I'm not going to sugarcoat it — I failed the CLS exam in September and again in January. Both times I walked out thinking I'd done okay, which honestly made it worse. Third attempt is scheduled for next month and I've completely overhauled my approach.
The biggest change was actually doing a proper CLS practice test under timed conditions every single week instead of just reading through my notes and feeling good about it. Feeling comfortable with material and being able to retrieve it under pressure are completely different skills. I'm also working through a structured study guide that breaks down hematology, urinalysis, and blood bank separately — those were my weakest areas both times.
Has anyone else struggled specifically with the blood bank section? My exam tips from a coworker were mostly about time management but I feel like I need deeper content help there. If you passed recently, how many hours a week were you putting in during the final stretch? I'm currently doing about 10-12 hours and wondering if that's enough.