How to Successfully Pass the Board Licensure Examination

Passing the Professional Board Licensure Examination is not just a primary requirement for acquiring a professional license, which is a gateway to freely and legally practicing our profession, but it is also a defining moment of success for the hardships during long years of schooling. 

This professional license plays a significant role in determining our ability and capability on how much technical knowledge is stored in us. It measures what we have learned during our stay at the university. It is an affirmation, a kind of insurance, for the employer that we are bold enough to handle our job, roles, and responsibilities (R&R). On the client side, it assures security that a great mind renders and guarantees our service. 

We may normally hear from our colleagues that, in reality, all that we have learned from school couldn’t be applied in the actual execution of our job. It might be accurate, but we should not forget that whatever we had been taught at the university was our basic foundation for moving forward in our specialties. Without our learning from the school, we couldn’t have the level of confidence that we attained after graduation that keyed us in landing our very first job. The mere difference would be our exposure to develop our strategies. Through our experiences, we could make quicker decisions still rooted in the basic and general technical know-how we found during our school days. 

Well, our license initiates trust from the people around us and from the people with whom we would be working directly. Significantly, our license gives us confidence in our ability to perform our work. 

However, let us also admit that failing the board exam could develop inferiority to one’s self over those licensed professionals, which may also yield a loss of self-esteem to apply for a better job. Instead, failed examinees find a job that would be irrelevant to his/her interests and primary course of studies. Though failure on the Board Exam shouldn’t be a determining factor of weakening one’s strength, instead, it should set as a challenge to strive more.

After graduation, planning and taking the exam immediately is strongly advised. As much as possible, you should prioritize taking the board exam over landing your first job. Once you’ve enjoyed working and earning, you may lose interest or even forget the importance of having your license because you might be enjoying your small earnings. The worst thing would be the possibility that you will lose the knowledge gained from your major studies. The earlier, the better because your knowledge is very fresh.  

To be successful in your examination, simply remember a P-E-N-C-I-L with you.

PREPARATION & PRAYER

a) Gather all materials you may need for your review, such as old books and notes from your freshman stage ‘till your last year in the school. For a freshman, it is always advisable to be organized in taking notes during lectures because these could be your review materials rather than buying books from bookstores or review schools. It would be better to outline, summarize, and compile all your lessons in all your subjects each day, week, month, or semester.

b) Get involved and be active in the group review. Some schools have already integrated free review classes into their curriculum.  Students should take this opportunity seriously.  

c ) Inquire and enroll in a reputable review school if you feel it is necessary. We may have a strong foundation of knowledge earned during our course of study. However, enrolling in a review school is an added advantage because it refreshes us on some lessons that we might have forgotten or were not tackled in the university. 

In review school, there are shortcuts they will teach you, which may be good in some aspects but not in all circumstances. Don't rely on all shortcut techniques alone; they might confuse you. It would be better if you really knew how those formulas were derived. It is not good to memorize all the formulas and shortcuts. Sometimes, we think more profound and more complicatedly, yet the solution is so basic. That's why it is always good to listen attentively to all lectures from our professors (instructors) during our classes at the university.

d) If you rent a room in a boarding house or dormitory, ensure you’ll be comfortably accommodated; not luxurious rooms, but a silent place would be enough and better.

e) Do both a self-review and peer review. Sharing ideas, not on bottles (alcohol), would broaden your knowledge.

f) Above all, the best preparation is surrendering yourself to God in prayer because He will do the rest you can't think, do, solve, and answer properly during your examination.

ENCOURAGEMENT

a) Prior to your review and examination, you must already know that you will pass the exam. Believe in yourself, in your ability and capability, and that you can really pass. Claim it. 

How can you pass if you aren't convinced you can do it? First, develop your confidence in yourself.

b) Let your Critics or gossipers be your great challenge. Think about how they laugh at you if you fail the exam. Write the names of your critics and post them on the wall, visible to your eyes, so you’ll be reminded daily. Think deeper about how they’d spread the news with the loudest laughter. If you are too sleepy and want to lie on your bed rather than do your reviews, think of them. Regain your energy by thinking about your critics.

c) Let your parents' hopes give you the strength and motivation to achieve your dream. Bring the joy of happiness to your parents' hearts. Though parents support you whether you fail or pass, it would be better if the news delivered to them was good news. Give pride to your family by giving them a key to unlocking your dream.  

d) Your school, professors, relatives, classmates, and friends would be excited and patiently waiting for good news. They’re so excited to raise the flag where your name is written on it with their warmest congratulations.

Nevers

a) Never be late for the exam proper. Arrive on time. If you are not familiar with the designated location of the examination, it would be better to have prior sightseeing. Expect tremendous traffic, so get up early.

b) Avoid getting tired and stressed the night before the exam. Get enough sleep. Some review schools pressure their reviewers until midnight on the day of examinations. Never believe in last-minute tips, tricks, or even leakages. Just believe in yourself.

c) On the exam, never spend time on difficult questions; skip momentarily and return later. Remember those skipped questions, leave a mark, or write the number on a separate sheet of paper to quickly identify whatever has been left unanswered. Leave it first and go back later, but never forget. Answering those easy questions first would save you time and boost your confidence. Devoting your time to difficult questions may yield you to frustrations and mental blockage. Keep those easy questions that inspire you to keep going. Setting your mind that every question is easy would keep your confidence intact.

d) Never leave unanswered questions. The board exam is not based on a “right minus wrong” scoring. By the way, the purpose of right minus wrong policies of the test is to discourage guessing. But in a board exam, it is better than leaving it unanswered or simply guessing it if you can't figure out the answer. Get your luck on the probability that you have guessed the correct answer. Make it at least an educated guess, nearest to some of those values from your solutions during your calculations.

e) Never panic. With an hour left, some are already submitting their papers. Don’t get affected; keep going. Just keep on answering the remaining questions unanswered so far. Above all, calculate the minimum time to spend on one question so you do not run out of time.

f) Never leave the examination room too early. If you have an extra hour or minute left before submission, use that moment to review questions you’ve doubted the answer to or those you’ve simply guessed. Also, use your extra time to double-check if everything has been answered or shaded the right way; if the test is done the manual pencil shading

g) Never bring books and review notes anymore. You don’t have a chance to review it anyway. Taking notes might simply trigger your nerves to forget something. Don’t be affected with those examinees bringing, browsing and reading the bulk of books a couple minutes before the exam, it won’t help you. 

CHECK LIST

a) Calculator. Bring only the acceptable scientific calculator specified. Don’t test your luck; bringing an extra calculator would be better.

b) Necessary documents, IDs, etc. Put everything in one folder the night before your exam. Double-check the requirements that would be required to be submitted upon entering your testing room. 

c). Urinate. This is self-explanatory, right? Do it before entering the test room. Don't be disturbed and disturb others for peeing. 

e) Mobile phone. Of course, you won’t use your phone during an exam. Still, you can use your phone in an emergency where you might have forgotten some of your documents or anything necessary during the exam. So, the best way is to advise someone or a family member to bring those requirements/s rather than going back home. But, while waiting for them to arrive, just relax. Don’t panic. That’s why it is always advisable to come earlier to have a lead time for travel, especially in unforeseen circumstances.

INFORMATIONS

a) Read the questions very well. Read between the lines. Don't overlook or omit terms or words that might impact your answer or comprehension due to the wrong analysis of the problem's scenario. If the value resulting from your calculation does not match the given choices, don’t simply choose “d.) None of the above”; instead, re-calculate once more.

c) Shades all the answers properly as instructed. It’s a machine that checks with no human intervention or consideration. If computerized examination, pick and click properly.

d) If you can’t remember the formula, derive it.

e) Ask the examiner if you have doubts about the procedures or directions. Don't bother to ask your seatmates. Respect your fellow examinees' time and total concentration by not interrupting them.

LOVE

Better opportunities knock on your door when you pass the examination. You love to give a great life to your family, so you need to grab those opportunities immediately. However, you can simply achieve it if you hold the key to unlock these doors of opportunity. Pass the exam by hook or by crook. 

Well, passing the exams gives you lots of opportunities, while failing the exam gives you lots of chances to retake it! Would you like to open the door with either opportunities or chances in front of you? It is your choice; it is your call. GOOD LUCK!!!

~ This article was written and inspired by Engr. Olan Deems upon successfully passing his board examination.