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OT Advantage has been busy throughout the spring and now into the summer.  While OT Advantage has been pioneering the occupational therapy classroom experience to e-learning, there are some exciting new developments. 

OT Advantage began the e-learning course experience for NBCOT Exam candidates.  We have now evolved to also offer continuing education courses for healthcare professionals.  The latest course was Sensory Oral Motor Treatement: Enhancing Eating and Speech Skills Through the Oral Tactile System.  This was ASHA accredited and we thank the Hearing and Speech Agency of Metropolitan of Baltimore for co-sponsoring the event, as well as our presenter Maureen Flanagan, CCC-SLP. 

If you are interested in presenting a course, please e-mail webinar@ot-advantage.com.  More courses will be listed soon!

There are still a multitude of options for NBCOT OTR and COTA Exam candidates to find quality material from OT Advantage (e.g., online exam prep course).  We just released a set of flash cards.  These flash cards provide clinical examples of key words you could see in an exam question.  This is important, as one of the difficult areas for an exam candidate to understand is the context of a question.  

Coming out later this month is the OT Advantage Combo Package.  You will receive a quick reference guide, a dry erase board, and a set of flash cards for one low price.  This is great material to help prepare you for the NBCOT Exam. 

Most candidates want practice questions and ask us for our recommendations.  OT Advantage recommends any official NBCOT material.  You can find their online practice exams and study guide at www.nbcot.org. 

Stay tuned for more news from OT Advantage and thanks for visiting the site!

Hello NBCOT Exam candidates!  If you are interested in practicing some new flashcards for free, enroll in the online OT Advantage Flashcard Study.  OT Advantage has developed flaschards to help NBCOT COTA and OTR exam candidates expand their studies.  Before production, we want to test them out one last time on individuals who are preparing for their upcoming exam!

Space is limited to 10 participants.

Friday, February 19, 2010

2pm-4pm EST

If you are apprehensive about taking an online course from OT Advantage because you are unsure of what to expect from an e-learning environment, watch this quick video!  Participants of the exam prep courses receive 2 study guides and 8-hour of classroom instruction. 

The classroom instruction is complemented by including practice quizzes, group work, and examples of what to expect on exam day. 

COTA® and OTR® Exam Candidates, do not forget about the upcoming blackout period for the NBCOT® Certification Exam.  Even if you are not preparing for your exam this December, but know you graduate next December, this is an important article to read. 

If you are planning on taking your exam soon, or are trying to decide when to take the exam, consider your potential testing date in accordance with the scoring schedule NBCOT® has posted on their website.  During the month of December you may be pressed for time with finishing up your curriculum, taking part in the holiday spirit, and feverishly preparing for your exam.  This year there is an approximate 2 week period NBCOT® will not be administering tests through Prometric testing centers.  Be sure to visit the NBCOT® website for details.

In the meantime, here are some tips to help you prepare:

• Remember you cannot cram!  Therefore, try not to take your exam without preparing adequately ahead of time.  This is a high-stakes exam with consequences.  Meaning, you pass and you become a practitioner, you fail and you do not become a practitioner.  Save money and anxiety by preparing, using appropriate measures to determine your readiness for the exam, and devoting time each day to studying.

• Taking your exam in January is a good step if you have just graduated.  Remember not to let the holidays detract from your studying though.  With each great step, comes some type of sacrifice.  Therefore, we all know the holidays are upon us.  If you have a party to attend or host, manage your study time accordingly.  The days of the party can be an off day for studying, while you plan your other days during the week to fulfill with a satisfactory amount of review.

• Gather your study materials!  If you plan to take a preparatory course, look at the course dates offered and determine which ones will complement your study plan best.  It may be a good idea to take a course within the first 2 weeks of your studies because you do not want to take it toward the end and realize you have more areas to review and become overwhelmed.

• Find the balance between graduation, the holidays, and studies.  Be your own therapist and assess your needs before taking the NBCOT® Exam!  There are certain expected events, like the holidays, and unexpected ones.  The best mindset is to plan ahead, manage your time wisely, and most of all, stick to it!

OT Advantage Online Course Enrollment 

OT Advantage Exam Prep Newsletter 

If you are preparing for your fieldwork or are currently working in a level I or II setting, remember to use your experience to help you now and in the future on your NBCOT Certification Exam and with your future job.  Incorporating a journal is a wonderful way to remember the diagnoses you evaluated and treated, how you graded interventions, the client response to treatments, typical complaints about pain or functional status, collaboration with team members, and how you planned a discharge. 

Dedicate one notebook to your level I and II fieldworks.  Then, when you begin preparing for your NBCOT Exam, you can review everything you have seen in a clinical setting.  This is one step in the right direction to focus on what you know and need to review. 

Now, use your OT savvy and clinical reasoning.  This is where the difficult part of preparing for your exam and identifying your weak areas meet!  Envision the various conditions you have encountered, now review how those specific conditions are evaluated and treated across the continuum of care.  This is one of the hardest areas for exam candidates to overcome, honing in on weak areas and relating their knowledge across the continuum of care. 

Get a jumpstart on your NBCOT studies and showcase your experience when you begin preparing for your interviews by using a journal during your fieldwork rotations.  It is important to know, your success depends on the simplest tasks you do today.    

If you are a COTA or OTR exam candidate or will be soon, join a free research study group hosted and presented by OT-ADVANTAGE.COM!  Click the link below for more information:

Brain teaser!  Test yourself.  The answer is at the bottom.

An OTR is passively extending a client’s elbow while palpating the joint at the end range.  The individual is unable to fully extend and the clinician is able to sense the immobility by touch.

The OTR is assessing the ____   ____ to determine the type of actual end range.

Reviewing the right textbooks and journals is an integral part to your NBCOT Certification Examination studies.  How do you get on track and make sure you have the right material?  One step in the right direction is reviewing the 2008 NBCOT Textbook and Journal Survey.

NBCOT contacts U.S. occupational therapy programs to determine what students are using in the classroom.  The next step is incorporating the most recent edition resources to develop and revise actual exam questions for the COTA and OTR exams.

The best place to find this survey is to visit www.nbcot.org.  Once you navigate to the site, click on the useful links icon in the exam candidates section. 

Here are some picks from OT-ADVANTAGE.COM on great books to impact your studies and jumpstart your study plan!

OTR Exam Picks:

1. Occupational Therapy for Children 5^th edition
2. Pedretti’s Occupational Therapy 6^th edition
3. Willard & Spackman’s Occupational Therapy 11^th edition
4. Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction 6^th edition
5. The Merck Manual
6. Introduction to Splinting: A Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving Approach 3^rd edition
7. Ethics in Rehabilitation
8. Psychosocial Occupational Therapy 2^nd edition
9. Vision, Perception, & Cognition 4^th ed

COTA Exam Picks:

1. Occupational Therapy for Children 5^th edition
2. Pedretti’s Occupational Therapy 6^th edition
3. Willard & Spackman’s Occupational Therapy 11^th edition
4. Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction 6^th edition
5. Mental Health Concepts & Techniques for the OTA 4^th edition
6. Introduction to Splinting: A Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving Approach 3^rd edition
7. Physical Dysfunction Practice Skills for the OTA 2^nd edition
8. Ethics in Rehabilitation
9. Psychosocial Occupational Therapy 2^nd edition
10. Vision, Perception, & Cognition 4^th ed

Please note, these are suggestions on texts to incorporate into your studies.  These are not meant to substitute or limit your current choices.

*Answer to the brain teaser is end feel

OT Advantage launched its first free webinar yesterday, and was more than pleased with such a great presentation.  Cindy Mathena of University of St. Augustine and Jack McIntosh of Island Dolphin Care, presented evidence-based practice on animal-assisted therapy, as well as showed video of the effects of incorporating dolphins into the rehabilitation discipline.

The therapeutic benefit of dolphins is vast and contributes to functional outcomes.  Dolphins are thought to increase communication skills, trunk control, stability, reach and grasp, head control, strengthening, modulate behavior, among other performance areas.

Island Dolphin Care is a not-for-profit organization, with a true interest in dolphin-assisted therapy.  If you are interested in taking a continuing education course or want to look into this program for your occupational therapy client or family member, click below for more information.

Continuing Education 

Island Dolphin Care 

Animal-assisted therapy article 

A big thanks to all the students who have been participating in the Pilot OT Advantage Online Exam Prep Courses!  This past weekend was the launch of the pilot course and the experience has been great.  There have been students from all over the US to take part in this wonderful course, as well as contribute their knowledge. 

The feedback has been tremendous and will only make the online courses better and more effective. Remember, there is one more pilot OTR course this Friday, May 1, 2009 and a pilot OTA course May 22, 2009.  Time and space is still available for YOU!

To give everyone an idea of the areas students are enjoying:

• Group work
• Multiple choice questions and clinical simulation questions. 
• The instructor teaching others how to reason through sample exam questions
• The ease in joining a course from home
• The study tactics and skills taught to incorporate into your self-study program

And of course, there are always areas we need to improve:

• Audio: Some students had difficulty understanding or using the audio properly.  OT Advantage plans to allot for more time to troubleshoot and ensure everyone is comfortable with their computer and audio ahead of time.
• Q&A:  Students would like more time to ask questions.  Currently, questions are answered at the end of modules, during the Q&A portion, and the Q&A presented during class is sent out to the students who sign up for notes from the note taker.  OT Advantage, plans to create another forum for students to feel comfortable to ask questions and get their answers promptly. 
• More Group Discussion:  The course has group sessions developed ahead of time.  However, students enjoy learning from others who may have a different knowledge base from their school and clinical fieldwork settings.  OT Advantage plans to add more opportunities for students to discuss and learn from each other to complement the learning experience.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this weekend a success.  This is one move toward making learning more accessible and creative!

Good luck on your future NBCOT Certification Examination.

If you are an Occupational Therapy student and concerned about your impending NBCOT® OTR®  Certifcation Examination, the OT Advantage Site would like to help.  Beginning April 18, 2009, OT Advantage will be piloting a live-online exam preparation course.   Take the course from the comfort of your own home.  Sign-up and further information can be found via WWW.OT-ADVANTAGE.COM April 1, 2009.  Stay tuned for further info.