Top 7 Tips for Passing the RD Exam
After passing my RD exam today (can I get a,"Hallelujah"!?!) I wanted to put together a blog post to share my overall thoughts, resources I used, how I studied, and offer my advice. I'll also be providing you with resources I put together! Alright, let's dive in.
(Obligatory post-exam selfie shot!)
Overall Thoughts:
It really wasn't as bad as I thought! I was truly expecting something much worse and was pleasantly surprised. However I say this with the disclaimer that I studied MY BUTT OFF!
I read a lot of other people's blog posts about their experiences
(Nutrition with Cynthia, Sarah Grace Spann, Nutrition Elevated, Lauren Schoenfeld, The Lean Green Bean), so I was prepared for what test day would be like and sort of the structure of the questions. I won't belabor this post with all that sort of info, though. I managed to get enough correct by question 125 that I didn't have to advance on. I definitely was nervous, though, as I was 50/50 on a number of questions.
I'll get into more details in each of my tips, but the exam is very much logic, concept, application based questions. You'll need to know a little bit of everything, but more so, you need to know how to apply what you know. If you didn't sleep through undergrad and had an array of experiences during your internship, you probably already know more than you think!
How I Studied
I created a 3-week study plan for myself (and am gifting it to you below!) and stuck to it for the most part. I planned to study M-F, but sometimes had to make up a little over the weekend. Most days I studied at least 4 hours, and towards the last week, closer to 8-12 hours. However, I was also selling my house, packing, buying a new house out-of-state (along with planning everything that comes with moving), and working on some content development projects. That being said, it was rarely ever uninterrupted, focused study sessions.
(My 3-Week Study Plan, click here for pdf version)
Using my study plan, I began to develop Quizlet flashcard sets for each day. Surprise, you get those too! I used a variety of resources to create the content for the flashcards. My internship program had given us Visual Veggies. While I had heard mixed reviews on how helpful Visual Veggies was for passing the exam, I did think their questions and content were more similar to the exam than any of the other resources I used. I also purchased Eat Right Prep and Breeding & Associates online quiz packages as well. While each had their strengths & weaknesses, collectively they provided a wide variety of content that was ultimately useful. I also dug out my undergrad notes (what few I saved), textbooks, and Quizlets I had created for various exams. I did not use Inman at all.
The actual process of making the cards was very helpful, and obviously I was going through each of the resources and completing all their practice questions in order to derive the content. When I took the practice test, however, most of the time I skipped through questions that didn't apply to the topics I was concentrating on that day. This helped me from getting too burnt out or distracted. Quizlet's Learn feature is the bomb.com! I highly recommend utilizing it when going through the flashcards.
Towards the halfway point of the second week, I also began writing down questions or concepts that I was struggling with or want to reinforce more. I probably filled up about 30 pages worth of notes. Annnnd then like a total goof, I forgot the notes at home when I went for a breakfast & cram session the morning of the exam. Sigh...
Without further ado, I offer you my tips for rocking the RD exam's world, and not letting it rock yours!!
Tip 1: Don't Memorize!
I think this one is probably the greatest piece of advice I can offer. While you will need to learn/review a lot of content, your M.O. should not, and CANNOT be memorization. This was a bitter pill to swallow for me, as I passed many an exam this route.
However, tedious little bits of information, definitions, specific lab values, RDAs, DRIs, diabetic exchange lists, etc...don't focus your study efforts on memorizing these things. It's the concepts that are important.
For instance, you might not need to know the reference range for albumin, but you should know what it indicates and when it's low or high what that might mean.
Tip 2: Know WHY
Along with Tip 1 and focusing on concepts, you should know WHY you got a question right or wrong while studying. If you are using any of the resources mentioned above, each question offers an explanation as to why a certain answer is right and why others might be wrong (I've included many of these in my flashcards, however not all). Reviewing those is a crucial part of the study process.
Chances are, you aren't going to see the same exact question from any of your study materials on the actual exam, so even if you are crushing it on those practice exams, if you only know those answers and not the concepts behind each, you're cheating yourself.
Tip 3: Google is the Homie
It doesn't have to be from an RD to be a solid resource. If I was struggling with a particular concept, say, Metabolic/Respiratory Acidosis/Alkalosis, or what p-values indicated, I Googled it...
then I'd usually look at the images for any simple to understand charts or resources like this:
or maybe click videos and find a simple tutorial like this:
If one of these supplemental resources wasn't enough for a lightbulb to turn on for me, I kept searching until I found enough information to help it click. I took notes and/or drew out any charts or equations with phrasing that made sense to me, a pneumonic, or some other cue that helped me remember. (i.e. for acidosis/alkalosis REspiratory = arrows in REverse, MEtabolic = arrows in the saME direction).
Again, from Tip 2, understanding the WHY is critical, so don't hesitate to utilize Google to help reinforce concepts!
Tip 4: You Don't Need to be a Math Wizard
This biggest thing I've heard my peers studying for the exam stress about is the calculations. Given, your exam won't be the same as my exam, BUT I only did a couple calculations, and neither of them were ones I had previously studied or been exposed to. So if you are dedicating a lot of time to studying those and really stressing, you can breathe a sigh of relief, your time is better utilized elsewhere.
The two math-related questions I had on my exam were extremely logical. If you know that you need to convert 23% to 0.23 in a calculation, you'll be fine. Read the question, write down the data you are provided with and what you are being asked to determine, and think through it logically.
Tip 5: Take Your Time
This tip is pretty amusing coming from me. Generally, I'm the first one to finish an exam, treating it like it's a race to see who can get out of there the fastest. However, slow and steady does win the RD exam.
Read each question carefully. Be on the lookout for words like EXCEPT or DOES NOT, words that if missed will make for critical mistakes. Again, ask yourself, "what is this question really asking?"
You have plenty of time to mull through some things. I talked to myself, in my head (mostly), during the exam. I'm one of those people that needs to read something aloud in order to get it...so I did. Flying through practice questions for repetition sake is one thing, but on the real deal, take your time!
Tip 6: Focus on Public Health, Research, & Food Service Management
A very large portion of my exam covered concepts having to do with needs assessments, research methodology, and management principles. The questions aren't straightforward like A=B, but more so knowing how to apply concepts.
For instance, if you were going to implement a community-based intervention of some sort to help decrease the incidence of a certain chronic disease, how would you go about determining what/how/where, and what level of prevention would it be?
Know the steps of a needs assessment, how to write proper objectives, how to assess outcomes with different types of evaluations.
Know the different types of study design, whether data is quantitative or qualitative, strengths and weaknesses of each study design.
Know management functions, the reasons certain facility layouts and equipment purchases, budgets, procurement and service principles.
If you are feeling really groovy about MNT and nutrition principles, these areas really deserve a lot of your attention!
Tip 7: Mindfulness is a Must
Finally, and arguably the most important part of the exam prep process: practice mindfulness.
During your study periods, give yourself at least a 15-minute break after every 30-90 minutes of focused attention. Get up, move around, go outside, eat a good meal, talk to a friend/loved one, just take a break!
On the day of the exam, budget time to allow yourself at least 10 minutes before entering the testing center to collect yourself. On the way over, roll down the windows, put on your favorite jams, and clear your head.
Put away all your study materials and don't touch them again before the exam. Reflect on your journey to get to this point. You went through at least 4 years of school, an exhausting dietetic internship, and you had to be superstar to even get accepted into that, right? You've done amazing things.
This is the final step to get that credential, and while it's the most nerve wracking part, you've done far harder things and taken far more difficult exams, trust me!
I hope these tips and insights help you feel more confident about kicking the RD exam's butt. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below and also would love to connect with you on social media via the accounts listed below. May the odds be ever in your favor!
