The dreaded ACP Exam....

[Wee-EMT]

I am currently a EMT student at SAIT and my platoon and I are starting to study for the ACP exam.:wacko: (which we will hopefully get to write in May....lol!) Does anyone have any tips for the written? Also what kind of scenarios should we expect for the medical and trauma?

[MMiz]

Welcome to EMTLife!

I moved your post to our International forum so that some of our Canadian members can give you some feedback.

Good luck!

[Kendall]

First of all, welcome to EMTLife!

The advice I give to anyone preparing for the ACP exam is to study the AOCP very thoroughly. If your instructor hasn't already talked to you about it you can find it on the ACP website. Expect the same type of questions that were on the EMR exam, the questions will be similar in nature, but to a higher level and will expect a higher standard of critical thinking. They often put obscure things on the exam such as APGAR scores and Cushing's triad.

Don't wait till the week before to study, continuously review from the time you're finished class to the exam. Doesn't sound like that's an issue if your platoon is starting already!

Read the whole question, underline the important bits. Don't over-think the question. If you're stuck, move on and come back to it later so you don't waste time. There will likely be something later on in the exam that may help you answer the question. If you're still stuck use the process of elimination, but remember to keep it simple.

Secondly, I suggest making sure that you are very well practiced in verbalizing everything in both the medical and the trauma scenarios. Look over the exam policies and be sure you stay within your scope; there have been a lot of failures lately for out of scope procedures. Your preceptors might help you out by running through some typical ACP style scenarios between calls.

The day before the exam, DO NOT do a hardcore day of cramming, this will stress you out more. All of your studying should be done well before now! If you need, look over your material a few times throughout the day, but try to relax the day before so you don't psych yourself out. Focus on you the day before; eat well, hydrate yourself and try to avoid caffeine or stimulants. Get a good night's sleep. (Trust me, getting a good night's sleep is crucial.)

The day of the exam, eat a proper breakfast and lunch. Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the exam, don't add to the stress by being late.

Lastly,

GOOD LUCK!

[traumateam1]

Well, Kendall basically said it all.

So, good luck!

[Kendall]

Sorry I kind of killed it didn't I? My bad...

[Wee-EMT]

lol no worries!
Thanks for all the tips! I don't think it'll be to hard if I know my stuff, but it sure will be frustrating! The wording for each question will be tricky just like the EMR exam was.

[RESQ_5_1]

Just one more add as far as scenarios. Don't be afraid to DELEGATE! You have unlimited resources UP TO your level. Utilize them. Have your partner get vitals. Have Fire do extrication. Have someone else do c-spine. And, like Kendall said...VERBALIZE! As far as ACP is concerned, if you didn't say it, you didn't do it. Just like writing your PCR. If it's not on the PCR, it wasn't done.

[jochi1543]

I'm hoping to write the May exam, as well...I didn't study for EMR at all, I think I'll set aside a few days to review drug info, ECG rhythms, and peds vitals for the EMT one, though, but I'm not too worried.

Have you started your practicums already?

[Wee-EMT]

I'm hoping to write the May exam, as well...I didn't study for EMR at all, I think I'll set aside a few days to review drug info, ECG rhythms, and peds vitals for the EMT one, though, but I'm not too worried.

Have you started your practicums already?

I'm actually just starting my clinical practicum tomorrow in Okotoks, I then have my OR practicum at the end of January, but my ambulance isn't until March. How about yourself? What school are you at?

[jochi1543]

I'm actually just starting my clinical practicum tomorrow in Okotoks, I then have my OR practicum at the end of January, but my ambulance isn't until March. How about yourself? What school are you at?

I'm at the alphabet school. Where's your ambulance practicum? I'm thinking about going to the rez for mine, but we don't get to choose sites till Feb 5. But I have one of the highest averages in my class, so I should be in the first 3 or so to pick sites, so I'm pretty sure I'll end up where I want, anyway. We don't have a separate clinical vs OR practicum...just one hospital practicum.

[Wee-EMT]

The alphabet school? I've never heard of that. Where about is it? How do you like that program? Do you find it super fast? I find the SAIT program super fast!

We haven't found out where we are going for our ambulance practicum yet, but the instructors keep telling us were going to do it with the city. How are your practicums going? Fun?

[fortsmithman]

The alphabet school i believe is AHASTI Alberta Health And Safety Training Institute, It's located in Red Deer and Calgary. EMR is taught in both locations but EMT is available only in Calgary according to their web site.

[jochi1543]

The alphabet school? I've never heard of that. Where about is it? How do you like that program? Do you find it super fast? I find the SAIT program super fast!

We haven't found out where we are going for our ambulance practicum yet, but the instructors keep telling us were going to do it with the city. How are your practicums going? Fun?

FtSmithMan answered the 1st q for me....

SAIT is fast? I thought it was a year-long program? There was a girl in my EMR class taking her EMT there (hah, so she's in your class...can't remember her name, though), she said the first couple of weeks they only had to be in class like one day a week....I considered it, but it was kind of a last-minute thought, and SAIT recruits in Feb for a Sep start, so it didn't really work for me. It was either PMA or AHASTI for my EMT.

Since it's a 3-month program, it's definitely fast....but I find it very much manageable. They painted is as the purgatory at the interview, but really, in terms of workload and expectations it's quite similar to any rigorous university program (of which I've endured a total of 5 years), so really, nothing new to me. But there are lots of people who have only done high school in the class, so for them it's a huge change in workload and responsibility. But hey, if you wanna be responsible for people's lives, you have to be prepared for things like that, right?

[John707]

Regarding what Kendall said on the good night sleep very very important. Speaking from personal experience I only about 3 hours sleep the night before my EMR scenario. Still passed but it was thee most terrifying test i have ever done. mainly because i could barely think straight

[Wee-EMT]

Ya, it's a 10 month program, but we have class once a week or twice a month, So what we learn on our class day is most likely forgotten by some students for the next class. There is alot of self study, which is good, but some things are just better when you have someone explain them in there own words.

ACP should be fine. We get two scenarios. A medical and a trauma. But the written will be kind of frustrating...just like the EMR exam. They have a question like 'How many seconds does it take to print out a strip from the ECG?' Answer: Who cares? We need it now!

[RyanMidd]

I finished the AHASTI EMT program December 30th, and I'll be writing ACP on the 27th, scenarios on the 28th or the 1st. Fingers crossed. Any other questions, though? I'd be glad to answer.

[Wee-EMT]

I finished the AHASTI EMT program December 30th, and I'll be writing ACP on the 27th, scenarios on the 28th or the 1st. Fingers crossed. Any other questions, though? I'd be glad to answer.

YES! keep us updated, and GOOD LUCK!!!!

[RyanMidd]

Just wrote the exam, and I feel decent about it. Pass is 75%, and a conservative estimate lands me at just over 85%. Scenarios (1 trauma, 1 medical) take place tomorrow afternoon, so I have that much time to sit and try not to stress.

[RyanMidd]

Aced the scenarios, and then slept like a baby that night. Running stress that high for 48 hours can take it out of you.

I guess I'll let you know in 6-8 weeks (bleh) how the written portion went.

[Wee-EMT]

Just wrote the exam, and I feel decent about it. Pass is 75%, and a conservative estimate lands me at just over 85%. Scenarios (1 trauma, 1 medical) take place tomorrow afternoon, so I have that much time to sit and try not to stress.

Whatwere your scenarios? Pretty straight forward?
How were the questions?

Sorry about all the questions...But I wanna be as ready as possible!:P

[RyanMidd]

No problem. Questions were tough to study for; they go for a very wide range, and also a broad spectrum of difficulty. Some questions were as easy as:
"You are forced to provide ventilation for your 34-year-old patient. How many breaths do you give him per minute?", obviously answering 12-20.

Other questions were not so straightforward, and made you think about obscure references you learned at your school, like;
**test question and answers removed**

The answer for that one still eludes me, but I'm sure there is some Act in your notes that describes it in detail. Some of the questions were straight off of the EMR ACP exam, from when I took it last year, such as those at highest risk for suicide (those who have a plan and description of their suicide is the textbook description), and there were several EMT-level questions about drop-sets and calculating how many gtt/min, etc.

I'll have to wait and see how I did, but the scenarios were fairly straightforward as well: one Medical scenario tested your ability to administer 1-2 medications (including 6 Rights, indication, contraindications, etc), and how well you respond to changing patient presentation. The Trauma was quite simple, and just looked at your abilities to prioritize treatments in the proper order. For Trauma, just remember that if its leaking, plug it. If it's floppy, splint it. If its a funny color, look at it closer.

Personally, I am not very studious when it comes to cramming before tests. I skimmed some parts of my texts that I thought were important (the COPD conditions, Obstetric emergencies, and baseline vital signs for ALL age groups, from newborns to the elderly). It served me fairly well. I also skipped some fairly major parts, though, and gambled that they wouldn't have much presence on the test. In the case of ECGs, this was true, as only 1 out of the 200 questions was the interpretation of a strip.

Just practice your scenarios (WITHOUT adding in all the silly things like sclera/conjunctiva, edema, etc), and ask only for the things that are actually on the checklist. You don't get extra marks for asking 6 questions about a body part that doesn't matter, so ask the important ones and move on. And for your own sake, know your meds inside and out. Just hand the GAP Module medication sheets to a friend or family member, and have them fire random questions about meds at you all day. Annoying, but effective, especially if they get creative. (i.e "I'll make you a sandwich if you can tell me what the 9 contraindications for Nitroglycerine are").

[ffemt8978]

Please don't post actual test questions and answers here.

[Wee-EMT]

No problem. Questions were tough to study for; they go for a very wide range, and also a broad spectrum of difficulty. Some questions were as easy as:
"You are forced to provide ventilation for your 34-year-old patient. How many breaths do you give him per minute?", obviously answering 12-20.

Other questions were not so straightforward, and made you think about obscure references you learned at your school, like;
**test question and answers removed**

The answer for that one still eludes me, but I'm sure there is some Act in your notes that describes it in detail. Some of the questions were straight off of the EMR ACP exam, from when I took it last year, such as those at highest risk for suicide (those who have a plan and description of their suicide is the textbook description), and there were several EMT-level questions about drop-sets and calculating how many gtt/min, etc.

I'll have to wait and see how I did, but the scenarios were fairly straightforward as well: one Medical scenario tested your ability to administer 1-2 medications (including 6 Rights, indication, contraindications, etc), and how well you respond to changing patient presentation. The Trauma was quite simple, and just looked at your abilities to prioritize treatments in the proper order. For Trauma, just remember that if its leaking, plug it. If it's floppy, splint it. If its a funny color, look at it closer.

Personally, I am not very studious when it comes to cramming before tests. I skimmed some parts of my texts that I thought were important (the COPD conditions, Obstetric emergencies, and baseline vital signs for ALL age groups, from newborns to the elderly). It served me fairly well. I also skipped some fairly major parts, though, and gambled that they wouldn't have much presence on the test. In the case of ECGs, this was true, as only 1 out of the 200 questions was the interpretation of a strip.

Just practice your scenarios (WITHOUT adding in all the silly things like sclera/conjunctiva, edema, etc), and ask only for the things that are actually on the checklist. You don't get extra marks for asking 6 questions about a body part that doesn't matter, so ask the important ones and move on. And for your own sake, know your meds inside and out. Just hand the GAP Module medication sheets to a friend or family member, and have them fire random questions about meds at you all day. Annoying, but effective, especially if they get creative. (i.e "I'll make you a sandwich if you can tell me what the 9 contraindications for Nitroglycerine are").





Wow thanks! Sounds like you did just fine! One more question ( I promise!). Would it be beneficial to take a A&P class before the exam? (I took one a couple years ago which still counted for credit at my school for this year)

[RyanMidd]

I guess it depends how comfortable you are with your A&P. I found my textbook and a sports med class I did back in high school to be sufficient. AHASTI also offers a free ACP prep day for their students about 2-3 days before the test, and classmates told me that it was mostly running scenarios and having a few last minute questions answered.

[jochi1543]

Personally, I am not very studious when it comes to cramming before tests. I skimmed some parts of my texts that I thought were important (the COPD conditions, Obstetric emergencies, and baseline vital signs for ALL age groups, from newborns to the elderly). It served me fairly well. I also skipped some fairly major parts, though, and gambled that they wouldn't have much presence on the test. In the case of ECGs, this was true, as only 1 out of the 200 questions was the interpretation of a strip.


Interesting to know, ECG was gonna be one of the few things I planned on reviewing thoroughly.