Enhance Physical Therapy Students’ Exam Readiness—Integrate Board Prep into Curriculum Early

Preparing for the National Physical Therapy Examination^® (NPTE^®) can be an overwhelming experience for many students, given the broad scope of content covered and difficulty determining which topics to prioritize. Many schools offer end-of-program practice exams and intensive review sessions that may benefit some but at-risk students who are struggling with the curriculum are unlikely to see the same results. Attempting to squeeze in a vast amount of learning within a short period could even lead to stress and possible burnout.

A more effective and sustainable way to ensure exam-readiness is to integrate board prep into the curriculum from day one and throughout the program entirety. This involves embedding exam-style questions and content into class materials and lectures or assigning them to students as coursework or assessments, allowing faculty to track and monitor progress and performance longitudinally.

The paired TrueLearn-Picmonic Learning Loop

Leading digital learning platforms TrueLearn and Picmonic offer all that and are conveniently paired to deliver impactful results through a powerful learning loop. It combines TrueLearn’s customized quizzes, allowing for formative and summative assessment using board-style practice questions, with Picmonic’s bite-sized interactive video lessons—covering over 380 topics specifically designed for PTs and more than 4,000 facts required for the NPTE^®—to enable students to learn and retain information more effectively, so they are better prepared to take on the exam.

By integrating TrueLearn and Picmonic into the PT curriculum from day one to augment didactics, students are armed to tackle the breadth of material required for the exam. At the same time, program directors and faculty will gain access to real-time predictive and comparative data that surfaces insights on at-risk students, remediation needs, faculty development, and curriculum improvement.

How does the TrueLearn-Picmonic learning loop deliver on these?

Comprehensive curriculum and board review

By leveraging the TrueLearn-Picmonic learning loop, students embark on comprehensive reviews of all the material that is likely to appear on the NPTE^®. Both platforms cover every aspect of the physical therapy (PT) curriculum, from anatomy and physiology to biomechanics and exercise science. Picmonic uses the spaced repetition technique to help students reinforce learning over time by quizzing them at progressively longer intervals to cement information retention and help students navigate the effects of the “forgetting curve” so they can build and maintain mastery of need-to-know topics. Utilizing TrueLearn quizzes and mock assessment gives students a taste of the actual exam ahead of time, alleviating test day anxiety and improving their chances of a first-time pass on the exam.

Adaptive and customized learning

The TrueLearn-Picmonic learning loop uses adaptive learning technology to tailor study materials to the individual needs of each student. TrueLearn’s SmartBank of practice questions allow students to practice low-stakes recall in preparation for high-stakes exams such as the NPTE^®. Results from the quizzes help faculty identify areas where a student needs more focus so they can tailor lessons and quizzes to cover those topics and help elevate overall learning toward concept mastery. For students, it means better allocation of their study time and effort, enabling them to better manage the demanding course load while increasing information retention and knowledge recall.

Active and engaged learners

Both platforms encourage active learning and utilize multimedia elements such as videos, animation, graphics, and audio to create engaging and interactive classroom experiences and cater to multiple learning styles and preferences. This makes the learning process more accessible and enjoyable, particularly for today’s generation of students. For example, Picmonic uses vivid, cartoon-like images to explain complex information, making them easier to digest and process. This technique engages multiple areas of the brain and creates strong associations between images and concepts. When students regularly interact meaningfully with the lessons and materials, they easily build on their understanding of the subject matter and retain the knowledge over a longer period.

The TrueLearn-Picmonic learning loop further enforces the efficacy of this approach: Students use TrueLearn to assess their understanding of concepts learned on Picmonic but if they get an answer wrong, they revisit Picmonic to renew the learning. They repeat this process throughout the curriculum until they have a well-rounded understanding of the material and achieve the level of concept mastery required to perform optimally on the NPTE^® and beyond.

The paired TrueLearn-Picmonic solution drives better learning and exam outcomes among PT students with a suite of data-led tools, features, and functions that, when integrated into the curriculum, supports efficient and effective teaching, learning, and exam prep.

_{NPTE^® is a trademark of Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT^®).
This content is not endorsed or approved by Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT^®).}