So I just got my results back this morning and I'm honestly still a little shocked — I passed! Third time was the charm. I'm a dialysis tech with about four years of experience and I thought that would be enough to just coast through, but the first two attempts really humbled me. The fluid management and vascular access questions are no joke, especially the calculations.
What finally clicked for me was being way more systematic about my prep. I spent about six weeks this time, two hours a night, and I leaned heavily on a CKD practice test bank to drill the question formats. The real exam loves to give you patient scenarios where you have to prioritize — that's not something you can just memorize from a textbook. I also found a solid study guide that broke down the nutrition and adequacy sections, which I'd been glossing over.
My main exam tips for anyone in the same boat: don't ignore the psychosocial domain, time yourself on practice sets so you're not rushing at the end, and read every answer choice before committing. Anyone else prepping right now? Happy to share what resources I used.