Finding the right study guides

This is the question on everyone's mind! Personally, I bought study guides that in retrospect I didn't really need. Please learn from my mistakes and don't waste your money! For me, I always find it motivating and helpful to study using past questions and exam papers and as this exam is all about technique (rather than regurgitation of info), the ability to analyse what the questions are asking is very very important and the key to being successful in this exam.

1. The Official NBCOT Study Guide

This is an absolute must as it questions from NBCOT directly. You can borrow a copy from a friend and you can also order the guides in a group to bring down the cost per guide. If you get nothing else, this is one the to have. What I found really useful, was that at the back of the book, there are references for all the questions so especially if you don't get a questions right you can go and research where the question came from. It also can provide a starting point to study. You may also want to take the test before you start studying and a few weeks later when you are ready to take the exam (provided you have forgotten the questions) and compare your scores. Hopefully it'll be a confidence booster.

2. 2009 National Occupational Therapy Certification Exam Review and Study Guide by Rita Fleming-Castaldy

This is the book that gets everybody buzzing. When you first lay eyes on it, you think it has come down from heaven to save you because it seems to be all the years of OT study crammed into one book. You think to yourself, "wow, if only I had had this book during university, it could have been all I needed!". This, my friends, is not true, and while the 'Rita' book is a great book with many many topics and a CD-rom with practice questions, it is still a study GUIDE and not the be all and end all of OT prep. I think where many people fall down is in the reliance of this book and thinking that this is enough. Perhaps if you memorised every fact you would get through, but if you don't understand the foundations, you'll probably still struggle. Another critique comes with the practice exams. There are 3 on the CD-Rom with 200 questions on each. They are challenging questions which is good to get your brain ticking but they are not the same as the NBCOT questions and you need to know the 'Rita' book pretty well in order to answer them. Many people say that the questions in this book are much harder than those on the NBCOT exam, and whilst I agree that they are tough, I wouldn't necessarily say that the official NBCOT questions are easier, just different. Bottom line, this book is not a substitute for basic concepts and in my opinion will not get you through the exam just on its own, unless you know your foundations of OT really well.

3. Occupational Therapy Examination Review Guide by Johnson

I really recommend this book. I enjoyed working through it. The questions are quite easy, compared with some of the NBCOT ones but they cover a lot of the information needed for the exam. This book is great self-esteem booster as you can do well through using the same logic and analysis needed for the actual exam. Again, do a test (there are 4 in the book with 200 questions each) before starting to study a section and then a few weeks later and compare your scores. Johnson has also created exams divided by topics as well as all mixed with details rationales for the choice of each answer and references to explore concepts in more detail.

4. Castle Worldwide Practice Tests
As you start to near the end of your studies, keep the practice exams available from Castle Worldwide in mind. You won't receive the answers for these questions because they are quite similar to actual questions on the exam. This is frustrating but also motivational as you may end up doing more research and studying by trying to find the answers. You can buy the exams in a big pack or individually and they are valid for a year from date of purpose. This means you can buy the exam and wait until up to a year to take it. Once you take it though, you can't do it again unless you buy it again so keep that in mind. This is a great way to get into the testing frame of mind and prepare yourself for the exam and the score that you get is highly correlated to the score you may receive on your actual exam.

Essential Textbooks for NBCOT

In our research we found that the common study guides for NBCOT are helpful with the exam. In my opinion, however, I strongly feel that the difference between a pass or a fail is in the foundational information that one needs to learn. I recommend studying from a well-trusted and recognised name in all the necessary areas: physical dysfunction, paediatrics, mental health, community and possibly legislation (especially if you are unfamiliar with the US health system).

The following are textbooks representing each area where possible. If you are looking to buy a book, getting the latest or second to latest edition is probably the best as the exam has been recently updated (in 2009) and so the topics covered are from newer editions. If you have an older edition, you don't need to buy a new one. If you really feel like you are missing out, you can try and borrow a later edition from the library. This can be such a costly process (especially if you are international or taking the exam repeatedly) that is unnecessary to buy new editions of the same textbook.

1. Physical Dysfunction
Williard and Spackman's Occupational Therapy by Crepeau, Cohn and Schell
Many of the questions the physical dysfunction questions are referenced from Williard and Spackman and so it is good to be able to look up questions in this book and get expanded text on the topics.

Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction by Radomski and Trombly
Again many of the questions for physical dysfunction are referenced from Radomski and Trombly. If you have both books, that's awesome. If not, having one or the other is good enough. Again you can always try and borrow the book from a friend or take it out of the library.

Pedretti's Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction
I didn't have access to Pedretti's when I was studying but I know it's a good resource and it did come up in the occasional question. Again, I think if you have one of the three Phys. Dysfunction books or even better, two, you won't need all three, and most likely won't have time to go through them all.

2. Paediatrics
Occupational Therapy for Children by Case Smith
I borrowed this book from a friend - a much earlier edition - and I found it very helpful regarding the IEP (Individualised Education Plan) and the feeding responsibilities required of an OT. It comprehensively covers everything a new (and advanced) OT needs to know about paeds in the States. This is a good resource to use.

3. Mental Health
Psychosocial Occupational Therapy: A Clinical Practice by Cara and MacRae
This book is great for getting back to basics on all things mental health and specific OT interventions and approaches. It also outlines all the medication and side-effects which is really useful especially if you are unfamiliar with this field or you didn't study it intensely at university. I highly recommend this book for mental health. I wish I had had it during my studies.

4. Community
Developing Occupation-Centered Programs for the Community
This is the only book that I actually bought because it wasn't available to me locally. But that's just me. It was helpful with the tricky program questions on the exam but I don't think it's actually necessary to buy if you can borrow it. I'm still glad that I had it though for the exam because it put my mind at ease that I had a good solid resource for this section.

Introduction

So to start off, let us introduce ourselves. We are two OTs who are internationally trained (in South Africa and Australia) and for various reasons, mostly involving men, we found ourselves needing to take the NBCOT. Up until last year I had never heard of the NBCOT, as such, and was only vaguely aware that in order to work in the US as an occupational therapist, one needed to take a board exam. When the time came to make the decision to move, the NBCOT loomed and after many months of stress, lots of money and energy invested and many Skype conversations, both of us passed the NBCOT comfortably. Chatting to the internet savvy OT community really helped us to conquer any perceptions we had about the exam and to actually study through Skype, email and forums/blogs. As we have both recently taken the exam (Sep and Oct 2009 respectively) we are very familiar with the process and can offer additional advice if you are an international OT wanting to take the exam. We can also explore which resources are really necessary to buy and which you can live without. Then, we can try and advise the best job search strategy especially if you are outside of the US and need a visa and job before you arrive. We hope that this becomes an interactive forum where legitimate, honest discussion and advice is imparted.