When do you begin? Do you begin when the proctor says, “Ok, you may start?”
If you do, I can tell you that you’re not performing at your best. I watch my kids go out to pitch without warming up, and it takes them an inning before they start throwing strikes. I watch my hitters go up to the plate and watch the first three balls go by maybe swinging, maybe not, but definitely not ready to hit.
One of the best ways to be ready for an exam is to have a pregame routine. I point it to my kids that you see Gerald Chapman (closer for the New York Yankees), and even when he steps into the mound, he looks like he’s just run 5 miles. He’s not getting warmed up on the field.
Why are you?
Now here’s someone who’s taken that idea to a whole new level.
Read the email she wrote me and see.
This email is slightly altered – I’ve removed irrelevant and possibly identifying information.
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I took the PANCE a couple weeks after graduation in XXX and failed by 4 points. Ugh. To this day, XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX Anyway, I am taking the PANCE again on XXXXXXX XXXXXX, and I’m hoping I’ve done enough to get the 4 points I need to finally put this behind me.
The first time around, I did a ton of practice questions (untimed, timed, all the recommendations, I did them all), but I never did a full-length practice exam. I wasn’t too concerned about timing and I figured with the breaks in between each section, I would be fine. Well, looking back, that was a mistake.
In preparation for this go-around, I’ve done two full-practice tests. What I realized was I didn’t have as much of an issue with fatigue or timing or anything like that, but I did so badly on the first 60 questions on both tests. I noticed that the number of incorrect answers decreased as I completed each section. It was a huge difference, too. I went from getting 22 questions wrong in the first section to getting 9 wrong in the last section. I couldn’t believe it. And what’s funny is I remember finishing the first section of the PANCE back in May almost in tears because I swore I didn’t get a single question right.
Now that I’ve noticed that, I scheduled my test for the afternoon and am planning on completing a round of 60 questions before going to my exam to get my mind focused. I’m not planning on looking at whether I got the questions right or anything (I don’t want to go into the test thinking about how I got 22 questions wrong), but I’m hoping it’ll be beneficial in the long run.
I didn’t expect this email to be this long, but I literally paused in between two of your OB/GYN podcasts because you were talking about practicing timing for the PANCE and I felt like my experience might help someone else. I’m learning there’s more information you can analyze when taking full-length exams, beyond just how well you did, to improve your overall performance.
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What I love about this is she’s THINKING. She’s using her brain. She’s not whining or complaining or doing things the same old way that hasn’t been working.
How about you? Are you still doing things the way you did in undergrad? Are they working?
Maximize your time and efficiency is a course I put together to give you some new ideas and some new tactics. In fact, the top one on there will take 5 minutes of your study time, and studies have shown it to boost scores by as much as 20%.
Not bad for five minutes. But If you saw it and wouldn’t try it, then what’s the point?
If you’re interested in testing new ideas and trying new things (even if some don’t work), then you’re going to love Maximize Your Time and Efficiency. Click here to learn more about this fantastic program.
Maximize Your Time and Efficiency
Brian Wallace