You basically need a "C."
![](/sites/default/files/top-topics/female-littledog.jpg.pagespeed.ce.89IUbeNEmk.jpg)
You want your prep to be a routine thing, a simple habit, like going to the gym.
A typical day: ~ 1 to 2 hours, depending on your time and alertness. DO take breaks every 45-50 minutes.
If you are tired, then rest. If time is short, do Zuku questions and NBVME practice questions rather than review notes.
One hour of prep 5-6 times a week is better than 6 hours crammed into a Saturday.
Test practice: ~1 hour
Do an hour or so of practice testing, like Zuku, plus or minus 10-15 NBVME self-assessment questions (make note of ones you don't know).
Try to finish 80% or more the study-mode questions 5 weeks before your exam.
Study and Notes review: ~1 hour
![](/sites/default/files/top-topics/xzuku_thumbs_up_smsm.jpg.pagespeed.ic.myycEU3Q5W.jpg)
Review key diseases and notes. Look for IMAGES to help key concepts stick.
Here are examples of good visual summary notes:
In the final 5 weeks before your NAVLE®, try to do 2-3
timed test-mode tests every day.
THIS IS IMPORTANT! Doing timed test-mode
tests, which mimic the real thing, is the best practice you can get
right
before the real test, even if you haven't finished the study mode
questions.
Coping with the
[inevitable] questions you don't know:
No matter how hard
you study, you will see questions you don't know. Thats ok. Totally
normal.
These 4 steps are a big help for improving your
effectiveness at answering multiple choice questions.
1. READ the
question, then look away (DON'T look at the answers).
2. PREDICT
- do you know the answer: Yes or No? (this protects you from distractors
among the answer choices...)
3. Read the answer choices - if your
prediction is there, SELECT it.
If not, or if
you don't have an answer, does one jump out? If not, then....
4.ELIMINATE the ones that look wrong and take a wild guess from
what's
left. Then move on.
NBVME NAVLE® self
assessments:
Do 15 of these questions a couple times a week. Of 15 questions, there may be 4 or 5 you don't know. Your homework that same day is to look up answers to the ones you didn't know.
You will not see these exact questions on your test, but you may well see a question on this disease or topic. This review orients you to key diseases and concepts that the NBVME and NAVLE® think are important.
--Keep it real, keep it practical. Don’t invest emotion in your daily homework. Just sit down and do it.
--Focus on what you can do. Don't beat yourself up over stuff you didn't do.
--If you are exhausted, rest.
![](/sites/default/files/top-topics/chicken-bulldog.jpg.pagespeed.ce.0exXjYBHLX.jpg)
Invest in a few reliable books.
An excellent clinical resource, and you get access to the whole book online when you buy a copy.
Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook, 8th edition, Donald C. Plumb
Guide to Bovine Clinics 4th edition—Chris
and Susan Pasquini
Guide to Equine Clinics 3rd edition—Chris
and Susan Pasquini, Phil Woods