PABC Member Jason Shane s Tips on Prepping for the PCE Exam, prepared in Spring 2012

Transcription

1 PABC Member Jason Shane s Tips on Prepping for the PCE Exam, prepared in Spring 2012 Most important!!!! Register for the exam as early as possible. If not, you may end up writing the exam in Calgary or Toronto Four hour exam, 200 MC questions This translates to one question every 1min, 20sec Best prep is to do the practice questions in the books recommend, below. 90% of questions are associated with a vignette; remaining 10% are stand-alone items. On the 2012 exam these 10% were at the end and they seemed by far the easiest and most objective. The other 90%: Lots of cardioresp. Lots of professional conduct. Lots of what would be the best, most important, first action to take in this scenario. Books I used: National Physical Therapy Examination Review & Study Guide 2011 [Paperback] I found this really useful. The CD has lots of practice questions and marks the questions for you. The front of the book also has lots of explanations of many of the conditions you are responsible for knowing. And, what I found most useful is that not only does the book give the write answer, it tells you why the other 3 choices are incorrect.

2 Kaplan National Physical Therapy Exam [Paperback] I found this book a bit more dry. It also had practice questions which I think were more objective. I liked this book as it had many multiple choice questions and I used those to practice my speed of answering questions. MY STUDY TIPS: I created binders based on topic, i.e. neuro, Cardioresp, MSK, paeds. To do this I went through all the binders I used in the program and created on binder for each of the aforementioned topics. I found this WAY easier to look up information this way. GO LOOK OVER THE ALLIANCE WEBSITE: prep - study tipsorganized binders, studied American exams, which book I used (I liked the one that had explained the right answer and wrong one), what to memorize, how I found the exam, timed myself doing questions and going through exams I created sections of what to look up i.e neuro, CR

3 TABLE 1: EXAMINATION BLUEPRINT EXAMINATION BLUEPRINT Required elements for the PCE 01. Areas of Practice Neuromusculoskeletal (50%±5%) Neurological (20%±5%) Cardiopulmonary-vascular (15%±5%) Multisystem (15%±5%) 02. Functions Assessment and Evaluation (35%±5%) terpretation, Planning, Intervention and Re-Evaluation (50%±5%) Professional Responsibilities (15%±5%) See Table 3: Sample List of Areas of Practice Evaluated by the PCE for details See Table 4: Sample List of Functions Evaluated by the PCE for details TABLE 3: SAMPLE AREAS OF PRACTICE EVALUATED BY THE PCE SAMPLE LIST OF AREAS OF PRACTICE EVALUATED BY THE PCE Neuromusculoskeletal (50%±5%) (This list is not necessarily exhaustive.) 01 Muscle contusions/strains/tears/weakness 02 Pelvic floor dysfunction 03 Ligament sprains/tears 04 Tendonopathy, tendon ruptures/tears, tendonosis 05 Fasciitis, fascial tearing, myofascial restriction 06 Joint derangements/dysfunction (e.g., loose bodies, hypermobility, hypomobility) 07 Fractures, dislocations, subluxations 08 Osteoporosis/osteopenia 09 Tumour/pathological fractures Degenerative joint disease Neurological (20%±5%) (This list is not necessarily exhaustive.) 1 Mechanical spinal abnormalities (e.g., low back pain, scoliosis, postural dysfunction) 2 Inflammatory/infectious conditions of the neuromusculoskeletal system (e.g., osteomyelitis) 3 Amputations 4 Congenital malformations (e.g., talipes equinovarus, hip dysplasia) 5 Nerve compression (e.g., Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, radiculopathy, spinal stenosis) 6 Peripheral nerve injuries 7 Neural tissue dysfunction/neuro-dynamic dysfunction Scars

4 01 Cerebral Vascular Accident/transient ischemic attack 02 Acquired brain injury 03 Spinal cord injury 04 Tumour 05 Degenerative neurological/neuromuscular disorders (e.g., muscular dystrophies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson disease) 06 Demyelinating disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis) 07 Inflammatory/infectious conditions of nervous system (e.g., meningitis, Lyme disease) 8 Post-polio syndrome 9 Cerebellar disorders 0 Vestibular disorders 1 Neuropathies (e.g., peripheral neuropathies, complex regional pain syndrome) 2 Developmental/birth injuries (e.g., cerebral palsy, myelomeningocele, Erb s palsy) 3 Dementia, affective and cognitive disorders Altered level of consciousness (e.g., coma, seizures) SAMPLE LIST OF AREAS OF PRACTICE EVALUATED BY THE PCE (continued) Cardiopulmonary-vascular (15%±5%) (This list is not necessarily exhaustive.) 01 Heart disease/malformation/injury (e.g., arteriosclerosis, blunt trauma, tamponade, aortic aneurysm) 02 Myocardial ischaemia and infarction (including surgical interventions) 03 Heart failure, corpulmonale 04 Tumour 05 Pneumonia (primary or post-operative/preventive) 06 Atelectasis (primary or post-operative/preventive) 07 Adult/infant respiratory distress syndrome (e.g., acute lung injury) Multisystem (15%±5%) (This list is not necessarily exhaustive.) 01 Episodic disease (e.g., oncology, HIV/AIDS, autoimmune disorders, rheumatic diseases, haemophilia) 02 Metabolic disorders/conditions (e.g., diabetes) 03 Chronic pain/fibromyalgia 04 Lymphodema 8 Asthma 9 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (e.g., emphysema, bronchitis, bronchiectasis) 0 Restrictive pulmonary disease (e.g., fibrosis) 1 Tuberculosis 2 Pleural effusion 3 Pulmonary edema 4 Cystic fibrosis 5 Peripheral arterial disease 6 Venous disorders 6 Obesity 7 Pregnancy and post partum conditions 8 Burns 9 Wounds/ulcers 0 Skin conditions (e.g., dermatitis, psoriasis)

5 05 Sepsis 1 Tumours (not covered elsewhere) 2 Competing diagnoses (management of 1 diagnosis is changed by 2 diagnosis) Taken from: Sample question: An 84-year-old man, who resides in a long term care facility and who ambulates for short distances with supervision, falls one evening. A staff member notes that the resident s hip is in external rotation and that there is significant bruising around the hip. Investigation reveals a fracture of the neck of the right femur, and a hip arthroplasty is performed via posterior approach. 1. Following the surgery, the physiotherapist is asked to assist the staff on the ward to sit the client on the edge of the bed. Which of the following progressions should the physiotherapist use for this activity? A. Rolling the client to the right, ensuring left hip abduction. B. Rolling the client to the left, ensuring right hip abduction. C. Rolling the client to the right, asking the client to support his right leg by crossing his legs at the ankles. (I think the Alliance has a sense of humour) D. Having the client bend [greater than 90 degrees] at the hips and knees and log roll to the right. (Really, some of the answers were this wrong) And the answer is. B In past, some of these exact questions were on the exam. Taken from: