greetings Dr. Scurlock,
I wanted to take this time to thank you and your faculty for providing me with an outstanding foundation in Occupational Therapy. I was able to take and PASS the NCBOT exam the first time on 3/15/09. Prior to taking the exam, I used a variety of material to prepare. I studied approximately 1.5hrs a day, 5 days a week, for 1 month. The books I used were as follows: National Occupational Therapy Certification Exam Review and Study by Rita P. Flemming-Castaldy, Occupational Therapy Registered Certification Examination published by NBCOT, and the Occupational Therapy Examination Review Guide 3rd Ed. by Johnson, C., Lorch, A., and DeAngelis, T.
The most relevant book that I felt was most like the examination was the Occupational Therapy Registered Certification Examination published by the NBCOT which has 150 sample questions. The font and content is as close to the exam as possible, meaning the way the questions are worded and key terms such as "MOST IMPORTANT" in bold to help the test taker really identify what is asked.
My feeling about the OT program at Shawnee State is that it really prepared me for the exam. I really felt I had a great foundation and was well prepared to take the exam. By studying for the exam, I basically reviewed everything I learned within the program. I did not learn any new material from these books that I did not already learn in class. It was just a matter of repetition.
I am currently working in the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the VA located in Cleveland. I was competing against a Cleveland State University graduate for the same position that i believe would have had the upper hand since one of his field work assignments was at this location. Needless to say, I scored exceptionally higher in the "performance based interview" and was offered the team position in the Spinal Cord Injury Unit.
I thank you again for all that you have done to get me to this point and hope future students feel as prepared and confident as I did when I took the exam. Please feel free to contact me anytime.
Sincerely,
Brittany Wolf (I'm signing this with my name because I hope I will be able to send an email just like this 1.5 years from now)
*Sigh of relief*
P.S. Above photo is of the OT gang taking a break from homework on St. Patty's day. Work hard, play hard...right Dad?
P.P.S. I will be asking for those books for Christmas in case any of my readers would like to take note.
