Here at Clover learning, we take radiography education pretty seriously. I mean that is why we built RadTechBootCamp!
Our team of instructors traveled to our undisclosed underground bunker with the sole mission to create the best 5 step Radiography blog post of all time. I think we have succeeded in this mission. So without further ado, here are the 5 steps to crushing the ARRT® Certification Exam.
Step 1: Stop FREAKING OUT!
Seriously, even though this seems like the biggest single moment of your life, it really isn’t. As I mentioned, this is just a test. The worst case scenario is that you do not pass the radiography exam the first time around, you can always reschedule and simply take the exam again. The American Registry of Radiographic Technologists (ARRT®) allows for the radiography certification exam to be taken up to three times. Not that it will come to that, but it is always nice to know that you have multiple attempts!
Stress decreases your memory.
An article by Be Brain Fit - opens in a new window titled “12 Effects of Chronic Stress on Your Brain” outlines the neurological effects stress can have on individuals. The article explains that stress increases cortisol (the stress hormone) within our bodies. Although cortisol is good in some cases, when it is overproduced the outcome can result in decreased working memory. The article goes on to talk about how stress also causes the down-regulation of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. For those not familiar, these neurotransmitters are how your brain stays happy. Often, low levels of serotonin and/or dopamine lead to clinical depression.
What I recommend individuals do to decrease stress is simply put everything in perspective. Like I mentioned earlier, THIS IS JUST A TEST! Even if you do not pass the first time around, you still have a family who loves you, friends that support you, and, hopefully, a roof over your head. Since passing a test will not affect any of these things, you need not make it this gigantic impending thing.
Take a few deep breaths in and out and begin to look at the radiography certification exam as simply the culmination of your radiography education. Look, you have made it this far, so obviously you are capable of passing a test.
Step 2: Study smarter not harder.
I am going to tell you a little secret… Most of what is in your ARRT® certification exam prep book will probably not be on your board exam.
When I was preparing for my certification exam I had the prep book, I had the online practice test subscription, and I had a HUGE pile of flashcards. My “strategy” for taking the board exam was to simply memorize everything before the big day. I spent hours upon hours doing mock exams, going over flashcards, and highlighting everything in my exam prep book. Yes, I passed my board exam the first time around, but even after all that studying, there were still concepts like the line-focus principle that I did not fully understand.
In retrospect, I could have saved myself TONs of time and possibly even increased my test score by simply identifying the key subjects that I did not really understand. Instead of trying to memorize everything, I could have spent a bulk of my time REALLY learning those topics. This philosophy was actually my motivation for creating the RadTechBootCamp.com website.
Let me explain: if you really look at the test prep books, they are only asking you the same basic questions in different ways. What I discovered is that when you ACTUALLY understand the underlying concepts (like the line-focus principle), you can significantly decrease study time.
Why is this?
This is because when you fully understand a key concept, you are now able to effectively identify the correct answers. By fully learning the main concepts within radiography, the confusion begins to lessen and the study time begins to plummet.
Time for a little self-promotion. This theory of learning vs. memorizing is the framework of what RadTechBootCamp.com is all about. We fundamentally believe that what sets us apart from all other websites is that we don’t simply test you on what you already know. Instead, we deliver the information in a way that teaches students the fundamentals. After you have learned the key concepts, you can then test that knowledge by taking quizzes or a mock exam.
Step 3: Crap in crap out.
I am sure you have heard the adage, “you are what you eat.” This is something I completely agree with! I am sure we have all heard stories of individuals going out the night before a big test to “have a few” and inadvertently waking up the next morning with a massive hangover. I have actually heard of people doing this the night before their radiography certification exam! Now it is not my place to judge anyone, but, seriously, after all the work, time, and money you have put into your education couldn’t you wait one more night!?
This advice includes more than just alcohol though. This advice includes foods with high amounts of sugar (including sugary soft drinks), fried foods, sugar substitutes, and heavily processed foods (like white bread, pasta, and pizza). The effect these foods have on your brain is they can cause a condition commonly known as brain inflammation or brain fog. Brain fog is best described as those times where everything in your head just seems muddy–like you are trying to remember a word and no matter how hard you try you just can not think of it. For me, brain fog is when I am trying to write and the words just are not able to come out.
For best results, don’t just clean up your diet the night before the big test but instead try a MONTH or at least the week before.
Here are some recommendations for foods that actually make you smarter.
- Lean beef
- Green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, swiss chard, romaine - lettuce)
- Avocados
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Coconut Oil
- High-quality eggs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Seeds and nuts
Step 4: Sleep
This is a huge one as well. In today’s culture of social media, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, it is so easy to look up from your screen and realize it’s two hours past bedtime. What you might not realize is that if you are getting less than 7-8 hours of sleep a night, then your brain is probably not functioning as well as it could be. Here is a quote from a Physiological Review article. “Over more than a century of research has established the fact that sleep benefits the retention of memory.” I totally understand that there are some circumstances in which it is just not possible to get the recommended amount of sleep. For those individuals, I recommend doubling down on cleaning up your diet. For everyone else, I recommend trying to stick to a consistent bedtime schedule. For me, I try to always go to sleep between 10 pm and 10:10 every night. I realize this is pretty early to some but with my lifestyle and family commitments this allows me to wake up at 6 am every morning rested and ready to take on the day!
Just like with the diet recommendation, I recommend sticking to 7-8 hours of sleep a night, a good week or so before taking the certification exams. Trust me on this, after about three good nights of sleep, your brain will feel like a well-oiled machine. You will be able to remember things that will even surprise you!
Step 5: Believe in yourself
In this final step, I simply want you to stop for a second and take a moment to do a heart check. As I mentioned, you have made it this far. You put up with all the mean, unhelpful techs at your clinical site, you passed all the required tests at your school, and you most of all put your life on hold for your radiography education. You can do this! Ok, so maybe you are not the best test taker in the world, or maybe you have zero confidence. I simply want you to take a few moments to reflect on all you have achieved so far and begin to start to believe that you can do it!
