My CMPP Exam Experience: Tips and Insights

This weekend, I retook the Certified Medical Publication Professional (CMPP) exam. I first took and passed this three years ago when I was deeply involved in publications planning for the Alzheimer’s franchise. At that time, I was managing hundreds of publications across essentially three separate entities and four teams, living and breathing the guidelines. Fast forward to now, and I find myself in a more publications-adjacent role, making me a little rusty on the details.

Why Obtain the CMPP Certification?

You might wonder why anyone would want to pursue this certification. Here are some compelling reasons:

• Passion for medical communication

• A desire to establish oneself as a committed professional with an in-depth understanding of the nuances in the field

• The goal of adding value to your organization by providing relevant insights during publication planning and execution

• The need to help your organization maintain compliance

• A commitment to staying updated with recent developments in the publication domain

• The ambition to stand out during the hiring process

• The desire to convert scientific writing experience into something tangible

If any of these resonate with you, pursuing the CMPP certification might be a worthwhile endeavor.

Preparation Tips

To prepare for the exam, I used several resources, including Quizlet, where a brilliant individual has created flashcards specifically for the CMPP exam. You can check them out here. I also input all the materials from the ISMPP site and asked ChatGPT to create test questions. You can find my document here.

To enhance my learning experience, I downloaded the "Listening" app to listen to tedious papers and PDFs. This method proved helpful in keeping my studies engaging and manageable.

While I find the certification valuable and reasonably priced, I must admit that this exam is one of the longest and most tedious I have taken. It's also somewhat opaque when it comes to knowing whether you've passed, though I’ve heard that the overall pass rate is around 80%.

Core Publications for Success

When it comes to the essential reading materials for success in the CMPP exam, I would highlight the following core publications:

1. Good Publication Practice (GPP3/GPP4): Offers guidelines for ensuring ethical and compliant publications.

2. ICMJE Recommendations: The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors provides essential criteria for authorship and publication.

3. CONSORT Statement: Focuses on improving the quality of reports of randomized controlled trials.

   
   

These resources will be crucial for anyone preparing for the exam.

Challenges and Workarounds

One challenge I faced during my preparation was maintaining focus. The scope of this exam is extremely broad, and it's easy to get sidetracked. To overcome this, I organized all my essential readings into a tracker. In this tracker, I noted the date I read each resource and included key summary text that I felt might be assessed. I also created three folders for organization: current activities, completed activities, and future activities, along with an Excel sheet to track my progress. This way, I could stay on top of my priorities without getting lost in endless resources.

Exam Environment

For my first exam, I had to go to a test center in Lausanne, where I arrived early, knowing it would be challenging to find. Upon arrival, I showed my ID and was directed to a computer with the exam already loaded. The exam is multiple choice, which can be both good and bad. I found some questions hard to understand as they were nuanced and not always clear in their intent.

As for the length of the exam, 2 hours and 45 minutes felt both tight and long at the same time. While I managed to navigate through the questions, some were worded poorly, like one that asked, "All of these are true except for," where all the answers had "except for" phrasing in them, making it particularly tricky.

Someone on Reddit mentioned they found the exam challenging as well. They read all the recommended and supplementary material and did numerous example questions but still found the actual exam tricky. They echoed my experience that some questions required judgment, such as determining which was more important between meeting a deadline or adhering to a word count.

Thankfully the exams now are fully online with Pearson VUE. You do have to clear your desk beforehand, show ID, check your computer compatility and be in cmplete silence (so take that into consideration when choosing the date to avoid any interruptions from pets or children).

Conclusion

Overall, I’ll need to wait 4-6 weeks to find out if I passed. There's an opportunity to retake the exam if needed, but I hope that won’t be the case! For anyone looking for more insights, you can refer to the CMPP Candidate Handbook.

Good luck to all fellow candidates preparing for the CMPP exam!