If you’re on the path to becoming a certified Occupational Therapist (OTR®) or Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA®), then you are most likely getting ready to take the NBCOT® exam which is administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.

Preparing for any exam can be incredibly stressful and overwhelming, especially when such an important exam such as this one is at stake. However, if you take the necessary steps to prepare yourself in advance, you can significantly increase your chances of passing the first time.

Our passion at Pass the OT is to help students prepare for the NBCOT® exam, starting with the application and guiding them through the studying process. Here are some of our tips that we want to share with you, to help you become the most prepared when the time comes for taking the OT or OTA exam.

  • The first step is for you to obtain a copy of the certification exam handbook provided by NBCOT®. Not only will this handbook inform you about the process you have to take to sign up for and schedule your exam, but it will also offer a detailed description of the type of content which you can expect to find in the exam.
  • After reviewing the certification exam handbook and following the steps required to sign up for the exam, you should take the Entry-Level  Self-Assessment to help identify your current knowledge and skills. We recommend doing this first, since it will help you develop a more suitable study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses.
  • Once you have established what you know and don’t know using the Self-Assessment tool, you can develop your study plan. It is recommended to establish a study plan and timeline based on your specific needs and learning style. Doing short study sessions during the week tends to work better than having longer study sessions over the weekend. You should also plan what you need to focus on in each study session. This will help you become organized and help you to keep track of the topics you need to focus more on.
  • Finally, construct a list of resources to help you study. NBCOT® offers study material in the form of study packs including: flashcards, knowledge matches, study guides, practice tests, mini-tests, a full mock exam and more. If you want to make your studying much easier or if you are overwhelmed by having too many resources or if you feel that you do not have the correct resources, we at Pass the OT have established a one-stop place where you can get everything you need to pass on your first try

We offer not only a comprehensive online course (consisting of over 2000 questions, 150 study easy to use highlighted study charts, 50 hours of audio recordings, proprietary videos, assessment tests, cumulative exams, videos, and more) but also group tutoring sessions via Zoom and optional private tutoring sessions with one of our highly skilled tutors, who are licensed clinicians with tremendous experience in helping others pass the NBCOT® exam.

We offer different packages that have been customized for students who are planning on taking the exam in approximately one week, two weeks, four weeks, eight weeks, sixteen weeks and six months or more. This means that you can decide how you want to use our program as you can work your way through our program as fast or as slow as you like.  Because we have helped so many students who were not able to initially pass the exam, many of them who had already used other study preps such as the AOTA® study prep, NBCOT® study pack, Therapy Ed, the Purple Book, True Learn, we know the biggest mistakes students constantly make which results in them not passing.  Our program is therefore designed to circumvent those mistakes so that you have the tools to pass on your first try.

Don’t wait any longer, contact Pass the OT today so that you can give yourself the best chance at passing!