Advice on preparing for AMCB certification exam

[Mayachel]

Hello! I graduated in June from a MS midwifery program and a rough pregnancy. All of my classmates have already taken the exam, and I am itching to do it before the baby comes. BUT I'm feeling terrified of taking it. Worried about how to prepare, and if I'll make it through at 36wks without a bathroom break. I know I wouldn't last 4 hours, but everyone has said they finished in 2hrs. SOoo if I'm lucky I'll make it. Waiting till after baby seems like setting myself up to potentially never take it and pass...

How helpful did you think the green study guide book was? I am also using the purple "Midwifery/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review" book. Any words of advice or support would be much appreciated. Thanks! 

[Wittyone]

Did you have to take a comprehensive exam at the end of your program?  The books you have are good and I found that most of my prep time went to studying for comps.  Once I'd passed those I felt prepared for the AMCB.  However, in my program you could only take comps once you were done with EVERYTHING, I know some programs you take them before integration so it may have been a while.  Whether you choose to take your exam before or after the baby comes just make sure you feel prepared - this is the cumulation of all you have worked for and it's ridiculously expensive, so worth it to go in feeling as prepared as possible!

[BirthTender]

IN the SUNY@ Stonybrook program we could not take comps until all studies/theory was completed. If we had a few more births our preceptor's practcie was waiting on that was OKay. I studied everything that i could remember from my comps & all my notes. *I also took the ACMB prep course at the ACNM conference. I am a very auditory learner, so I made tapes of myself repeating/reading off lots of info (I easily had around 15 audio tapes) & I played them while doing house work, running, driving, whenever I had a chance. Beleive my kids got sick of hearing them, too. I cried for an hour in the testing facility  when I noticed that i had passed!

Karen Benfield, CNM & Owner of BirthTender, Full scope nurse-midwifery & Homebirthing only, covering a 2 hour radius of Hickory, NC.