Browsing through the study materials in mid 2001 you saw what appeared to be a National Registry Test. Read this first, then read up on what happened below.
I waited until the class returned and asked them all to turn to the back of their binders and show me any test prep supplies they had. Only a hand full of students looked through the binders, clearly wondering what they had missed, while the one I peeked into and a half dozen others never made a move towards their binders. This spoke volumes.
Changing the subject we went on to clinical stations, pulling the 6 or so students into the head instructor's office one by one to inquire about what appeared to be the written exam from the last testing. You better bet I brought it to the attention of the instructors.
Where I was at the time had only one testing in the state per year so only a handful of people had access to the exams.
In the end the validity of the materials was never decided upon, they were assumed to be study materials, but not returned to the students. The instructor decided the materials had no value other than a study aid, a poorly chosen one, but a study aid just the same.
I recall meeting up with one of them a few years later and they insisted it was a sample test made up by a friend. I still have my doubts.
Some people getting into this business don't realize that this isn't about passing a test, but about learning and understanding what we do. Properly assessing and treating a life threat is the real exam.
If you said speak up and find out what the materials really are, you made the right call.
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