CCNA EXAM

[nia_king]

Hey guys,

For anyone searching blogs on tips for boards, I thought I'd post what helped me. I just took it early this month and thankfully waited only 3 days for me result. I was not worried though. I studied my butt off 12-16hrs a day for 3 weeks and it paid off big time. I felt very confident leaving the exam center and needless to say I passed So just a few tips for those who may be taking it in Aug....

1: Some people say Valley does not help anymore, I thought it was crucial! I came back and checked about 7 of my answers from Memory Master and the sweat book and got all of them correct!

2: Do not ignore the mixed reviews, I recalled about 3 questions from them (never the exact questions of course, just the drug, or part of the machine etc)...they really are recent topics on boards!

3: Go over the cards and Mixed Review at least 3x each. Some people advocate pulling out the lightning and bulls eye cards (recent topics but not as recent as the mixed reviews) and going over those an additional time. I took a slightly different approach: I went through all the cards x3 (or however long they take you to master) then I pulled out the ones I still didn't know down pat. It did not matter if they were the hot items or not, if I didn't know it, I pulled it out and went over them a 4th time (only about 5 cards per stack).

4: If you don't have time to read every chapter of Morgan and Mikhail, then know the key points at the beginning of each chapter and bolded text within. Some people swear it is enough. I did that but I don't recall any specific questions on them. Since it worked for some people, I would still recommend it. Of course reading the whole book is better

5: Another absolute essential (my opinion) is taking multiple choice exams. Either Prodigy or Core Concepts will work. I HIGHLY recommend taking at least 3 practice exams. Keep in mind you will probably do worse on these exams the more you study because they are written at high level but boards have varied levels of questioning. The practice exams not only test what you know but you will start to understand your pattern of answering questions and your emotional response to tough questions.

Prodigy: http://www.prodigyanesthesia.com/

Core Concepts: http://www.ccanesthesiareview.com/

6: I thought the exam was very fair; not easy, not difficult, just challenging but if you do your work, you will be just fine.

This is just my opinion but perhaps, this might someone out there :) Read everything you have time to read. I thought the varied sources I pulled from (including select topics on different text books) helped. Every little bit of work you put into boards will pay off.

GOOD LUCK!

[Marysrna2010]

Thank you so much for this advice. I am really concerned about the new format! Multiple multiples and matching, fill in the blanks and pictures. It has me a little unnerved to say the least. I debated Valley Review, but decide it could only hurt my pocket book! So I registered and paid for the flash cards.

Thanks again for the encouragement.

Mary class of 2010!!!!

[optimisticSRNA]

Thanks for your post! Especially the part about "the more you study, the worse you'll do"! That is exactly what has been happening to me, and I flipped out! But, what you say makes sense, about the multiple choice being the hardest content. THanks for your post, and CONGRATS!

[Sleepy 7]

Prodigy didn't help it

said I had a 95% chance of passing failed it twice.

Valley the book seems to be exactly what is NOT on the test.

R&R well maybe?

The biggest problem is the MCR questions, they are unfair and unrepresentative of the examinee's knowledge base.

for example:

TT1 - has 100 questions w/ no MCRs = 100 answers

TT2 - has 100 questions w 10 MCRs(pick 3) = 120 answers for same grade of 100.

TT3 - entire 170 question exam w/ 10% MCRs = 204 answers for same 100 grade.

TT4 - the absolute minimum questions 100-30(tryouts) = 70 answers

Fair testing ? you decide