I’ve been working on test-taking skills since the 6th grade. I didn’t know it, but that’s what I was doing. Looking for “easier” solutions. If I knew how to pass tests, I could goof off more and still get grades that were “good enough.” I was always a straight B student, and I put in zero work. Sorry folks, I’m far from the typical Type A personality in PA school. I’d rather be out having fun or even just lying around than studying. Grades were a means to end and that was it. I was very happy with my no-work, B approach.
Our first exam in PA school was anatomy and we were decimated as a class. The professor spoke for 10 minutes before returning our exams. About how much more we needed to do. About how we would have three very long years ahead of us and on and on and on.
He handed back my paper, and at the top circled in red was a 100%.
My last BLS and ACLS test scores were 100s also.
This is not me telling you how smart I am. I’m not that smart. I get good test scores because of my approach. How I study. How I link things in my head. I use systems and I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can be better with less effort.
I get good test scores because of skills I’ve worked on for decades. One of those skills is looking at a lot of complicated information and pulling out the most important pieces. I can see what needs the most attention and what can be left to wither by the roadside. I can see were the focus needs to be and what you can learn later if you have time.
I did that for myself when I wrote the questions in the The Final Step. You can use The Final Step as a shortcut to the most important information and a way to learn that stuff. Or if you’re really smart, you can use The Final Step as a way to learn how to pull out the important information for yourself.
Either way, you can get your copy here:
Brian Wallace