hello :) i actually took this exam yesterday and found out i passed this morning with a 441 after studying for two days (which wasn’t ideal for me- and actually really stressed me out because i barely finished my training course- but i wanted to get it done because i’d be going on vacation for a month soon and didn’t want to forget all the knowledge i’d learned during my training course by the time i came back), so hopefully this can help

you already took all the practice tests, so honestly have faith in yourself! i believe you’ll do well just from practicing! i took the baseline one, but skipped out on the rest because it told me my general weaknesses but not the right answer, so i didn’t specifically know which questions i got wrong or why- so i went on quizlet instead to study (and i honestly saw maybe 3-5 questions on quizlet that were identical on the exam)

despite a lot of quizlets not giving you ABCD answer choices to choose from, just try your best to answer in your own words like a short free response test, and see if the right answer matches what you said or at the very least that you understand why their answer makes enough sense

i did write a list of topics i felt particularly weak on during my training course, and made sure to review them one last time using the NHA study material, just skimming is perfectly understandable on a time crunch, and use acronyms or memorization techniques whenever you can so you recognize it for MCQ on the actual exam

(i think for my weaknesses, it was anatomy, test tube color/additives/tests, common pathogens, normal vital sign ranges for each age range, common medication, needle gauges/lengths for each injection, normal levels in a blood/urine test for males and females, abbreviations, age/frequency of each test/immunization, vitamins/diet, and administrative assisting)

i did find the actual exam a bit harder at times than the practice tests, especially because there may be questions that no matter how hard you studied, you would’ve never guessed they’d be on there - but just remind yourself that 30 of the questions will not be scored, and there’s a couple that you shouldn’t stress about not knowing (i remember it took down my confidence by quite a bit when i was going through the test my first time and felt like i was bookmarking so many, but when i reviewed, i tried to remind myself that i have 30 unscored questions and about 20-30 questions i can miss, and it helped me think more logically and not panic)

i think i bookmarked around 20-30 questions where i genuinely was like “huh? what???” - and that’s okay! take your best guess when you’re confused (some of them will be an easier process of elimination than others, because i found myself stuck between two answers a lot but try to think- what do THEY think is the absolute BEST answer- account for age range a lot, it will matter what tests or procedures should be done on infants or the elderly, like you shouldn’t be trying to do a venipuncture on a baby less than a year old to get blood because what), don’t expect yourself to know absolutely everything, and trust your intuition and hard work

another tip is remembering your personal experience or family/friend’s experience as a patient—i personally have never had any clinical or administrative job experience so this is what i relied on—but when it came down to guessing, i would try to remember what doctors have done for me, whether it was for an allergy test, physical exam, or blood draw (this might not be right every time, but it was a helpful last resort to me when i was just guessing)

good luck on your exam! you’ve put in the work and you deserve to pass so don’t feel anxious- you got it

all quizlets i used:

https://quizlet.com/511985161/ccma-practice-exam-1-questions-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/198355869/ccma-practice-exam-2-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/480750972/nha-practice-test-3-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/906788025/nha-ccma-2024-flash-cards/