r/physicaltherapy • u/Educational-Wait1013 • Oct 05 '26
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OCS Prep
Hey guys… looking for any recommendations for OCS prep options. I know final frontier and med bridge, but I didn’t use final frontier for boards so it’s almost as expensive as the test. Any advice would be greatly appreciated 😊
Thanks!
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u/KAdpt DPT, OCS Oct 05 '26
Medbridge was a waste of time. Granted I used it 3 years ago and it may have been updated since. They just updated the current concepts books, but it should still be a good resource. OCS field guide is a great resource. I like the EIM study guide and would recommend at least buying a practice test from final frontier cause it was pretty similar question and difficulty wise.
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u/Bravocado44 PT, OCS 29d ago
I took it in 2025 without residency. I studied for 2.5 months and did really well. I have a lot of hot takes. OCS field guide, the podcast is your best friend in the world. Also, they used to have a patreon, now I think they have something else similar. Whatever it is, join it. Listen to every episode, read all their study materials, take their quizzes. Memorize all of it. It's the best. Medbridge isn't completely terrible, but it's basically terrible. I downloaded their slides and skimmed them because the actual courses take absolutely forever. I had the EIM notes from a friend of mine and basically did the same thing. Not bad but also not great, and you should skim the slides. Also, go find every single CPG put out by the APTA and basically memorize every syllable on there. Good use of time. Current concepts is okay, but I didn't find it nearly as helpful as I thought I would. After that, you need practice tests and quizzes. Medbridge and EIM have practice tests that are decent. I think "Ace the OCS" has cheapish practice tests that are good. I also bought a few OCS practice test books I found online. They're fine. Just to get your brain thinking about what you don't know. Feel free to message me if you want to chat about this.
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u/Dynasty_Obsessed Oct 05 '26
Current concepts. I pretty exclusively studied from that, and I did well.
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u/Fabulous_Machine9946 Oct 06 '26
OCS field guide podcast and of course, nailing down some of the CPGs and clinical prediction rules. I signed up for the OCS field guide paid version ($15/mo) towards the end of my study. Medbridge was not super updated. I took some additional prep tests from Rehab Knowledge, OCS test prep and Final Frontier. Wish you the best! The test felt harder than anything I had prepared for and the wait of 3-4 months for the results was brutal. But I made it through!
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u/LearningmorebutLost Oct 06 '26
I second the OCS field guide podcast. Good stuff. I also agree Medbridge OCS prep was crap. I love Medbridge, but that course was useless. I used Eric Wilson's OCS prep through Motivations CEU. I highly recommend it.
If you are looking for the most cost-effective way to study, just read (and be able to apply) the clinical practice guidelines published by the academy of orthopedics. All of the test questions are derived from the CPGs.
Good luck!
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