The introduction of video questions into the NPTE is another important step towards making the testing experience more reflective of clinical practice. The videos are extremely short in duration, averaging 10 seconds or less. They often provide important information or contextual clues that may be difficult to convey with only two or three sentences of traditional text.

Standard, graphic, and video questions are quite different in terms of their construction. However, no one question type is inherently more difficult or easier than another. An individual’s preferred question type is often heavily influenced by their individual learning style. For example, someone who tends to be more visually oriented may prefer video questions over more traditional questions such as standard or graphic.

The million-dollar question is – are there specific strategies that should be adopted when answering video questions when compared to other types of questions? The simple answer is no! I say this since many questions can be asked as a standard, graphic or video question. In each instance, a student’s ability to answer a specific question type comes down to if they possess the requisite academic knowledge and decision-making abilities to select the best response.

Adequate exposure to different question types through various sample exams will allow students to gradually become comfortable with the feel and rhythm associated with each question type. Within a given exam, the stand-alone questions (standard, graphic, video) are randomly placed. The scenario-based questions will always be positioned at the end of an exam section.

It is likely that video questions may take students slightly longer to complete than a standard or even a graphic question, since it will take additional time to manage the video player, watch and potentially rewatch the video. Given the limited number of video questions it is unlikely that the additional time will be problematic for students.

Our various licensing resources including the review book, Online Advantage, and ACE will provide you with numerous opportunities to assess your general comfort with video questions.