By: Kate Dwyer (Dr. Kate), DCN, MS, RDN, LDN

So your RD exam test date is drawing near? 

**Cue the normal physiological stress response to a big life event.**  

For some, this looks like nervous jitters with a sense of excited anticipation.  For others, stress can interfere with our brain’s ability to be rational, clouding our decision-making ability.  

So, how can we harness stress to our benefit and not exceed the stress tipping point? 

Plan ahead! 

Top tips for RD Exam test day

These are my favorite tips I used when I passed my RD exam on the first try. Thankfully my tips have nothing to do with Krause, practice exams, or flashcards! 

1. This might sound obvious, but plan out your trip to the testing center.  How long does it take to get there?  Are you riding in a car or taking public transportation? 
2. Include a time buffer for transportation.  Fun story, the day of my RD exam I planned to leave my house an hour before my test time giving me a buffer of 45 minutes so I would have time to calm my mind and not feel frazzled by traffic.  Lo and behold, I was about 5 minutes into my 15-minute drive to the testing center, and wham, the interstate transformed into a parking lot due to a newly developed accident. I inched along the highway while glancing at the clock watching those precious minutes tick down. I could feel my heart rate increasing and my stress levels rising.  When I realized I would not be on time for my testing appointment, I notified the test center of my predicament.  After arriving 5 minutes late to my RD exam, the test center kindly allowed me to proceed with my test. (The handbook explicitly states that being late to the exam results in rescheduling your test.) I used a few moments to practice my mind-centering deep breathing and repeat my mantra, “I have the knowledge base to ace this exam.”   I knew I would not let a few harried minutes interfere with my dream of becoming a dietitian.  When I answered the final question and the pass notification appeared on my screen, I let out a tear of emotion and a sigh of relief. Stress can teeter on the edge of focus versus frantic distraction.  
3. Check traffic an hour before you are supposed to leave to take your rd exam. (See above.) 
4. Opt only for energizing or calming activities the day of your rd exam. Avoid energy-draining activities.  Postpone that marathon training run, difficult conversations, and emotionally triggering therapy sessions for another day. Elect for gentle exercise like yoga or walking.  
5. Repeat a mantra or affirmation.  My personal favorite is “Exam Day is Slay Day.” 
6. Master deep-breathing exercises. Diaphragmatic breathing techniques can lower negative feelings, improve attention, and prevent spikes in cortisol levels ¹.  
7. Think ahead about rd exam day food.  You will need to fuel your body for three hours unless you opt to take an unscheduled break.  Swings in blood sugar are a no-go.  They leave us feeling fatigued and loaded with brain fog.  Opt for meals with lasting energy.  Think 30 grams of protein, non-starchy vegetables, and low glycemic index carbohydrates. 
8. Aim to consume adequate amounts of choline leading up to the test. AI for adult women: 425 mg. AI for adult men: 550 mg. Choline is the foundation for neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.  In fact, choline intake is highly correlated with memory ². 
9. Prioritize sleep the night before. Consider adding an eye mask to your nighttime routine.  A recent study found that adults after only a week of wearing an eye mask to bed demonstrated improved memory and learning abilities, faster reaction times, and alertness³. 
10. Grab some headphones and listen to binaural beats before your rd exam. (Use the YouTube search term “gamma binaural beats” for examples.) Listening to binaural beats before a task improves cognitive flexibility, memory recall, and mood ^4,5.  
11. Remind yourself that test anxiety was not correlated with exam outcomes when the knowledge base was controlled⁶. Meaning if you know your stuff then your test anxiety is not going to prohibit you from passing the rd exam⁶.
12. Wear comfortable clothing.  Donning uncomfortable can be distracting. 
13. Know the rules of the testing center and the Handbook for the Registration Examination of Dietitians before you go.  

Remember if you utilized Sage Nutrition RD exam prep, odds are in your favor that you will ace this test and will be adding those coveted RD initials behind your name.  

Good luck!  

Dr. Kate

References:

1. Ma X, Yue Z, Gong Z, et al. The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology. 2017;8:874. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874.

2. Poly C, Massaro JM, Seshadri S, et al. The relation of dietary choline to cognitive performance and white-matter hyperintensity in the framingham offspring cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;94(6):1584-1591. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.008938.

3. Greco V, Bergamo D, Cuoccio P, Konkoly KR, Lombardo KM, Lewis PA. Wearing an eye mask during overnight sleep improves episodic learning and alertness. Sleep. 2022;46(3):zsac305. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsac305.

4. Hommel B, Sellaro R, Fischer R, Borg S, Colzato LS. High-frequency binaural beats increase cognitive flexibility: Evidence from dual-task crosstalk. Frontiers in Psychology. 2016;7:1287. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01287.

5. Sharpe RLS, Mahmud M, Kaiser MS, Chen J. Gamma entrainment frequency affects mood, memory and cognition: An exploratory pilot study. Brain Informatics. 2020;7(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s40708-020-00119-9.

6. Theobald M, Breitwieser J, Brod G. Test anxiety does not predict exam performance when knowledge is controlled for: Strong evidence against the interference hypothesis of test anxiety. Psychological Science. 2022;33(12):2073-2083. doi: 10.1177/09567976221119391.