It has been TOO long since I have updated my blog. I would be lying to you if I said that this year hasn’t been challenging. I have been working hard on studying for the Certified Specialist in Pediatrics Exam. I realized that between the pandemic, starting a new job and then having some test anxiety that this equated to the perfect storm when it came to figuring out how to properly study for that exam. If you don’t know, the Commission on Dietetic Registration has specialty exams for RDs in certain areas. You have to apply take these tests and pay money and then if you pass that credential is good for 5 years. I took this exam 5 years ago, but at that time I was married and had no children. I read lots of books and I had some more free time to devote to studying. The test was also graded on a curve, which played to my benefit. Fast forward to this last year and I now have two children + a new job + pandemic stress = recipe for a challenging disaster.
I share this with you, not have to have you feel sorry for me, but instead realize that sometimes that image you see of someone online isn’t the full story. Sometimes behind the scenes that person is working their tail off to make something look easy. That has been the story of my life over the past year. I also wanted to share with you about a resource that changing my viewpoint on studying. My amazing husband had read this book in graduate school and it helped him achieve a 3.9 GPA in graduate school. The book is “Make It Stick” and I would highly recommend it. This book helped me understand a method of how I could actually learn the material I was trying to study and review.
The idea from the book is that you would make flashcards during your studying time and then review those each time you sit down to study. Then you organize them in categories like: 1) I know well, 2) I know somewhat, 3) still need to review. Then you spend more time reviewing those cards in the “still need review category” and then when you have mastered those topics, you shift them into the “I know well or somewhat” categories. This make studying manageable! With my life now I wake up and have to start dealing with children around 7am and then out the door to work no later than 8am. Then home by 5-6pm and bedtime for the children at 8pm + my own bedtime at 10-11pm. That basically leaves a small window in the morning + after 8pm for me to study. Each day, I would spend 30 minutes- 1..5hrs studying and reviewing flashcards. This practice and continual recall of information was very empowering.
Again, I wanted to share this with you, because we all have to learn and study throughout our lifetime. That can be challenging and as we get older, we have so much more competing for our time. How can you accomplish those goals with the limited time you have? You have to be efficient and productive. If you find yourself struggling to review material and not feeling confident in learning new information - check out the book “Make It Stick.” I hope it helps empower you like it did me to accomplish those goals, finally that I set for myself. In the end I passed the test, I didn’t give up and all the hard work paid off!