Here are a couple ways of to cope with this large, intimidating exam. Know the manual back to front, and be comfortable navigating it and using its numerous appendices. Treat these exams like real tests: study extensively for them, time yourself as you take them, and then note which questions, and more importantly what type of questions, you regularly get wrong. On your first test, did you struggle with the Anesthesia codes? Go back over that section. Were you sloppy with your ICD-10-CM codes? Review the ICD-10-CM manual. Many practice exams can be easier than the actual exam, but you should still take them seriously. You should try and score at least an 80% on a practice exam before you take the real CPC exam. You are also not allowed to tape anything into these manuals. The CPT manual, for instance, comes with a number of tabs you can place in the book to mark certain important places. Use these to mark off where code sections begin like the Surgery or Medicine sections in the CPT manual , and where to find certain appendices. Also be aware that each manual has loads of helpful information beyond the codes. The CPT manual has a number of diagrams of the human body, including illustrations of the ocular system and adnexa, the musculoskeletal system, the nervous system and much more. Separate the questions into blocks of time, and work on one block of questions for a fixed amount of time before moving on to the next set. For example, you can divide the CPC exam into five groups of 30 questions. Take one hour for every thirty questions. Or you could try and take on 10 questions every 20 minutes. As soon as your designated block of time is up, skip to the next block of questions. If you finish a block of questions early, go back and fill in questions you skipped. Make it your goal to read and, if possible, answer every question on the test. This can be a kitchen timer or a watch. Know Your Goals In order to pass the CPC exam, you need to get a 70% or better on the test. The long, multi-part questions that might have you look up three, four, or five codes are worth the same as the general knowledge questions. Another good way of managing your goals and your time is to remember that your objective in the test is to pick the best available answer. Pick the best possible answer and move on. Remember as you take the test that you can get 45 questions wrong. Instead, move on and try and regain your momentum with easier, less time-intensive questions.