CHT exam - passed on second attempt, here's what actually changed

Failed my first CHT attempt by 8 points and passed my second with a 76%. Figured I'd write up what changed because I wish someone had told me this before my first try. The biggest mistake I made was treating it like a grad school final - lots of reading, not enough application.

For my second attempt I did 16 weeks of structured prep: 2 hours daily Monday through Friday and a 4-hour block on Saturdays. I worked through every wrong answer on the HTCC practice questions until I understood the reasoning, not just the correct choice. My practice scores went from 61% at week one to 82% by week fourteen.

The splinting and orthosis section was where I picked up the most points the second time around. I built a chart of all the common orthoses with their indications, contraindications, and positioning angles. That alone probably added 6-7 correct answers. The wound care and edema management sections are also heavier than people expect - don't under-prepare those.

One thing I didn't expect: there are a fair number of questions that test your knowledge of the research evidence behind interventions, not just the techniques themselves. You need to know whether the evidence is strong, moderate, or limited for specific treatment approaches.