Part 1 Test Day Tips

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leonkennedy

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Just wondering if anyone has any tips on the actual day of the exam in terms of what to bring, how to pace yourself, or how taking breaks works. Did anyone feel pressured for time? Also are we provided with scratch paper?

Thanks for any advice!
 
I'm new to SDN and I took the APMLE I this July and thankfully PASSED!! My advice to anyone taking the exam would be to eat well before the exam, get a good night sleep and review materials you know well the day of to amp yourself up and increase your confidence level. It is my belief that if a student has studied enough lower extremity anatomy and pharmacology with some micro/path knowledge, they should have no problem in receiving a passing score on the exam.
 
For future test takers:
- If you arrive early at prometric you can take it as soon as you arrive instead of waiting around.
- Try not to drink coffee at all or limit the amount, because you'll have to leave for more breaks than the average person to the bathroom.
- Some people felt drained at the 100 question mark and took a break, but the time for your test is not paused when you leave.
- You are given scrap paper and have to take a 15 minute tutorial before you start your test, so I recommend using this time to draw out anything you feel necessary to refer to later. Personally I drew out a very rough sketch of the gram flowchart from first aid, plantar/dorsal foot nerves & arteries, plantar layers, and brachial plexus. When you refer to it later 1 hour into the test, you will be thankful to have it and not waste time thinking about it.
 
For future test takers:
- If you arrive early at prometric you can take it as soon as you arrive instead of waiting around.
- Try not to drink coffee at all or limit the amount, because you'll have to leave for more breaks than the average person to the bathroom.
- Some people felt drained at the 100 question mark and took a break, but the time for your test is not paused when you leave.
- You are given scrap paper and have to take a 15 minute tutorial before you start your test, so I recommend using this time to draw out anything you feel necessary to refer to later. Personally I drew out a very rough sketch of the gram flowchart from first aid, plantar/dorsal foot nerves & arteries, plantar layers, and brachial plexus. When you refer to it later 1 hour into the test, you will be thankful to have it and not waste time thinking about it.
Good advice!
I was using my 15 minutes to draw out some diagrams and when I was almost finished the moderator took the paper from me and said that the 15 minutes for the tutorial cannot be used for drawing diagrams. My anxiety increased dramatically.
 
Good advice!
I was using my 15 minutes to draw out some diagrams and when I was almost finished the moderator took the paper from me and said that the 15 minutes for the tutorial cannot be used for drawing diagrams. It was a low blow.
Worth a try, lol.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using SDN mobile
 
Well that didn't happen at our test center and I felt like everyone wrote something down. Just know you can after the tutorial, there is plenty of time, because apparently some moderators might take it away during the tutorial...
 
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