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#14589 - 03/02/06 11:59 AM
Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
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ebadrake
Moderator
Registered: 10/08/03
Posts: 2104
Loc: Tavares, FL; Peachtree City, G...
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I have put this together based on questions people have written me over the past several months. I hope it helps.
Now that people are participating in study groups and using the CMT Review Guide as well as the online prep course, people are doing pretty well on part 1, the multiple-choice, cognitive questions on the exam.
People typically have more problems with part 2 than part 1 because they don't know what to expect. We are currently revising the Candidate Guide for the CMT exam, but if you will read through the appendices in the RMT Candidate Guide, you will have a good idea of what to expect on part 2 of the exam in terms of the types of questions asked. The types of questions are the same on both exams, although the content and difficulty level differ. In addition, you may find the following tips helpful for part 2.
What I have tried to convey to people is that part 2 of the CMT exam is focused on one's ability to proofread, discriminate between English and medical soundalikes, make judgment calls about risk management and flagging, and to use critical thinking skills to arrive at the best way to transcribe or edit a problematic dictation. Most of the dictation clips are clear; only a few are compromised in some way and to a limited degree, and these few clips are still able to be understood by experienced MTs using context clues.
We are currently reviewing the Candidate Guide in an effort to make it more helpful to those wanting to take the CMT exam, but let me give you a few hints for part 2 that I've learned along the way.
Read the directions carefully and do ONLY what you are asked to do. If it says "rekey the highlighted portion," then rekey ONLY that portion. If the directions say "transcribe the omitted material," transcribe only the omitted material. Always read and reread the instructions until you are sure what you need to do. The questions on part 2 of the exam are random and the directions for each question may be different from the previous one.
The copy/paste instructions in the tutorial given at the beginning of the exam do not work, so just ignore them. It really isn't necessary to do any copy and paste as the dictations are quite short. We'll get this changed when we republish the exam, but I don't know when that will be.
There are some questions that instruct you to "transcribe the omitted material." If the omitted material (the blank) appears in the middle of a scenario (the context paragraph), you do not transcribe a period at the end of your transcribed text. If the omitted material appears at the END of a scenario, you must add a period at the end of your transcribed text. Transcribing a period in the first instance or omitting it in the second instance will make your answer incorrect.
Regarding spaces, one or two spaces after a period is okay but three spaces or a return after a period is wrong. Also, two or more spaces between words is wrong.
The development team made a great effort to include ALL POSSIBLE CORRECT RESPONSES in the keys for each of the transcription-related questions, so if there is more than one correct way to transcribe an answer, it should be included. That is, if you can correctly transcribe a sentence with a semicolon or replace the semicolon with a period, either answer will be counted as correct. If a comma is optional (like the serial comma before the word "and"), you will be correct if you put the comma in before the "and" and equally correct if you leave it out. If a sentence starts without an article, but it would still be correct if you added the article ("The patient...." or "Patient..."), either will be correct. There are no "trick" questions; it is not the goal of the exam to try to trap you into making a mistake.
Do Not overthink your answers. I think some people try too hard and second-guess themselves. For the most part, try to be as verbatim as you can be and still use correct grammar and punctuation. Don't edit just to make something "sound better."
In operating the wav player, try this: For "transcribe the dictation," "transcribe the omitted material," or "listen to the dictation" and proofread questions, read the instructions and the scenario (context) if one is given. Then, listen to the entire audio once all the way through, reading the scenario if applicable. When you are ready to transcribe, play the audio in phrases using the Pause button to pause the audio. If you use Stop, the audio will return to the beginning. Continue transcribing phrase by phrase using Pause until you have transcribed everything you are supposed to transcribe. Proofread what you have transcribed, looking for misspellings, typos, punctuation, and spacing. Make any necessary corrections. Listen to the audio again from beginning to end, proofreading your transcription until you are satisfied that you have answered the item correctly.
For proofreading items (these are often multiple choice), read through all the options first. Note the differences in the options to see if you can eliminate any of them (based on spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors) BEFORE you listen to the audio. Then, when you listen to the audio, you won't have so much review to do. Listen to the audio for each of the options you have not already ruled out.
Finally, people have told me they've been frustrated by the one-response-only that is correct when transcribing the dictation clips in the online prep course and in the CMT Review Guide. I think those clips are helpful in that they do help prepare you for the exam, but remember what I've said above. On the exam itself, there may be as many as 12 or 14 correct responses for a dictation clip. In addition, people have asked whether the Plexus quizzes are representative of the difficulty level of questions on part 1 of the exam. Most are not. Remember that the exam not only tests for cognitive knowledge expected of a level 2 MT but it also asks questions that you would be expected to be able to answer without the use of reference books. The Plexus questions help you to prepare for the exam because they get you in the reference books and studying the topics covered by the exam. Someone who learned on the job, as I did, may have to review a good medical terminology, A&P, and perhaps a disease processes textbook, but you should not need a reference book to answer the questions on the exam.
I hope I have encouraged you. I believe the exam is a good one and is truly representative of the knowledge and skills required of a level 2 MT. Based on the feedback I'm getting from employers today, I believe employers are also beginning to see that the CMT exam is a valid tool for assessing competency.
Ellen
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#14590 - 03/02/06 04:32 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
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Gisele Dubson
Member
Registered: 05/28/99
Posts: 5608
Loc: Boulder, CO, USA
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Very interesting, Ellen, thanks so much for posting those tips!
_________________________
Gisele F. Dubson, RHIA, Mercury Medical Communications
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#14591 - 03/03/06 09:53 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
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Sallygirl
Member
Registered: 01/05/04
Posts: 1607
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Great information, Ellen! I'm printing it out for future reference. Thanks so much for taking the time to post all that. 
_________________________
Sally
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#14592 - 03/30/06 01:42 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
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ebadrake
Moderator
Registered: 10/08/03
Posts: 2104
Loc: Tavares, FL; Peachtree City, G...
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I have just a couple more suggestions.
When preparing for the exams, try spending some time transcribing using a mouse to operate the wav player on your computer. I find QuickTime very similar to the wav player on the exam, and I'm sure other wav players are similar as well.
Also, try transcribing the dictation clips in the exam prep course or CMT Review Guide without using your spelling checker or abbreviation expanders.
When you're transcribing your daily work, pay attention to homophones, both English and medical, maybe even making a list for yourself.
I've recently been told they can't remove the cut, copy, paste feature from the exam because that's part of their standard exam layout. It's no big deal. It does actually work but only within the answer text block, so you cannot copy from the scenario into the answer block. Why you would need to copy and paste within the text block, I'm not sure, but maybe other types of exams make more use of that feature.
E!
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#67033 - 04/10/07 02:14 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
[Re: ebadrake]
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ebadrake
Moderator
Registered: 10/08/03
Posts: 2104
Loc: Tavares, FL; Peachtree City, G...
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These may duplicate most of the above, but I think the suggestions near the end regarding proof-reading are new. Rather than edit this, I just thought repetition may not hurt.
Improving Performance on Exams
Part 2 of the exam does seem to give people more problems than part 1 which is all multiple choice and primarily academic content. Part 2 of the exam is focused on one's ability to proofread (see below), discriminate between English and medical soundalikes (get lists and study them), make judgment calls about risk management and flagging (more important on the CMT than the RMT but still on both exams), and to use critical thinking skills to arrive at the best way to transcribe or edit a problematic dictation.
Unlike quality reviews at work where errors are weighted and a value assigned with number of lines being factored into overall scores, any error on an item in part 2 will cause the entire answer to be counted as incorrect. A single misspelling means the entire answer is incorrect. A blank would cause an answer to be incorrect.
We've found that others who have not passed that part of the exam have sometimes failed to follow directions. For example, instead of just rekeying the highlighted text as instructed, they would rekey the entire text. When transcribing omitted material, they inadvertently transcribed a word or two of the scenario. Spacing is another problem. The exam allows you to put one or two spaces after a period, but if you inadvertently put three or perhaps hit enter for a return at the end of a line, then the answer would be considered incorrect. Similarly, if you put two spaces between words, the answer would be incorrect. Some people over-edit and change things that don't need to be changed.
Read the directions carefully and do ONLY what you are asked to do. If it says "rekey the highlighted portion," then rekey ONLY that portion.
Always read and reread the instructions until you are sure what you need to do. The questions on part 2 of the exam are random and each question may be different from the previous one.
There are some questions that instruct you to "transcribe the omitted material." If the omitted material (the blank) appears in the middle of a scenario (the context paragraph), you do not transcribe a period at the end of your transcribed text (the period is part of the scenario). If the omitted material appears at the END of a scenario, you must add a period at the end of your transcribed text. Transcribing a period in the first instance or omitting it in the second instance will make your answer incorrect.
The development team made a great effort to include ALL POSSIBLE CORRECT RESPONSES in the keys for each of the transcription-related questions, so if there is more than one correct way to transcribe an answer, it should be included. That is, if you can correctly transcribe a sentence with a semicolon or replace the semicolon with a period, either answer will be counted as correct. If a comma is optional (like the serial comma before the word "and"), you will be correct if you put the comma in before the "and" and equally correct if you leave it out. If a sentence starts without an article, but it would still be correct if you added the article ("The patient...." or "Patient..."), either will be correct.
Do Not overthink your answers. I think some people try too hard and second-guess themselves. For the most part, try to be as verbatim as you can be and still use correct grammar and punctuation. Don't edit just to make something "sound better."
And don’t insert comments or questions or make statement like “I hear…” The exams are machine graded. No human sees them. You’re not being QA’d nor communicating with an instructor. You are taking a test! Putting anything other than the expected interpretation of the dictation will give you an incorrect answer. When I was director of education, we reviewed all the responses on the beta exams. I was surprised at the number of people who insert such comments, and their answers would have been correct had they not done so.
In operating the wav player, try this: For "transcribe the dictation," "transcribe the omitted material," or "listen to the dictation" and proofread questions, read the instructions and the scenario (context) if one is given. Then, listen to the entire audio once all the way through, reading the scenario if applicable. When you are ready to transcribe, play the audio in phrases using the Pause button to pause the audio. If you use Stop, the audio will return to the beginning of the audio. Continue transcribing phrase by phrase using Pause until you have transcribed everything you are supposed to transcribe. Proofread what you have transcribed, looking for misspellings, typos, punctuation, proper capitalization, and spacing. Make any necessary corrections. Listen to the audio again from beginning to end, proofreading your transcription until you are satisfied that you have answered the item correctly.
For proofreading items (these are often multiple choice), read through all the options first. Note the differences in the options to see if you can eliminate any of them (based on spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors) BEFORE you listen to the audio. Then, when you listen to the audio, you won't have so much review to do. Listen to the audio for each of the options you have not already ruled out.
By far, the biggest problem that qualified applicants had on either exam was their failure to proofread carefully. Even the smallest typo that would be ignored on your daily work will cause an answer to be incorrect. This is one of the downsides of machine-graded exams.
To practice your proofreading, transcribe practice dictation (your own work or commercially available dictation) without using a foot pedal or abbreviation expander. Turn off spell-checking if you generally have it turned on while you’re transcribing. Proofread on screen (not in print), making corrections as necessary. Then spell-check. If the spell-checker finds errors that you missed in proofreading, you need to practice your proofreading. Keep following this procedure until the spell-checker no longer finds errors in your work.
If you have test anxiety, go online and find tips for relieving test anxiety. Use your textbooks or a commercially available test prep product to review. Study ONLY what you don’t already know. The day of the test, get a good breakfast, plan to arrive at the testing center in plenty of time, and thinking positive thoughts. If you find you’re getting frustrated during the exam, pause, close your eyes, and take 2 or 3 slow, deep breaths before proceeding. Mark any questions you want to come back to.
Best wishes for a successful exam. (You don’t need luck!)
Ellen
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#67045 - 04/10/07 04:06 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
[Re: ebadrake]
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Deborah
Member
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 3596
Loc: Mobile, AL
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Excellent information, Ellen. Thank you so much for posting this. I'm also printing this out for future reference.
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#71479 - 05/21/07 05:45 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
[Re: ebadrake]
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Sallygirl
Member
Registered: 01/05/04
Posts: 1607
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I just wanted to thank you, Ellen, for posting all that. It truly was valuable information to have while sitting for the CMT today.
And I am happy to report that I passed! Whew!!!!!! 
_________________________
Sally
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#80084 - 09/03/07 06:14 AM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
[Re: Sallygirl]
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Jabberwocky
Member
Registered: 08/10/03
Posts: 382
Loc: Mumbai, India
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I just wanted to thank you, Ellen, for posting all that. It truly was valuable information to have while sitting for the CMT today.
ditto that...  After procrastinating for more than a year, I took it as well today and passed.
I believe the exam is a good one and is truly representative of the knowledge and skills required of a level 2 MT.
...and that was the reason that motivated me more than anything else. I've never participated in the credentialing debates, but the point is that when there are so many people merrily going around calling us hacks, how can you not even try to prove conclusively to everybody (and more importantly to yourself) that you have what it takes to do a professional job!
To anybody reading who wants the directions to get started, I bought the CMT review guide which is definitely harder than the real exam and I was trying to systematically go through the LOM for the last several weeks. Taking the objective type and transcription tests in the Review Guide, making notes for whatever mistakes you made, and going through all the proofing exercises in it along with a thorough review of the LOM should suffice (I guess good foundations through your training and hopefully acute care are givens). The part I was scared of, the transcription part, turned out to be easiest. I was really apprehensive about it, not having done a rat's **** worth of transcription in recent years (having shifted to client management and implementations). But I guess, whatever knowledge base I gathered over the last 7-8 years kicked in - more than any practice I may have done for it.
Part 1 is more confusing - you will need to be very thorough with your anatomy, disease processes, and specialty-specific terminology. However, a thorough review of the LOM should do for whatever you may have forgotten.
To anybody else who's been planning but procrastinating, go for it. The rush on seeing the "PASS" confirmation beats... ummm... let's just say, a lot of things... ;)
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#80092 - 09/03/07 01:01 PM
Re: Advice/Hints for Improving Performance on the CMT Exam
[Re: Jabberwocky]
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Gisele Dubson
Member
Registered: 05/28/99
Posts: 5608
Loc: Boulder, CO, USA
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Hey, good for you. I took one of the older versions of the CMT, but I sat in on a session about the new exam at last year's AAMT convention in Boston, and the examples from the transcription portion struck me as being stuff that every working MT should know. The other portion, the anatomy and all the rest of it, that can be studied for, no matter what kind of job experience you've had. Congrats on passing!
_________________________
Gisele F. Dubson, RHIA, Mercury Medical Communications
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