Challenging Post-Test Topics Point to Potential Pitfalls
As those who’ve taken it know, the NRCME certification exam can be pretty challenging.
You really need to know your stuff, and that requires a solid exam prep strategy. After all: DOT physicals are a detailed, comprehensive assessment of a CMV driver’s physical and mental health.
In this post, we’re reviewing the most-missed questions from the NRCME Plus Examiner Training System® post-test to help you avoid potential pitfalls. Why take a test before the test, you ask? Good question…
Benefits of training program post-test
One of the primary motivators for taking the NRCME Plus post-test, of course, is the certificate of completion you’ll earn. You can’t take the certification exam without it. The post-test helps you in a variety of other ways, too:
- Assessing your knowledge. This may seem obvious, but the post-test is essential to assessing the knowledge you’ve acquired over the course of your training. By identifying knowledge gaps, you’ll discover where to focus your study efforts more effectively.The training post-test also provides a benchmark to measure how much you’ve already learned and how much more you need to study before taking the NRCME certification exam.
- Familiarizing yourself with the exam format. Taking a prep tool post-test helps you familiarize yourself with the types of questions that will likely be on the certification exam, including format and difficulty level. It will also help you practice time management, ensuring you can complete the exam within the allotted time.
- Reinforcing your learning. Taking the post-test promotes active recall, a highly effective learning technique that helps reinforce important subject-related material in your memory. You’ll get immediate feedback, allowing you to review your mistakes and learn from them right away. Learning from mistakes is an important part of the study process.
Top 5 challenging topics revealed
We recently looked at results of the NRCME Plus Examiner Training System post-test, focusing on frequently missed questions. Those results point to several topic areas that may prove challenging in the certification exam. Here’s what we found:
- Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) for Depression: One tricky question involves how long a driver must wait for certification after undergoing electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression. The correct answer is 6 months, emphasizing the importance of stability and recovery after treatment. Many got this wrong, suggesting periods ranging from 1 month to 1 year, which don’t meet FMCSA regulations.
- Mood Disorders and Manic Episodes: Another scenario involves a driver with a mood disorder who had major manic episodes in the past year. According to FMCSA regulations, this driver can be certified for 1 year if his condition is controlled, he tolerates medications well, and his psychiatrist gives him the green light. Most test takers incorrectly answered that the driver could not be certified.
- Drug and Alcohol Testing: Drug and alcohol testing is required in most accident scenarios listed in another often-missed NRCME Plus question, but not when a passenger under the age of 12 is involved. Accidents resulting in moving violations, loss of life, or medical treatment away from the scene all trigger testing. Some test takers also mistakenly thought drug testing wasn’t required in pre-employment screening.
- Cardiovascular and Neurological Conditions: Questions about specific medical conditions were challenging. For instance: Cardiovascular guidelines disqualify drivers with supraventricular tachycardia if they experience compromised cerebral function or loss of consciousness. Neurological guidelines mandate a minimum 1-year wait after a stroke, so any period less than that is, of course, incorrect.
- Hypertension and Diabetes: Discretionary standards for conditions like hypertension vary based on severity and management, unlike the strict rules for vision, hearing, and diabetes mellitus. Incorrect answers included too-short certification periods, immediate disqualification, or misidentification of discretionary vs. non-discretionary standards.
These findings underscore the importance of an in-depth knowledge of FMCSA standards, their clinical application, and your role as a DOT examiner. Your training post-test results may help you identify other challenging topic areas. It’s an efficient, effective path to exam day success.
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