Grounding ABPI exam candidates in rock-solid revision techniques
Keep calm and carry onI’m asked fairly regularly: “Where do I find past ABPI exam papers?”
A seemingly straightforward, but loaded question, fraught with misunderstanding.
Worse still, it seems some of you waste time looking for mythical unicorns…
You appreciate that taking the ABPI exam involves a variety of costs, right?
Some costs can be claimed back from your company, or else your company pays up front. For example, this includes the cost of:-
But what if you need more than that?
Like any other big goal that involves a cost, you plan for it by budgeting. Don’t you?
And yet, the cost of my 16-week email course of lessons is zilch, nada, niente. In other words, nothing. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?
While there’s no cost to you, there’s a ton of hard work behind these lessons. Does that mean you don’t value them? I’m pleased to say that many of you tell me you’ve found them helpful. A good many of you then progress to take advantage of the flashcards, MCQ workbooks or mind maps.
Even so, some find self-study challenging.
That being the case, it’s disappointing for me when students sabotage themselves rather than seeking help. (Is it really that hard to discuss your issues with your manager, or a colleague, or someone outside your company, like me?)
Take the other day, an ABPI exam candidate fed back that she wished she hadn’t bought the unit 1 to 4 workbook…
Although I’m still working from vs 7, I recently confirmed with Amira Burshan, Education Officer at the ABPI that the main differences between vs 7 and vs 8 are: –
In essence, other than making things clearer, what’s being tested in the ABPI exam isn’t changing, at least not until next year when vs 8 will be fully adopted.
Even then, if you’ve read the independent report on the Exam published in February[1], you’ll appreciate that rather than changing content drastically, the ABPI are focussed on changing how content in their learning materials is tested:
Newspaper announcement introducing the NHS in 1948
You’d have to be hiding under a rock to have missed the headlines about the 70th birthday celebrations for the NHS.
Whatever you think of this British institution, it’s 70 today. No surprise that’s it’s a bit creaky then, is it?
What does this big birthday mean for you, as an ABPI exam candidate?
I’m not going to go into the politics of how it’s organised or managed. Let’s just say that aside from the challenges the NHS faces, you’re challenged to keep up with its constant changes. For both the NHS and you, it’s a work in progress.
But, you must keep up, so you’re able to tackle the MCQs about the NHS in your exam. Hopefully, if you’re taking it later this month, you’ve also been sent the most recent version of the ABPI’s handout of NHS Structure & Function.
Since the ABPI stopped updating their site for trainers, I’ve had to rely on Toolkit users to let me know when a new version appears. So, thank you to those who gave me the heads up, alerting me to the need for an update of my MCQs.
I’m glad to say that after a flurry of emails back and forth, the ABPI sent me their most recent version of the handout yesterday. Fingers crossed that they’ll get back on track in the near future with keeping trainers in the loop.
Happily, just in time for the NHS’ 70th birthday, I’ve updated the MCQs in my Unit 1 to 4 MCQ Workbook.
(What a happy coincidence, huh? Couldn’t have planned it, if I’d tried.)
If you’re taking the exam later this month, don’t despair if you recently received your updated pdf from the ABPI. I know some of you are panicking because you’re tired, overworked and feeling like you may as well throw out your notes because there isn’t enough time to learn anything new.
First, take a deep breath. Think about what you’ve done so far. Take a step back. Then, throw that overwhelm monster off the cliff.
Done it?
Good.
So what’s changed in the NHS since the last bunch of notes from the ABPI?