Timelines for the credentals process in Canada by the Allaince.

[emad]

HI,

I applied for my education credential assessment in Canada Oct. 2011. Has anyone applied in 2011 for credtial assessment. Let us share our timelines here? Seems there is backlog according to the alliance website. Even they have not updated information since August 2011.

cheers

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[emad]

I passed! 2nd time lucky.

Now to start the preparation for the clinicals.

Hi Else,

As you managed to pass the exam second time, why was it difficult to pass it from first time ? was the time enough for the exam questions 200 ?

[elseohjay]

Hi Else,

As you managed to pass the exam second time, why was it difficult to pass it from first time ? was the time enough for the exam questions 200 ?

Hi emad,

In my case, a few factors I would think may be responsible. I'll summarise them under these headings:

1) Timing.
2) knowledge about the exam.
3) Study Approach
4) Exam taking strategies

All of these are interlinked, so let me see if I can break them down

Timing: I sat my first attempt in November 2012. That was a few months after I got my eligibility letter. In hindsight, I don't think I had enough time to prepare to the extent I should. In between that, we had to travel to Canada for a few weeks to complete our immigration landing process and return back to base here. So there were periods of interruption in my study schedule. I also don't think the choice of Winter month for the exam suited me. I currently live in the UK and we don't have anything near the extent of freezing cold they had in Edmonton where I sat my first exam. Though, I had been around for a few weeks prior to the exam hoping to do some sort of acclimatization - Ah well, I know better now - laugh! So what did I do differently this time? Of course, I sat this one in May which meant I had 5 additional months to study. I also sat the exam in Toronto this time as it meant less travelling for me. It wasn't quite a glorious summer day in Toronto in May either, but coming from the UK, we have berbeques outside on similar days here, so yeah, I felt a lot more at home this time.....lol.

Knowledge of the exam: Most of the knowledge base with which I approach the first exam was based on strategies and approaches recommended for the American licensing exam. Also the relative focus areas and content structures of the US exam influenced my study strategy. In my opinion, there are slight but potentially significant difference between the two exams. The question format is an obvious one. The American exam questions tend to be shorter and direct whereas in my opinion the Canadian vignettes for the most part are more longer and can be complex. Candidates are required to demonstrate applied knowledge. It is my opinion as well the above factor has an implication for time management during the exam. If one had used the US exam format as practice questions, it may get a bit challenging facing a slightly different format for the first time and in an exam situation with all the other attending pressures. So what did I do differently? I got to know about the exam preparatory programme by the University of British Columbia, so I applied for that. The written exam programme is largely web based so it suited me perfectly. I'll explain a bit more about this below. Also I paid more attention to the Alliance blueprints and contents areas. It helped to streamlined my study focus to areas where the alliance focus the exam and helped to cut out wasted time studying areas that are not relevant.

Study Approach: As highlighted above, my study strategies were largely biased by the us exam prep guide as those were the only study materials I had at the time. Don't get me wrong, they really helped and I've heard from applicants who prepared exclusively with them and aced the exam, but I just think in my case, I could have done with the time spent studying content areas to relevant to the PCE. So to what was different this time: I can't give too much details about the contents of the UBC programme as it will potentially undermine the integrity of the programme, but suffice to say it helped in having better understanding of the curriculum content relevant to the PCE. We were also able to practice sample questions on each module areas. These questions are similar to the PCE questions so it helped in familiarizing us with the vignette format and the thought process needed to tackle them. One the most beneficial part of doing this program for me was being able to join a study group. We had a skype based group and we met quite regularly. It was huge motivating factor as everyone of us had to come prepared for each study session. So no room for 'slacking' - lol. We 'pushed' and motivated each other all the way.

Exam taking strategies: This is another area where I had to learn from experience. I must say prior to preparing fr the PCE I had very limited knowledge of MCQ as an exam format. So it took awhile to grasp the necessary skills needed particularly to the type of vignette format used in the PCE. Also, the UBC programme had a module on exam taking skills which was helpful. After the first exam I was familiar with the content format of the PCE. For example I knew that the last 20 or thereabout questions are usually stand alone vignettes, which means we may potentially spend shorter time answering them. This helps in term of time management, should one finds oneself stuck with some of the longer vignettes in the middle of the 'pack'.


Caveat Emptor: The above is presented based on my personal experience and as per my personal opinion only. They are not based on any research or proven analysis. Hence it should not be taking as a guide to preparing for the exam or a recommended approach. Each applicant's situation is different and different strategies may be required for each cases - Thanks

[emad]

Hi Else,

First of all, congratulations for passing the PCE written part. It is great information what you wrote in the last post regarding your experiences with the first written part of the PCE.

That is right American licence exams are different basically from the Canadian PCE. I think the American one is sort of theortical questions even containing anatomy questions, on the other hand the Canadian PCE exam is kind of practical case studies what is called vigenettes with several questions regarding every case. Actually, I printed the blueprints of the PCE to keep them beside me while studying. However, I will recieve the eligibility letter this week from the Alliance to apply for the PCE exam, I am hoping to take it next November.

Oh, yes, I can imgaine how it is diffcult to fly from UK then take the exam. I think you needed some sort of rest before taking the exam and good sleep. That is right some sample and questions similar to the test can be helpful. However, you got experienced with the exam after the first trial. If we have 4 hours for 200 questions then every question has 1 minute and some seconds however there should be sometime devoted for reading the vigenette itself, so basically every question has 1 minute time.

I am interested in asking you what books or resources did you study ? Of course different from the Ameican licencure resources because they are worthless in the PCE exam. I am reading through the Orthopedic assesssment Mageee.... however, I am thinking about studing or reading through the diseases by disease according to the blueprint and I know myself I need to study well the Cardiopulmonary part because it is long time I did not go through it since undergarduate and I did not practise it through work.

best wishes
EMAD

[elseohjay]

Hi emad,

I won't say the the american licensure study materials are worthless. I just think for some candidates, it may not be sufficient to give the full picture of what the PCE requires. Unfortunately, there are no Canadian specific study materials and practice exam books like the O'Sullivan NPTE book, Score builders etc so we are still limited to using these for now.

What books did I use:

1) O'Sulllivan Big Red "Physical Rehabilitation" Book.
2) McGee's Clinical Orthopedics
3) Kisner's Therapeutic Exercise
4) Pathology: Implication for Physical Therapist

Hope this helps

[Amtobi]

Hi emad,

In my case, a few factors I would think may be responsible. I'll summarise them under these headings:

1) Timing.
2) knowledge about the exam.
3) Study Approach
4) Exam taking strategies

All of these are interlinked, so let me see if I can break them down

Timing: I sat my first attempt in November 2012. That was a few months after I got my eligibility letter. In hindsight, I don't think I had enough time to prepare to the extent I should. In between that, we had to travel to Canada for a few weeks to complete our immigration landing process and return back to base here. So there were periods of interruption in my study schedule. I also don't think the choice of Winter month for the exam suited me. I currently live in the UK and we don't have anything near the extent of freezing cold they had in Edmonton where I sat my first exam. Though, I had been around for a few weeks prior to the exam hoping to do some sort of acclimatization - Ah well, I know better now - laugh! So what did I do differently this time? Of course, I sat this one in May which meant I had 5 additional months to study. I also sat the exam in Toronto this time as it meant less travelling for me. It wasn't quite a glorious summer day in Toronto in May either, but coming from the UK, we have berbeques outside on similar days here, so yeah, I felt a lot more at home this time.....lol.

Knowledge of the exam: Most of the knowledge base with which I approach the first exam was based on strategies and approaches recommended for the American licensing exam. Also the relative focus areas and content structures of the US exam influenced my study strategy. In my opinion, there are slight but potentially significant difference between the two exams. The question format is an obvious one. The American exam questions tend to be shorter and direct whereas in my opinion the Canadian vignettes for the most part are more longer and can be complex. Candidates are required to demonstrate applied knowledge. It is my opinion as well the above factor has an implication for time management during the exam. If one had used the US exam format as practice questions, it may get a bit challenging facing a slightly different format for the first time and in an exam situation with all the other attending pressures. So what did I do differently? I got to know about the exam preparatory programme by the University of British Columbia, so I applied for that. The written exam programme is largely web based so it suited me perfectly. I'll explain a bit more about this below. Also I paid more attention to the Alliance blueprints and contents areas. It helped to streamlined my study focus to areas where the alliance focus the exam and helped to cut out wasted time studying areas that are not relevant.

Study Approach: As highlighted above, my study strategies were largely biased by the us exam prep guide as those were the only study materials I had at the time. Don't get me wrong, they really helped and I've heard from applicants who prepared exclusively with them and aced the exam, but I just think in my case, I could have done with the time spent studying content areas to relevant to the PCE. So to what was different this time: I can't give too much details about the contents of the UBC programme as it will potentially undermine the integrity of the programme, but suffice to say it helped in having better understanding of the curriculum content relevant to the PCE. We were also able to practice sample questions on each module areas. These questions are similar to the PCE questions so it helped in familiarizing us with the vignette format and the thought process needed to tackle them. One the most beneficial part of doing this program for me was being able to join a study group. We had a skype based group and we met quite regularly. It was huge motivating factor as everyone of us had to come prepared for each study session. So no room for 'slacking' - lol. We 'pushed' and motivated each other all the way.

Exam taking strategies: This is another area where I had to learn from experience. I must say prior to preparing fr the PCE I had very limited knowledge of MCQ as an exam format. So it took awhile to grasp the necessary skills needed particularly to the type of vignette format used in the PCE. Also, the UBC programme had a module on exam taking skills which was helpful. After the first exam I was familiar with the content format of the PCE. For example I knew that the last 20 or thereabout questions are usually stand alone vignettes, which means we may potentially spend shorter time answering them. This helps in term of time management, should one finds oneself stuck with some of the longer vignettes in the middle of the 'pack'.


Caveat Emptor: The above is presented based on my personal experience and as per my personal opinion only. They are not based on any research or proven analysis. Hence it should not be taking as a guide to preparing for the exam or a recommended approach. Each applicant's situation is different and different strategies may be required for each cases - Thanks

I think we were at the same exam venue when are you doing the practical exam?

[nilsej]

[QUOTE=elseohjay;71076]I passed! 2nd time lucky.

Now to start the preparation for the clinicals.[/QUOT

Hi Else,
congratulations.. Did u start studying for clinical?
I am taking clinical in nov 2013. So do you have any study plan or tips ?
When r you taking clinical?

- - - Updated - - -

I think we were at the same exam venue when are you doing the practical exam?

Hi Amtobi,

R u taking clinical this year??

[elseohjay]

Hi nilsej,

I am planning to take the clinical in November. I've sent my application but I heard the Alliance have backlog of applications and may not be in the position to facilitate new applicants. I haven't started studying yet and no strategy in place yet. Have you anything in mind?

[nilsej]

Nothing really in my mind. I was just reading exam handbook, at first it's scary to me.
In handbook they are suggesting group study. At least group of three so each can take turn as a Candidate, client and examiner.
Where r u located? I am in Brampton.

[ResidentPT]

Hi

I have also applied for clinical this november, not sure about my confirmation, but still i would like to start my preparation pertaining that I am giving my exam this november. can you let me know if you have any study group, if so i can join with you.

email id: [email protected]

[elseohjay]

Just a quick one to say I took my clinical component exam last week. Fingers crossed and wishing everyone all the best whichever stage they are in this very exhausting exam journey

-Elseohjay

[emad]

Just a quick one to say I took my clinical component exam last week. Fingers crossed and wishing everyone all the best whichever stage they are in this very exhausting exam journey

-Elseohjay

Else, All the best for your exam clinical part. Did you take course for that part too
I took the written part 3 days ago.

[Amtobi]

Just a quick one to say I took my clinical component exam last week. Fingers crossed and wishing everyone all the best whichever stage they are in this very exhausting exam journey

-Elseohjay

How did it go? I am still waiting for paper work so I will only sit in June 2014 in BC. Anyone else doing the prac exam then?

[elseohjay]

Hi emad,

Yes, I completed the UBC clinical exam prep program and it was very helpful. I'll recommend it. All the best with your written exam. Am sure you'll do fine.

[emad]

Hi emad,

Yes, I completed the UBC clinical exam prep program and it was very helpful. I'll recommend it. All the best with your written exam. Am sure you'll do fine.

Hi Else,
I did not take courses. In my preparation I gave attention to neuro and cardioplumonary. I feel that I did well with these 2 parts beside to ethical questions. I am a bit worried about the musculoskeletal part. At that part, There were quite few questions with hidden canadian language ,seems to be specific to canadian physiotherapy. I do not know..it might be normal to feel worried. The interesting thing I remember well the questions which i did mistake with but i do not remember the questions which i think got right !

Emad

[elseohjay]

Hi Else,
I did not take courses. In my preparation I gave attention to neuro and cardioplumonary. I feel that I did well with these 2 parts beside to ethical questions. I am a bit worried about the musculoskeletal part. At that part, There were quite few questions with hidden canadian language ,seems to be specific to canadian physiotherapy. I do not know..it might be normal to feel worried. The interesting thing I remember well the questions which i did mistake with but i do not remember the questions which i think got right !

Emad

Hi emad,

According to the Alliance blueprint for the PCE, btw 55-60% of the exam content is MSK. I think both Neuro and CardioResp account for about 30-35%, so a good score on the MSK component goes along way to edge one towards a passing score. That said, it is usual to feel uncertain after completing the exam. There are so many variables that determine if a candidate passes or fails, so not many people can say for certain which way its going to swing until the results are released. The only aspect we have control over is to make sure we study very well and give the exam our best shot. We can only wait and hope for the best after that.

I wish you all the best bro and fingers crossed for you.

[elseohjay]

This was exactly 2 years ago. Funny how time flies.