RD EXAM=PASS!

 

As many of you know, for the past 2-3 months I have been studying like a mad woman for the RD exam to FINALLY certify as a Registered Dietitian. The past 3 weeks have consisted of taking Olivia to a sitter for 2 hours each morning to get some solid reading time in, and then evenings spent being quizzed by Adam. Oh my goodness!

Vicki and Olivia, BFF's.

FIRST I need to say THANK YOU so so much for all the help I have received from our dear sitter Vicki, who selflessly gave up 2 hours of every day just to play with Olivia. I can't even express to you all how grateful I am for this woman! When she offered to help, and then REALLY was able to help EVERYDAY for the past 3-4 weeks I can't even tell you the relief that brought me!

Olivia being good and letting me study.

SECOND, ADAM! LOVE OF MY LIFE! When they say for better or worse, he really was there through all of it! He was so good to keep me on task and give me breaks when I need them, and more than anything all the emotional support as I was a wreck for the last week wondering if I really was going to be able to pass.
LAST, thanks to Mom Brothers and Mama Jan for the help with Olivia as well, and all the encoragement and meals, and all the other help as we have all gotten ready for this test. Doing all of this with a new baby wasn't easy, but you certainly made it a lot easier than I thought.
Of course there were so many friends and family that continually gave me positive reinforcement. Matthew (my 11 year-old little brother)

Pumping myself up being crazy for the camera right before leaving to take the test. We thought we better take one more happy picture in case I failed and went into some spiraling depression. Luckily, we won't have to find out.

Olivia is even smiling, that her mom is finally done and can play with her all the time now!

look you can see if for yourself! Dept of Commerce

 My intern directors/family and even I wanted/planned to get this done before Olivia was born. I had 6 weeks from the day I finished my internship to her due date (and she was only born 2 days early) and I probably could have taken it, and maybe things would have turned out the same, who knows. But that last trimester I could hardly breathe, and every time I would try to study I would fall asleep. Plus I was super forgetful, pregnancy brain. So maybe having the baby and then taking the test WAS hard, but it's what worked for me. I'm glad I did it the way I did, though there were times during studying I wished I had just tried to take it 39 weeks pregnant. :) Thanks to all the support from the USU Dietetic Internship Program Directors as well. All three of them, especially Rachel, were so kind and helpful...and I was excited to share the following story with them as well!

The rest of this story is for all my dietitian friends, or other test takers, that need an insight to the testing process. Feel free to read if you want though. Here it goes.

I studied fervently for 2 hours for the 5 weeks prior to the test, and then the last 2-3 weeks were full of quizzing as well (at least 2 hours) I did a couple FULL day study sessions on the weekend. Really, they were full days, we would stop to make something to eat, but that's about it. I would take flash cards with me places, and though I didn't always use them, it kept it on my mind as I stuck them in my bag.

The week of the test I kept thinking, maybe I should reschedule. I just really didn't feel ready. Going through quizes I had gotten better, but I was still getting like a 70% average. Granted these tests were huge! (487 questions) and I was taking them maybe 50 questions at a time. They were the Hess and Hunt series and Breeding and Associates.
Anyways, Adam convinced me that the red letter day was upon us and it was time to just take it, regardless of how I felt. I hit the 48 hour mark, and it was too late to turn back. Only death could stop me from at least attempting to take the test at this point.
Note: I was usually up with the baby 2 or 3 times during the night and getting back to sleep after that was terrible for that last week since I was so worried about the test I had a hard time sleeping. I did my best to take naps during the day, but I'm pretty sure for a week I just "rested" and never really feel asleep. 
The day before the test I studied for a total of about 3-4 hours, just reviewing things not learning anything new. Then at about 8:30pm I put down the book and vegged. We watched a couple shows, I took a long hot bath to relax and by 10:30pm I was in bed asleep. Adam, my knight in shining armor, slept in Olivia's room and fed her through the night. At about 4:30am I woke up because my body said it was time to feed the baby! She wasn't intrested, so against my own promise to myself that I wouldn't study the day of, I reviewed for another hour. By then she was ready to eat. I fed her and we both fell back asleep until about 8:00am. By that point I felt more rested than ever, so I got up and started to get ready.
I took some extra time in the bathroom, and got dressed up a little. I think dressing up gets you in a more professional mode, and also you know you look awesome so it boosts confidence. Now if I failed at least I would fail looking totally hot. :)
I also ate a nice healthy breakfast of a wholewheat tortilla, 3egg whites and a yolk, and some salsa and cheese, a glass of orange juice too.
By 9:30 Adam and I were saying our last prayer together before I would leave. Man, I think I became more religious in preparing for this test! Serious.
I was in the car and on my way by 9:45, arrived at the testing center in Sandy at 10:03, and checked in. I asked if I could study for a little since I was early. So I reviewed for a little bit. At 10:30 I went in to face my demon, but guess what, the demon wasn't ready to fight...the computer system failed! So they had me sit and wait  until it was back up and reassured this wouldn't cut into the time I was allotted to take the test. I studied again and had a drink of apple juice. Finally at 10:45 it was time. I signed in, they gave me a marker, a dry erase board, earplugs (good idea!) and a little calculator and took me to a white room with 3 computers in it. There was one other person in there taking some other test. So there I was. No turning back now. I said one more little prayer, closed my eyes and took a deep breathe and hit go.

There is a mini tutorial that they give you 30 minutes for but it only really take like 5 minutes at the most. and then the test began....it took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete 126 questions. (It will give you anywhere from 125-145 based on the software and how you are answering.)
The test will just randomly stop and then say your score is being processed and then has you fill-out a survey at the end while it's generating your score. The score will then appear on the computer and ask if you want to print it out. I did, and then went back to the main office, turned in my supplies with a big grin on my face and got my print out. I got a 31.

Over all, during the test I felt pretty good. Of course there were some questions I knew right away, and some I had no idea and just took an educated guess, and others I was 50/50 on. There were somethings I was surprised to see, and others I never saw that I thought I would for sure, so you just never know what you will get. Over all, it was a good test. A true test of my ability as a dietitian. (Though maybe I would feel differently if I hadn't passed.)

I didn't feel too overwhelmed during the test, and if I got frustrated with a question, I would stop close my eyes and spin around in my chair once or twice to calm down. It seemed to help.


Just the basic preparation of every standardized test you have taken since elementary school helped:
1. Study, but not all at once, pace yourself.

2. Sleep the night before but not too much, just a good 8 hours.
3. Get a good breakfast
4. Look Awesome
5. Pray, pray a lot that you will be able to do the best you can do. Pray to stay calm!

Remember, even if you don't pass the first time, if you studied you learned something, and now you get to learn more and you will be an even better dietitian because you will learn so much more. And in the grand scheme of things, what's another $200 right? We will always be paying fees...it's just the nature of the professional realm.

So now I'm a clinical REGISTERED AND CERTIFIED dietitian, wife and mother and couldn't be happier.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TEST!

FYI: I sent in my state certification application a week prior to taking the test after I confirmed that would be ok with the processing department at the Department of Commerce. It was a risk I was willing to take, but had I failed I would have been chancing them being able to keep my $60 for my license unless I was able to get them a passing score in 30 days+an extension period (I think 15 days), and since you have to wait 45 days to pass it would have been cutting it pretty close. SO I'm glad I passed and didn't have to play that little game.
Since I did turn the application in early though I was able to get my certification the SAME day I passed my test. It was rewarding.
And now it's all over and I can start to figure out how I'm going to get CPE's done in the next 5 years. :) YAY!