Definitely had some bumps in the studying road in the past couple of weeks. Sickness, birthday amotivation, traveling/conferencing...these things are not helping my cause! But, I liaisoned (though this is not a word, I'm keeping it here) with my team (MH, EB) this week and I'm feeling better and ready to re-regroup.
Things I have surmised (with the help of others):
1. Time to cut my losses and focus on the most important areas. Translation: bye-bye I/O, hello Research/Stats and Test Construction. Agree with EB, this is where I can benefit the most from reviewing the written materials as I have learned it once (or a thousand times) already and it will be easier to relearn. Also, content is more intuitive than I/O so best capacity for improving in this area.
2. Time to get to those practice tests! I have been slacking on this, big-time. I've only been doing 50 questions here or there on different tests and need to chip away at one test at a time and complete it. Toying with the idea of doing 25 questions a day (at least) just to make sure I'm doing it this way.
3. There are areas where I will not learn anything else from reviewing content. EB and I had this discussion about Ethics. I feel like I know the content (i.e., ethics code), but am struggling more in the application. Best way to practice this seems to be the test questions, and just getting more and more exposure to the convoluted and complex ways in which I am supposed to be able to apply these ethical code tenets.
5. Mixed methods. Even though I am learning a lot through the review-written-materials-and-make-flashcards method, the amount of material I have to review by flashcards is growing. Some of it will need to be cut out due to sheer volume. I've decided to just write notes about Research/Stats and Test Construction as I go along because it is easier than some to remember without flashcard review, and I can rely on test questions, the Exchange flashcards, and the audio files for these content areas. Plus, less questions on the EPPP overall than Clinical, Dx, Development, and L&B, which are the flashcards I need to keep reviewing.
Re-regrouping, here I come!
Uhoh, Maggie's calling in the "regroup" directive. Troops! Hopefully my own regrouping will improve my initial grouping. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree; regrouping was definitely in order (for me). I am changing strategies. I have a confession: I got a 6 month subscription to the Taylor Study Method while they were running a deal at APA. I am feeling a little guilty about the expense, but at the end of the day the stress on the wallet is less than the stress of the EPPP anxiety. And - surely an investment of about $4 a day will motivate me to get into gear. I think that October 20th is the last day I can take my exam and get licensed in the fall semester (our board meets in odd numbered months). I will let you know how this goes... MH
ReplyDeleteMH,
ReplyDeleteGlad you did it! It's a great way to add more accountability and structure, which is super handy. I think it'll be well worth it. I'm excited to hear what it's like and how it goes.
Regrouping,
MS