Panicking a week before my exam I reached out to a couple of my preceptors from internship. One casually asked, “How do you deal with acceptance, whether it’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’?” I honestly was sort of confused by the question as I wasn’t expecting it. She continued with, “Don’t see this test as a defeat. Change your perception of it as an opportunity.” And so right then and there, I grabbed my nearest sticky note and wrote:

“This is an opportunity, one that will not define you.”

Before I started my exam that next Friday, I took the scrap paper they provided us and wrote down the same quote. Allowing me to glance at it each time I felt like I was spiraling down and needed a quick glimpse of reassurance (which was maybe every 3 minutes). I advise you to do the same. Find a mantra or a quote that places you back at an equilibrium. And with that, I give you 4 more things to do when studying for any large exam.

Stop asking others what is on the exam. I did this, LOL! And then realized it was a waste of time. Every exam is going to be different. Like probably very different. I talked to a handful of people... “Just look at the lab values and the diet prescriptions for each disease,” said one as an another told me to memorize each management theory. One told me hers had a handful of Jean Inman test practice questions while another told me hers were all from the RD Pocket App. Let me tell you that my test did not reflect any of these suggestions. A good handful I had to make my best educated guess. Remember, all that information over the last five years is up there, if you believe it or not. Read the question, slowly and give it your best shot.
Study your way. The best way of studying for this exam is the way you’ve always studied. No one knows you better than yourself here. If you can’t handle flash cards don’t start making them now. If you need to pretend you’re a newscaster, speaking out loud in a quiet room, then start there and don’t go to your trendy café and try to read silently.
If you get tired, learn to rest, not quit. There’s a huge difference. Frustration and panic will show up when you’re studying or tackling practice questions. Closing your binder for a quick Netflix episode or dance party will allow you to relax and think about something else for a bit. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Whether it’s that or a walk, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. So don’t ignore that. Schedule breaks into your routine with your study schedule to achieve the most out of your day. Like seriously. You'll only waste time trying to cram 11 hours of straight studying.
“Failing” doesn’t mean you’re a failure. This is a big one, like THE BIG ONE. This is all I kept saying each time I had a moment to think outside of studying. It’s as if the only thing I could prepare for was failing. You can’t look at this test, or any test, as a trap, as something that's “getting in the way.” This test is the bridge between all your hard work for your degree (maybe multiple for some) your internship and the first steps of your career. You’re fearful of it because it means so much to you! Which is normal!!!!

Everyone is embarrassed or ashamed of failing. WHY? You learn so much more from a failure than a success. You learned what went wrong and the new road to travel down to get to that destination. Who knows maybe you'll show up to a better destination. When you fail you don’t lose. YOU GAIN. Sounds super super cheesy but seriously, it's the truth. You gain so much more knowledge, emotion, and wisdom. The hard part is allowing yourself to see those opportunities when things don’t necessarily go your way. You must keep going, no matter what. Because guess what, if you don’t fail now you will at something later. And you should want to. You should want to be placed in challenging experiences and critical thinking overwhelming moments to not only learn more about your field or work, but more importantly to learn a hell of a lot more about yourself.

This test is not an end all be all moment. Is anything ever? Slow down and believe in yourself. That may be the biggest challenge of all. Overcome that and I am so sure you will be able to do anything and everything.