Failed my first attempt by 7 points back in October, which was honestly devastating given how emotionally heavy this material is. I'd been working in the NICU for 6 years and thought my clinical background would carry me, but the PBC covers a lot of grief theory, communication frameworks, and bereavement support models that aren't necessarily part of daily practice.
The second time around I gave myself 10 weeks and structured my review completely differently. I focused heavily on the MISS (Milwaukee Interview for Social Support) and the Worden tasks of mourning — those came up in ways I didn't expect on my first attempt. I also spent at least 3 sessions each week going through case vignettes and asking myself what the "most therapeutic" response would be versus what felt instinctive.
Exam day I had 150 questions with a 3-hour window and finished with about 35 minutes to spare. I flagged 22 questions and went back to all of them — changed 4 answers, which I think helped. The cultural competency section was longer than I anticipated, maybe 18-20% of the test.
Don't underestimate the perinatal loss-specific protocols if you're retaking — stillbirth, miscarriage, and TFMR are treated differently in the content outline and the distinctions matter. Passed with an 82 this time.
Congrats on passing! I'm curious about the case vignettes — were they mostly hospital and clinical settings or did some of them involve community or home-based support scenarios?
The Worden tasks kept tripping me up too. I made a one-page summary of all four and taped it to my bathroom mirror for the last two weeks. Passed on my first attempt with a 79 and I credit that review method more than anything else.
Did you use any specific prep books? I'm sitting for mine in about 8 weeks and I'm not sure if the DONA materials alone are enough or if I should be supplementing with grief therapy texts.
The cultural competency section wrecked me on my first attempt. There were several questions where I thought I knew the right answer but I was defaulting to a Western grief model. Pay attention to how different communities approach collective mourning — it's genuinely tested in a way that trips up clinicians.
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