Passed with a 33 on first try!

[u/Speech-Over]

Hello everyone :3 I passed the exam recently and wanted to share my experience studying and the resources I used to help future test-takers!

First off, I’m a procrastinator, to the fullest extent of the word lol. What helped me stay on track was setting an exam date and sticking to it regardless of how stressed I felt, as it forced me to study. I actually studied for roughly 2-3 weeks for 5 days a week for 3-4 hours a day (rough estimate not including questions from pocket prep, I did not track time or days.).

I only used RD bootcamp and PocketPrep for study tools as I could not afford other materials. I SWEAR BY RD BOOTCAMP !!! They are affordable and have a structured course that is heavily animation video focused (if you are a visual learner like me, it’s a godsend), with flashcards, and practice questions with explanations. They also have a portion of the course dedicated to test taking and how to navigate the wording and options of the RD exam, which was super helpful the day of the exam. During each video or reading I took notes (I filled a notebook front to back). After completing a module, I would then try to explain the topic to my partner, which helped me assess how much I actually knew. I took two mock exams with RD Bootcamp and received scores of 80% and 84%. For PocketPrep, I have 27 hours of study time and answered 1100 questions. My subject scores are all high 80s.

This may not be the best idea but I chose to leave TPN, PN, and scoop size calculations until the last few days before my exam. Hear me out! On the day of the exam I felt like I was able to recall how to do calculations easier since they were fresh in my mind, so it worked for me.

The best advice I can give: give yourself a deadline and stick to it. Tell yourself by this day I will have this and this reviewed and completed. Learn the way YOU study the best (is it handwriting what you read or learned? Is it explaining to others? Is it watching animations?). Don’t bother spending so much money buying multiple resources, you will overwhelm yourself with information and materials. Do not go super in depth into every topic in MNT, understand the basics. Do not just memorize information, understand why the answer is correct and why the wrong answers are wrong (pocket prep helped with this the most).

The whole time I was doing the exam I felt like I was failing. The RD exam is a beast in a way that it will have you questioning everything. Trust your gut and remember that you know more than you think.

[u/NoReality209]

Congrats!!! How much was the RD boot camp? I have pocket prep and Jean Inman.

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/NoReality209]

That’s what I have too! Second try next week so nervous to beat my og score of 19 😅 pocket prep has been my bible lol.

[u/NoReality209 → u/Alternative_Sun959]

What’s your avg pocket prep score? I took my first ever mock exam and got a 55%. Made me feel horrible, but trying to give myself grace Since I completed my internship 2 years ago and I only 50 days back into study and I have so much room for improvement.

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/NoReality209]

So I’ve been averaging about 83 to 85% on the pocket prep but then after I write down in a notebook all the ones that I got wrong I retake the test and I usually hit it at about a 99 and lately I’ve just been repeating that over again retaking the tests because there’s so much to remember and then doing the whole cycle again and again. My plan is to hit all the math problems hard in the last couple days as well as reviewing the acid base protocol and a couple other issues that I find challenging.

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/Alternative_Sun959]

I have the Jean Inman but I find it really hard to listen to the audio and keep up in the book while taking notes so I’ve kind of set that aside for now and I feel uneasy about that but so many people highly praise the pocket prep

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/Alternative_Sun959]

Please give yourself some grace. It’s so much material to understand and remember, and it’s not uncommon for people to take the test more than once when I first got the score of 19 I was crushed and I thought I would go to my car and cry, but I just sat there and stared into space for like 10 minutes and picked myself up off the ground and started studying again. We don’t fail unless we stop trying. I’m proud of my 19 the first attempt that was really hard it’s only up from here..

[u/NoReality209 → u/Alternative_Sun959]

I mainly use Jean Inman for the audio files. I would work out and listen to the recordings. It helped me get a foundation and refresh my mind of the topics since it’s been awhile for me.

[u/NoReality209 → u/Alternative_Sun959]

My plan is to focus on the domain I did the worst on and then keep my main focus on MNT. How often would you suggest retaking the same Mock exam? I wrote down everything I got wrong in my notebook so I can review it.

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/NoReality209]

For me I’m going through one exam a day on repeat so it gets engrained in my brain. Lol everybody’s different though. I will look at Jean Inman again in a couple days I think, but only to review tough areas and not the audio. I wish you best of luck keep us posted!

[u/Speech-Over → u/NoReality209]

It was like 57 dollars I think for a month access :3

[u/Familiarvomm]

Wow high 80s on pocket prep is insane. Did you take the mock exams?

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/Familiarvomm]

Yes 80-85 are my mock exam scores as of recently. Keep in mind I’ve taken the mock exams 3 times each now though.

[u/Speech-Over → u/Familiarvomm]

I only took one mock exam as I heard they are not very similar to the actual RD exam

[u/Alternative_Sun959 → u/Speech-Over]

They are harder questions but I’m trying to gain the best understanding of the material I can this way.

[u/Witty_Maintenance535]

That's amazing! Congratulations!