How I Turn Practice Exams into Study Tools

When preparing for exams in surgical tech school, practice questions are more than just a way to test what you know — they're a way to learn what you don’t.

As a student, before our break, my instructor handed out three practice exam packets — 553 questions in total. And instead of just flipping through them casually, I created a system that helped me actually absorb the material.

Here’s how I do it:

Step 1: Take the questions like it’s the real test. No notes, no checking — just go through and answer each question honestly. It’s about gauging what you really know.

Step 2: Go back and review every incorrect answer. This is where the learning starts. I don’t just look at the right answer — I look at all of the options. Every term in that list is an opportunity to learn something that might show up elsewhere on the exam.

Step 3: Write definitions next to each option — not just the correct one.

If I saw a term I’m unsure about (even if it wasn’t the right answer), I define it. That way, I’m reinforcing vocabulary and concepts across the board — not just reviewing what I got wrong. It might take longer, but this method has helped me understand the why behind each answer — and it built my confidence for the real thing. Because let’s be real: if a term shows up as a multiple-choice option in one question, it’s bound to pop up again somewhere else.