Preparing for an exam: Review Center or Self study?

While it is true that review centers can help you what to study for an exam but self study can help you save money big time.

Choose...

Review Center:

• if you can afford the expensive review fee
• if you have limited or no resources such as recalls, review materials, questionnaires
• if you need proper guidance and in-depth discussion from distinguished lecturers 
• if you're eager to attend each lectures, compre and mock exams for assessment
• if you can't manage time for studying

OR

Self-study:

• if you're out of budget for review centers
• if you can control your time and have discipline to stick to your schedule 
• if you have the essential recalls, books, and review materials 
• if most of your colleagues passed the test by doing the same thing 

In every exam that you're going to take, both of them have pros and cons so you have to weigh it for yourself but it all goes down to your effort while reviewing. Review center questions can be nerve-wrecking at times and they don't come out in the exams making it somewhat useless. On the other hand, self-study can have so many distractions so you feel like you're not productive on your study time.

Assess if you can make it by yourself or with the help of review centers. These exams should be taken once only. It's hard to fail so make the most of it count as you prepare for the exam. Listen to your gut feeling.

When is the right time to take ASCP exam?

I've received some emails coming from the new board passers asking whether or not they should take the ASCP exam sooner and my answer to this question is... IT DEPENDS.

I know that everybody is thrilled to have an additional title (ASCPi) after their names but here are some thoughts that you might consider before taking ASCP:

1. Make sure you plan to work in US in the future. Although ASCP is the gold standard of certification for laboratory professionals world-wide but take note that there are other countries most especially in the middle east that still require you to take their certification exams such as HAAD, Prometric,and DHA.
2. Speaking about American dream, hospital working experience is prioritized by the employers so take the exam when you are already working in a hospital preferably with at least 2 years experience.
3. In connection to the previous pointer, ASCP certification should be renewed every 3 years and the renewal costs another dollars so think about it. It would be better if you're already working abroad by the time you renew your certification. 
4. Better if you have relatives or friends in the US that could help you to find an employer so that you have the motivation to take as soon as possible. Some people could get out of the country in less than 2 years because they're guaranteed of a job already. 

Well, it may be an advantage for those who recently took the licensure exam because the lessons that they have studied are still fresh in their memory. As they say, 'Strike the rod while it’s hot'. They just need to recap the principles and theories. All they have to do is to familiarize the questions that ASCP gives. 

But those who decide to take the exam late, you need not to fret coz in my experience, it took me 3 years before I book the exam and I found it easier to answer the questions because I was able to put it into practice. There was one question there about the order of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) process and the answer is denaturation- annealing- transcription since I ran PCR in the laboratory sometimes.

My advice is.. take ASCP when you're financially and mentally ready. For me, it's hard to fail a 10000-peso exam so I earned it while I study my review materials and recalls bit by bit for a year to refresh my memory. This is not a competition guys. Walk with your own pace. Don't be pressured nor be envious to the ones ahead of you. Everyone has a break. Plan your dream now!

How to pass the ASCP exam? Study Tips

Chance favors the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur.

Preparing for the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) certification exam requires a lot of effort and discipline as compared from the preparations we did for the local board exam. At this point of time where we have our own careers to build, bigger responsibilities to shoulder and priorities to consider, I have noticed that my study habit when I was in college was gone and this was also a challenge for me to face now as a working individual.

We have our own reasons why we want to pass the exam. Mine is to look for better opportunities abroad and for career advancement as well. It took me three years to decide due to some hindrances like financial problems, stress from work and anxiety thinking what if I fail this exam.

But behold, if there's a will, there's a way!

Today, the cost of ASCP MLS certification is $200 (in the Philippines, around 11,000 php) so I need to work like a dog to earn that money (lol so true). You can pay it thru credit card or a debit card. To tell you, I was just self-studying and I found it hard to allocate time for studying because of our stressful shifting schedules and that include graveyard shifts. 

My first two years of working in the hospital were spent on reading (little by little) review materials like 

• Board of Certification (BOC)
• Harr, and 
• Polansky Q and A

The supplemental readings helped me a lot as I learned and understood more about the practical aspect.  I've had lots of 'Now I know...' moments when I was able to relate those information to my job as a medical technologist. Aside from that, I also collected and asked for recalls from my workmates who passed the exam. 

Well speaking about recalls, it gave me an idea what to study. They say that the more recalls you gathered, the more chances you pass! Although recalls can be of help for your preparation but it is still not a guarantee to your success. It's still in your hands since it's a computer-generated exam. You'll never know what question comes next. I would like to thank a colleague for a job well done in compiling those recalls all together. The recalls I've gathered have rationale in every answer and that helped me to understand each question. 

One thing that helped me passed the exam was setting a positive attitude. I was inspired by my colleagues who had MLS(ASCP)^I titles on their names already so I made it a habit of doodling that title after my name too (in my books and review materials) and that serves as my driving force to study on my vacant time. Having assigned in Blood bank is an advantage since I’ve got lots of blood banking questions esp. compatibility testing and that made it easier for me to analyze some discrepancies.

You have to familiarize principles, formulas, and normal values once again. 

THE DAY!!

On the exam day, I arrived at the testing center an hour before the scheduled time (Thursday, 8AM). That gave me time to check-in (presented a valid ID, palm scanning and put my valuables inside the locker) and listen to the instructions prior entering the exam room. I calmed myself as I read each items and answered them. I tried not to flag questions as much as possible. Calculations and dilutions were on my test but it was manageable. I spent my time in answering and reviewing all the 100 questions before clicking NEXT. When I saw PASS in my preliminary result, I couldn’t contain my happiness as I went out of the testing center WITH A BIG SMILE ON MY FACE. Thank God! All my efforts were worth it. My exam score came out a week after and I didn't expect my scores were higher than I aimed (minimum passing score is 400). I couldn't believe it!

Passing ASCP is a hard-earned achievement and if you already pass the exam, the more you inspire yourself to move forward and embark on your next journey to become an international medical laboratory scientist. I remember Jordin Sparks’ song, One step at a time. As the song goes, there’s no need to rush. Well, just keep pushing forward and ask guidance from God for a perfect timing. All things are possible when you believe in Him.

Now I am glad to say that it's official. This is it! It's really 
Cindy A. Escoba, RMT, MLS (ASCP) already!

Find out ASCP POINTERS TO STUDY by clicking here!