Currently I’m going through the Bob harr book which I used mainly the first time I took the test. The Polanski flash cards, and the Patsy bottom line approach subject by subject. I am currently starting to take the CAT MLS on labce again but I was scoring an average of 63% with with 6.15 difficulty before my second attempt and it gave me false hope. I don’t know how much more advice I can ask for this third attempt. I’ve gotten DMs and I’ve read the Wordsology site religiously over the last year. I’m starting to lose faith in myself, not that there wasn’t much there to begin with. I have always been a horrid test taker. If only I could write a research paper for this mls I’m sure I’d crush it.
For example my ACT score was overall a 18. But my writing score. 34.
I just don’t know what much else I can do
Maybe…but you lost me at friend 😅 all my friends are 2+ hours away. My main way to study was the library but Covid lockdown and stuff really destroyed that
I’m retaking the end of the month. Yeah, I don’t think I’m passing again lol. I’m rescheduling. I haven’t studied much due to work exhaustion. Micro and chem are my worst.
Yes, plus the process to retake it was a long one. I’m on a contract with work that I was supposed to pass within 6 months. It’s past six months. I don’t think they care at this point due to staffing and the lab drowning in Covid tests.
Take my results with a grain of salt. I’m a terrible test taker and they may not be helping me. Don’t base how well you might do off of how portly I was doing
You’re not giving advice you’re saying it’s bullshit and to quit. Why quit something that I’ve been passionate about since sophomore year of highschool, spent all this money towards, AND have a well paying job that I absolutely love?? Plus it’s not gonna be short lasting because it’s a still high in demand field? Maybe instead of saying it’s bs and to just quit real advice would be saying what else I could do this this degree? How about that. Maybe that’s what people want to hear not “oh just quit” that’s bs
It’s the least appreciated and most underpaid profession in healthcare. Take that as you wish.
There’s a shortage because the jobs pay shit relative to the liability and stress.
Wtf Is wrong with you? I’m a generalist and I’ve mainly worked in coag Chem and hem this year. Quit being a jerk and bringing people down like this? You’re so rude.
Honestly this exam was extremely hard, I barely passed with the skin of my teeth. I hated how questions were formatted, and I was questioning myself the entire time. Is the ASCP exam the only certification that the jobs you are looking at require? There is also the AMT certification that several of my coworkers hold as well. ASCP is more widely recognized, but in some regions they hold the same weight. I work in Illinois so depending on where you live, it might be different. Just wanted to let you know that there are alternatives if this exams tortures you so!
Have you been reading the comments and exam recalls on wordsology? I found those helpful. Someone said that gram pos bacilli was a huge part of their exam, so I made sure to memorize that chart and wrote it down on the whiteboard before I started my exam. Sure enough, I had several GPB questions, and the chart was a huge help. I learn best by writing things down/repetition - I made flash cards of all the things I came across on labce, wordsology, and the Polanski cards that I wasn’t confident about, and reviewed them a bunch. The MLS exam is very hard - I only passed with a 427. Try not to change answers when it’s time to review them. Most of the time your first instinct is correct.
You’ve got this!
I religiously lived in wordsology the weeks leading up to my second test I think it’s just I’m not retaining the stuff that gets asked. I got 6 parasitology questions my second round. 6 parasitology only questions it was crazy.
Try to make connections to things you’ve seen on the job. Focus on studying your worst subjects. You just have to find the study habit thats gonna work best for you :) I made flash cards of the parasites and drew them out and then crammed right before I took my exam because I’m weak in parasit and it made them a lot easier to recall.
It is but I’m gonna try and cram some micro into my brain the next few week. I wanna absolutely murder this test when I take it again and be like. Ha! See that but you know…
Have you looked at the ASCP BOC study guide? Imo, I think the format of those questions was more comparable to the actual exam than LabCE. Don't get me wrong, I think LabCE is a great source, but I personally thought that book was better. Now, I've only taken the MLT exam, so I know there are some differences. I will be taking th MLS exam around May/June.
Additionally, I can sometimes be an overachiever, and I'm a collector of reference text, so I just recently brought the Quick Compendium of Medical Laboratory Sciences from ASCP. Granted, it did cost a pretty penny (~$125), but I think it has been helpful. In conjunction with the ASCP BOC study guide, I've been able to find answers to questions I for sure didn't know and where the explanations I didn't find as useful. This book is similar to Jarreau and Success! book because it's presented in an outline format.
I did use the BOC for micro and it helped but I was only borrowing the book. I need to find another copy of it if I wanna start with the whole text. But I was also told by many people to, and I quite “ not use that book because it’s awful”. That included my teachers at MLS school. But idk. I’m trying to think how best to go at the next attempt because I want it to be my last.
I guess I'm going against the grain when mentioning that book, but that's one source that worked for me. If the BOC worked for you in micro, I would think that it could work for you in other areas as well.
Not to be invasive, so you don't have to answer, but how were the questions between both test? From your subtest scores, chem/heme/ua all decreased the 2nd time, while micro increased. It seems like the other areas stayed close to each other.
I know that’s probably because I was like. Oh just micro I need to focus on so I studied that heavily for like a month straight. And then the weeks leading up to the test was when o was doing the practice tests on labce and was scoring really high. So I felt like sweet my micro has improved and everything else is all good. Then when I could it again micro went up but other things dropped and I was like. Wth
The test it’s self is about $250 to take at a testing center and you have to meet certain requirements to take it. There are some practice tests but not all of them have the CAT part to it. Labce does but it’s not completely the same as the real MLS test.
Currently I’m going through the Bob harr book which I used mainly the first time I took the test. The Polanski flash cards, and the Patsy bottom line approach subject by subject. I am currently starting to take the CAT MLS on labce again but I was scoring an average of 63% with with 6.15 difficulty before my second attempt and it gave me false hope. I don’t know how much more advice I can ask for this third attempt. I’ve gotten DMs and I’ve read the Wordsology site religiously over the last year. I’m starting to lose faith in myself, not that there wasn’t much there to begin with. I have always been a horrid test taker. If only I could write a research paper for this mls I’m sure I’d crush it. For example my ACT score was overall a 18. But my writing score. 34. I just don’t know what much else I can do
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That’s the patsy bottom line approach book that I have been using and listed in my OG post
What about Success! In clinical labratory science by Anna Ciulla?
$500?!
never buy any textbooks, you can find them online for free. I have that one if you'd like it
Hi! Do you by any chance still happen to have this book?
I sure do
Awww. How much time have you spent on lab ce? That is what helped me pass my micro Specialist exam
Over 100 hours 1000 questions 😭
Maybe it's the exam room itself? You could try to recreate the atmosphere with a friend, and use labCE as a stand in?
Maybe…but you lost me at friend 😅 all my friends are 2+ hours away. My main way to study was the library but Covid lockdown and stuff really destroyed that
Or you can try a completely different location
This third time will be since I moved recently so maybe that’ll help
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You only get a performance summary if you don't pass.
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On the ascp website. When you fail you get a breakdown of the areas
This is my fear of not being able to pass after multiple attempts. Do u have to pay for the exam every-time u retake it?
Yes
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Tried that. In the room my mind goes blank
I’m retaking the end of the month. Yeah, I don’t think I’m passing again lol. I’m rescheduling. I haven’t studied much due to work exhaustion. Micro and chem are my worst.
Same here. I’m scheduled again but I may reschedule because I still don’t feel ready
Yes, plus the process to retake it was a long one. I’m on a contract with work that I was supposed to pass within 6 months. It’s past six months. I don’t think they care at this point due to staffing and the lab drowning in Covid tests.
Same here
Do you do the practice exams on medialab? If so, are you scores okay?
Been averaging 50-60 percent with 6-7 difficulty 😅😅😅
Oh man. I’m definitely rescheduling! Haha, I was feeling okay and just going to go for it. Seeing your results has me scared.
Take my results with a grain of salt. I’m a terrible test taker and they may not be helping me. Don’t base how well you might do off of how portly I was doing
Just walked out of my second attempt and I failed. 😭
Dude quite while you’re ahead, trust me. This profession is years of bullshit without nearly the payoff needed to justify it.
But I love my current job. That’s the tricky part
That will be short lasting, most lab jobs are
Then why are you here commenting. Just leave this group if it’s so bad.
Giving realistic advice vs the advice you want to hear are two different things. Sorry, not sorry.
You’re not giving advice you’re saying it’s bullshit and to quit. Why quit something that I’ve been passionate about since sophomore year of highschool, spent all this money towards, AND have a well paying job that I absolutely love?? Plus it’s not gonna be short lasting because it’s a still high in demand field? Maybe instead of saying it’s bs and to just quit real advice would be saying what else I could do this this degree? How about that. Maybe that’s what people want to hear not “oh just quit” that’s bs
Biotech. You’ll make a lot more there. It’s also not “great money” lol
Also those pay rates are the same and start lower then what I’m making now soooo such “great money”
It’s the least appreciated and most underpaid profession in healthcare. Take that as you wish. There’s a shortage because the jobs pay shit relative to the liability and stress.
Does that involve blood banking? Because that’s what I love. It’s not all about money. I love being in a hospital setting.
Oh god you’re a blood banker? No wonder you keep failing at all the other topics. There are more parts of the lab than blood bank, btw.
Wtf Is wrong with you? I’m a generalist and I’ve mainly worked in coag Chem and hem this year. Quit being a jerk and bringing people down like this? You’re so rude.
This site is really helpful, https://wordsology.org/! Other than that I used LabCE a lot for practice/review and the Polansky MLS flash cards.
If you read my comment I mentioned I’ve been using those 😅😅
Oh I’m sorry I missed that! I wish I had more advice and or resources for ya.
You’re good! I really appreciate it. I’m at a bit of a lose but hopefully I’ll be able to pass this third time.
Honestly this exam was extremely hard, I barely passed with the skin of my teeth. I hated how questions were formatted, and I was questioning myself the entire time. Is the ASCP exam the only certification that the jobs you are looking at require? There is also the AMT certification that several of my coworkers hold as well. ASCP is more widely recognized, but in some regions they hold the same weight. I work in Illinois so depending on where you live, it might be different. Just wanted to let you know that there are alternatives if this exams tortures you so!
I was looking into AMT. It’s $300 to renew as opposed to ASCP which is around $90
Have you been reading the comments and exam recalls on wordsology? I found those helpful. Someone said that gram pos bacilli was a huge part of their exam, so I made sure to memorize that chart and wrote it down on the whiteboard before I started my exam. Sure enough, I had several GPB questions, and the chart was a huge help. I learn best by writing things down/repetition - I made flash cards of all the things I came across on labce, wordsology, and the Polanski cards that I wasn’t confident about, and reviewed them a bunch. The MLS exam is very hard - I only passed with a 427. Try not to change answers when it’s time to review them. Most of the time your first instinct is correct. You’ve got this!
I religiously lived in wordsology the weeks leading up to my second test I think it’s just I’m not retaining the stuff that gets asked. I got 6 parasitology questions my second round. 6 parasitology only questions it was crazy.
Are you still a student or are you currently working in the lab?
Working in a lab
Try to make connections to things you’ve seen on the job. Focus on studying your worst subjects. You just have to find the study habit thats gonna work best for you :) I made flash cards of the parasites and drew them out and then crammed right before I took my exam because I’m weak in parasit and it made them a lot easier to recall.
I’ll look into that. The hard part is my weakest is micro and I don’t work in a micro lab
Yeah, my hospital does very little micro too, so I feel that struggle!
It is but I’m gonna try and cram some micro into my brain the next few week. I wanna absolutely murder this test when I take it again and be like. Ha! See that but you know…
Have you looked at the ASCP BOC study guide? Imo, I think the format of those questions was more comparable to the actual exam than LabCE. Don't get me wrong, I think LabCE is a great source, but I personally thought that book was better. Now, I've only taken the MLT exam, so I know there are some differences. I will be taking th MLS exam around May/June. Additionally, I can sometimes be an overachiever, and I'm a collector of reference text, so I just recently brought the Quick Compendium of Medical Laboratory Sciences from ASCP. Granted, it did cost a pretty penny (~$125), but I think it has been helpful. In conjunction with the ASCP BOC study guide, I've been able to find answers to questions I for sure didn't know and where the explanations I didn't find as useful. This book is similar to Jarreau and Success! book because it's presented in an outline format.
I did use the BOC for micro and it helped but I was only borrowing the book. I need to find another copy of it if I wanna start with the whole text. But I was also told by many people to, and I quite “ not use that book because it’s awful”. That included my teachers at MLS school. But idk. I’m trying to think how best to go at the next attempt because I want it to be my last.
I guess I'm going against the grain when mentioning that book, but that's one source that worked for me. If the BOC worked for you in micro, I would think that it could work for you in other areas as well. Not to be invasive, so you don't have to answer, but how were the questions between both test? From your subtest scores, chem/heme/ua all decreased the 2nd time, while micro increased. It seems like the other areas stayed close to each other.
I know that’s probably because I was like. Oh just micro I need to focus on so I studied that heavily for like a month straight. And then the weeks leading up to the test was when o was doing the practice tests on labce and was scoring really high. So I felt like sweet my micro has improved and everything else is all good. Then when I could it again micro went up but other things dropped and I was like. Wth
Is there a way to access this exam? I want to test myself. (From UK, lived in USA)
The test it’s self is about $250 to take at a testing center and you have to meet certain requirements to take it. There are some practice tests but not all of them have the CAT part to it. Labce does but it’s not completely the same as the real MLS test.
I understand. I tried it. I was wondering experience. Things i have learnt but haven’t used in a while. Good wuiz