Psychology oral exam taking perspective and Test Taking Strategies

The Psychology Oral Exam Test Taking Strategies

The long and winding road….

Putting Things in Perspective

November 30, 2013

Evelyn Jagpat O’Halloran, Psy.D.

After the whirl-wind of graduate school, practicums, moving (for some across the country), internship, dissertation, post-doctoral training, demanding case loads, for many having to survive on little income, the EPPP and of course the many other events, changes and challenges of life, one can simply feel a bit exhausted. If you are like most of the high achievers in our profession, you have likely not slowed down or invested much time in good self-care. Therefore, for many, this final hurdle on the path to becoming a fully licensed psychologist may feel like having to cross the Great Wall of China hungry, weary and without shoes!

The Psychology Oral Exam often evokes significant anxiety in most candidates. The cloak of mystery that hovers over the exam, the dessert of concrete information about what to study and the lack of structure and direction on how to organize and focus study and preparation time only heighten the experience of anxiety and fear for many. Further, the oral component, which includes having multiple examiners, is often intimidating for many. Others struggle with how to practice responding to case questions orally on their own. Still others struggle with how to prepare for the pace of the exam, so that they can practice responding to questions concisely yet in a way which demonstrates their clinical knowledge, ability and complexity of thinking about a case.

4 Common Myths about the Psychology Oral Exam

The Board is out to fail examinees.
Examiners are overly critical and try to trick and trap you.
You don’t need to take much time to study or put much effort into it.
Just study using your EPPP materials. Just skim through them.

Decloaking the Mystery

Create a happy place in your mind & visit often!

First rule of thumb…Remain Calm and find your center of serenity.

The board is not the enemy and its intention is simply to protect the public and to maintain the integrity of the field. The board is the last gatekeeper. It is also important to remember that the examiners are people who are more similar to you than not. Additionally, it is important for you to humanize them versus see them as the enemy. This will facilitate creating a pleasant exam experience for you and for them.

It is also important that you make a shift in your self-view, from student and junior level associate to colleague. The exam provides an opportunity for you to exhibit your competence as an independent practitioner who is capable of representing the profession and managing the care of others, including crisis situations, without supervision. Therefore, your personal presentation from initial contact at greeting to the end of the exam experience is vitally important, as well. It will also contribute to how you respond to questions and your sense of confidence during the exam.

While your EPPP materials are useful in many ways, they are not sufficient to prepare you for the Psychology Oral Exam. By definition, the Psychology Oral Exam is meant to assess what the EPPP does not capture. It also does take time to study and to become more skilled at conceptualizing cases and responding to exam questions orally. This includes taking legal, ethical, cultural and crisis situations into consideration. The process calls on a very different skill set. Unfortunately, when I prepared for the exam, there was little guidance and no study program or colleague to help me. It was from this need that I developed the study manual and online testing program. In essence, I didn’t want others to have to muddle through the study process and waste time and effort as I did.

A Little Perspective

As I wrote in my manual, when discussing tips on exam taking, maintaining a positive attitude is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. If you view the experience of preparing for and taking the exam negatively and as something to be dreaded, you will likely experience increased anxiety and fear, which will diminish performance both during preparation and the actual exam. So what works better?

Embrace and accept the process as having value to you and the profession of psychology.
The pinnacle of success awaits!
Remember that it is not a test of your value and self-worth.
While you must learn to accept that failure is not the end of the world and it does not have to bar you from realizing your dreams, more importantly, you must have faith that you are capable and up to the task ahead.
Reconnect with why you entered the profession and made the sacrifices you did.
What is your passion and purpose? What are your professional dreams? Write them down and look at them often! Never give up on them, even when you face obstacles!
Make studying a priority but don’t fight the process of studying. Rather, seek to enjoy it. Make your surroundings pleasant. Enjoy the process and do something fun and self-nurturing after you study.
Utilize your time to focus and target your study and also to enhance and fine tune your clinical skills and judgment. This is an opportunity to become a better and more informed clinician.
Use a study program which will decrease anxiety, increase your sense of calm and confidence, help you develop mastery, target key domain areas and help you to actually accomplish the task at hand, which includes orally responding to case specific questions within a given time limit.
Don’t simply see a case or vignette, but rather, visualize a real person in front of you. Approach that person with the same care, sensitivity, clinical skill and professionalism you would your actual client in reality.
Make time for other aspects of your life and for the people who are important to you.
Treat yourself gently as you go.
Remember to celebrate your milestones and accomplishments and to always honor the many lives you will touch and help to transform along the way.