May 27- Discuss how your exam went in the Post-Exam Forum

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Hello everyone, I hope that the exam went well for you. I have opened up the 2023 Post Exam topic in the Exam Forum. Feel free to discuss how your exam went.

Thanks

Esmond

23 thoughts on “May 27- Discuss how your exam went in the Post-Exam Forum”

  1. Hi Esmond,
    I sat Thursday. I think it went ok. I stupidly changed a few questions and unfortunately know now they were wrong. Kinda mad for changing but could do very little about. Stupid mistakes and should have remembered your advice to go with the first. I think nerves got the better of me. I used all my time with only 15mins left to review.
    There was definitely more case studies than anticipated.
    Really hoping I got a good enough mark to pass. I spent a lot of time studying and felt I was well prepared. There was so much not covered in the exam but I guess like every other exam you prepare for everything.
    Now for the wait!
    Nicky

    1. HI Nicky, its normal to be nervous. I will add more case studies to my practice exams. Just relax and enjoy the summer now.
      Esmond

  2. Another thing there was a question on glycemic index about par boiled rice being lower GI.I do not remember seeing that in the nutrition guidelines.
    Nicky

  3. Hello Esmond ,
    Thank you for asking.I wrote today,Saturday. At the start I had a little trouble with my microphone,that threw me off a little and did not help with the nerves .If I am being honest,not so sure how I feel about the exams. I feel like i was well prepared but not a lot was covered…I have to say that your course gave my preparation a lot of structure ,the cheat sheets were a very helpful summary,I also loved your presentations:-pathophysiology and all….I am thinking I may do a residency in chronic diseases. I am really hoping for a pass and will refer as many people as I can and will hopefully still come back in 5years. Unless you offer yearly updates/refreshers :-).
    Thank you for your patience and all your help.
    Cheers
    Victoria

  4. I didn’t find the exam depicts the actual practice in diabetes care. I would like to know where these people practice who make the exam and if they can explain how frequently they deal with such kind of questions in actual practice. It is more like memorizing, not the actual application of knowledge.

    I am thankful to Esmond for all his effort and the practice exams, his exams definitely are just like the actual exam.

    Very rightly pointed out the DKA/HHS questions. Cut off values for HHS seem a little off from the guidelines.

    I actually changed a few answers when I reviewed them as my mind wasn’t thinking at first. Few questions I had no clue so I am hoping those were test questions.

    Also the questions about nutrition were too detailed especially asking for the quantity of portions of diets, I mean seriously?? If you are not a dietician it’s difficult to memorize that stuff. I found that questions about diet were too many.

    I also found the research and education questions a bit weird too especially what kind of education or motivation technique you use.

    Also a few initial response questions were not actually the initial response, I think it was more like asking for secondary response.

    There were a few questions about pseudo-hypoglycemia as well which was surprising.

    One question was about basal-bolus insulin switch which I thought was not clear, I thought some info was missing.

    I wish everyone all the best and hopefully we will all make it in July when the result comes out. Thanks

    1. Thanks for the kind words Aqeel, that’s frustrating that the exam is not reflective of real life practice. Just relax now and enjoy the summer.

    2. I am older and dont bake…. and even though I reviewed the measures… ml vs cups…. I did not know it well enough…. and should have memorized more..

      so.. wish they had it per cup or 1/3 cup and did not just use mls for us folks that did not learn metric….

  5. Hi Esmond,
    I felt that the exam was leaning more towards management questions. Less insulin adjustment, clinical and mechanism of action questions. These are my thoughts. I hope I may pass.

  6. Hi Esmond

    I share the same feeling as the previous comments in regards to the exam.
    I did not like the exam in regards to the topics that were tested. I also feel I was well prepared, but the questions were not on a lot of subjects and also not very applicable to practice. So many ways to test and just did not feel it was a good reflection of knowledge to help a patient in front of you.

    The research questions were not very applicable to the drugs but rather other aspects of DM, which I thought were a little outdated and not keeping up with current practice.

    I loved your preparation modules, practice tests, cheat sheets.

    Regardless if I pass or not, I still learned and it will be a plus for my practice with my patients. All the best to everyone!

    Thank you Esmond!
    MC

  7. Hi Esmond;

    I had a nightmare of a time writing my exam Saturday. I experienced a huge technical (could not prepare for) issues 1/3 of the way into my exam, I then went into an anxiety panic mode. Which impacted my mental state while writing. I will be very lucky if I passed.

    I did not receive any questions mentioning specific studies done. I studied and committed many to memory.

    I also found that the value’s in the exam were very tricky. Ie// say if the ranges in the 2018 Canadian guideline lines was 1-3 , the exam would 0.9-3.0. OR 0.9
    VERY VERY Tricky and sneaky! (were these pilot questions? )

    As for the CDEcourse , yes it was helpful to have access to pertinent knowledge on WHAT content to study. There is SO MUCH information to know for this exam. The practice exams and sample exams were similar to the CDE exam. However does not simulate what testing tool used is like. I highly recommend allocating 3-6 months to study for some ones first attempt at writing. Research how to answer these style of questions would be beneficial. Emphasis on taking time to really read the long worded, multiple numbered answers.

    I did not have access to the Essentials, which would have been nice to review. Additionally I wish we knew what is considered a pass/fail. I echo the sentiment of Aqeel Askari’s first paragraph.

    I am not hopeful I passed, at least I know what to expect….next time I write?

    1. Hi Michelle, I am so sorry to hear you had technical errors. That definitely adds to exam anxiety. Thanks for your kind words on my website. I would suggest to forget about the exam until you get your result. If you did not pass with my money back guarantee I could reset your account or refund you but you need to let me know by July 31. Thanks
      Esmond

  8. I agree with all of the comments from the others. The exam was NOTHING like I expected it to be. A Lot of education/interviewing, in depth nutrition and DKKA/HHS questions. I had very little medication or diabetes management based questions. I was quite disappointed as I felt this did not represent real life diabetes care, or my knowledge as a diabetes educator.

    I loved your course, and would 100% recommend anyone!

    Hoping I pass, but regardless I could not thank you enough for building such a great course! I wouldn’t have been as prepared without it!

  9. Hi Esmond – I’m very grateful for your site. I used it almost exclusively to study for the exam. the Cheat sheets and quizzes were so very helpful. Practice exams were awesome too. Thank you

  10. This was my fourth round of writing the CDE exam- I have been a CDE since 2008. I felt that this exam was the most difficult one. Edwin’s exam’s more accurately represent what we need to know, in my opinion. There were more questions on DKA/HHS than I expected. I found it difficult navigating the case study questions on a laptop. I do not like the online format; however, that is because I am technologically challenged. Overall, I felt the exam this time was not an accurate test of what we need to know to practice in the real world…. I was quite actually quite disappointed in the questions. I feel like the exam does not assess the knowledge a CDE should have. It did not feel like the test was meant to assess your capabilities to be a CDE….. more that there were a lot of “tricks” to navigate.
    Thank you Edwin for your course. It is a very thorough study guide and I can see the amount of work that you have put into it. The CDE study course is why I passed my last test in 2018.
    Overall, I have no idea if I passed this time or not.

    1. Hi Sangita, thanks for the positive feedback. You are not the only one who said this exam seemed to be off. I believe that the CDECB has a survey where you can let them know your thoughts about the exam.
      Enjoy your summer!

      1. Hello Esmond,
        I did pass the exam, thanks to your study guide. Thank you for all the work you put into supporting us.
        I have filled out the post exam survey and left my feedback.

    2. Hi there,
      It’ s reassuring to hear you comments knowing you had already sat the exam 4 times.
      I felt exactly the same about the exam. Studied for 6 months with Esmond’s course and fell very confident going into exam. This is my first time sitting to become a CDE. I finished the exam and did not feel that it tested my knowledge appropriately. Was disappointed in the questions asked. So many tricky ones with more than 1 answer. I picked and then changed a few and unfortunately made a few silly mistakes. I was quite upset after as I studied so hard and felt well prepared but came away feeling upset and unsure on how I did.
      Will definitely be completing the post exam survey.
      Regardless if I pass or fail I know I’ve learned so much with Esmond’s course. The content was what everyone needs to know to become a diabetic educator.
      I will definitely be recommended Esmond’s course to anyone interested in doing the exam and becoming a CDE.
      Nicky Hanton.

    3. I agree with you fully. I have been a CDE for 20 years and this was the toughest exam. Just not practical knowledge…… and I felt does not reflect my ability as a CDE. As an older person I dont like the computer format and was in tears trying to even WRITE the friggen exam as my computer too old to use the platform and they would not allow me to write with a physical Proctor….. had to finally borrow a laptop and I found it difficult using three hours of screen time…. just not good for me and the way I work…
      My last time around so if I fail that is it for me…. but that would be sad to fail if I have been a CDE 20 years……

  11. For those writing next time let them know I had HUGE issue even being able to write.
    My work computer will not allow Proctorio. My husbands home computer was too old to allow it and thought it was a virus. It was suggested I borrow a computer or rent one…. to the tune of $200 to $500.00. Friends did not want me to load Proctorio and the hospital went nuts when I asked as it is an American company and has huge risk according to them. I was in TEARS thinking after months of study I would not be able to do the friggen exam. The exam was so long and I hate doing on a computer laptop. I find it difficult as an older person. staring at the screen. I also like to be able to write things down and a white board just does not work….
    I found the exam impractical… and not conducive to what a CDE in practice needs to know from recall. Diabetes is getting harder and harder every year with all the new drugs and technology. I was this exam was more practical. I have tried doing the portfolio and if anyone choses that option know that you need to really keep up the documention and start it early… I also found it almost impossible to do it by porfolio and would suggest alot of people have to fudge numbers in order to make it work. I do alot of extra education and reading and I am sure I just squeeked by when I chose that route. I love the studying and learning everytime I write the exam but…this exam I felt was not reflective of the knowledge needed as a CDE in practice. I did do the survey we will see if better next time around but I wont be doing it again. thanks for the great practice review education it was amazing…

  12. Hi
    I wrote the exam too, this would have been my 3rd time writing the CDE. I found this one the most difficult to write. I was not sure how I did, just got my results and I passed!!! This website was helpful and useful.

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