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Writer's pictureKhushboo Shah

Life after NPTE!

Have u ever wondered what happens after you pass NPTE?

I logged in my FSBPT account in Amsterdam and I saw a big blue circular symbol, which said, PASSED in capital letters. I had dreamt of owning this symbol ever since I decided to take NPTE. I couldn’t believe it had finally happened. My trip became even crazier and the blue symbol gave me more rave than TomorrowLand itself.

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I continued celebrating my success until a few days after and still am. I was constantly in dilemma of my feelings especially between disbelief and acceptance. Multiple questions hovered in my head, how did that happen? did I really make it? how am I suppose to feel?… Looking back and reflecting on my journey made me realize that not only was it beautiful but self learning too. I learned my strengths and potential as well as areas I needed to work upon for my future exams and tests.

We all want to be on the other side and taste success. Just like everyone else I was desperate for my next step to become licensed and start my career as a Physical Therapist in USA, but before I could enter my wonderland, I learned that this dream is still a few more steps away and before I knew I had to take another test.

While every state has its own requirements, California state requires an applicant to take and pass California law exam (CLE) and if you are a foreign trained physical therapist to complete a nine month clinical service under a clinical instructor who by the way has to be a certified by APTA (American Physical Therapy Association). Other states have fancy names like traineeship or internship for these requirements. That’s when I realized that NPTE wasn’t the last flight of stairs to my dream; there were a few more steps to go…!!

California law exam (CLE) is a mandatory exam, a Physical Therapist needs to take before starting to practice. This exam’s main objective is to basically understand the laws and regulations in California and how by not following them can get you sued..! The statistics state that <50% foreign trained applicants pass this exam and I wanted to clear this test too on my first attempt. So I started to strategize how to get through this one. Like I always do, I have jotted them down in following points:

  1. Don’t get sued

Always have the objective of this exam in head. As soon it got monotonous by reading one law after the other, I used to revise my reason of studying for this one. That’s the focus of this test and was mine too when I took it. I think keeping these three words in mind for studying for this test, helped me understand the content better.

  1. Know what to study

This test requires you to study a 100-page textbook filled with laws and regulations. It is difficult to read and understand them all. Instead I chose to make notes out of this book so that I can simply revise the shorter version later on. I also reviewed a few links and discussions online, which helped me, understand what kind of questions should be expected on the test.

  1. Boring but important

There’s a lot of information to go through for this test. It can get long and boring but the content is important. Reason why I made notes the first time I read the textbook since studying for this one had to be smart work rather than hard work.

  1. Simplify and study

The information in the book is illustrated in a language only lawyers can understand, reason why I simplified the language and made notes for myself to understand them rather than mugging it up. This helped me to retain more information for a long time.

  1. MCQ format

While the textbook have a paragraph format, the questions asked in the test will be in MCQ format. Hence, every time I read the textbook I would translate it as a MCQ question in my head and prepare myself for the test.

  1. After NPTE

Lastly and most importantly, I advice to take this test after NPTE. NPTE covers understanding of roles and limitations of a PT/PTA/PTLA, which a major chunk of this test. Besides, giving NPTE prepares you for the smaller version of its kind, especially when they are similar in their styles.

You can’t get licensed without passing this exam. So, when you know you have to, its wise to understand the exam and then appear for it and simply get done in one attempt itself! I’ll be more than happy to share notes, links and discussions, which helped me pass this exam. Simply leave a comment or send me an email in the contact.

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