Having Trouble Passing NREMT-B - Suggestions?

[Sasha]

Go over the skill sheets memorize and practice doing them step by step. And practice verbalizing EVERYTHING. Dont assume. Like dont skip ABCs because your patient is talking to you, make sure if he is you tell your tester that Okay, because my patient is alert and talking to me I know he is breathing adequately and perfusing so Im going to start my SAMPLE. kinda thing. Practice verbalizing that kind of stuff!

Remember your ABCs, life over limb, dont focus on something simply because it looks bad.

We tested infront of the florida state medical director, he tried to throw us off to truly test us. For example, if we had a fall scenario you would walk in, scene safe, BSI, and he (as the patient) would start screaming OH MY LEG OH MY LEG OH GOD MY LEG!!!! and some students would zoom right into the leg and forget to go through the ABCs and their head to toe.

 

[Ridryder911]

Perform it like you were teaching to Brand New EMT students with lots of verbalization and hands on assessment.

R/r 911

 

[chrisen84]

Really, what does one expect from an half-arse course? Now, think you spent as much time re-doing and retesting if you had placed that time in a decent course.

Anyone that takes an accelerated course which is half arse, can assume to have the same results.

I caution those that plan to go from Paramedic to RN the same advice. Unless you have >5 years true hospital experience, it will bite you. Yes, you may pass the tests, even the board; but when you are assigned in a unit, floor.. You will see that you know very little.

Remember, even the strong educational facilities still only teach the minimum safety allowed. Get the best you can.. i..e. I have never seen anyone complain about graduating from Harvard Medical School.

R/r 911

oooooook then.. Thanks I guess.!

 

[MAGICFLEA]

Thanks!

Thank you all so very very much!
I have been told to write them down over and over again but I am quite sure that would not work for me.
I have just been going thru the sheets one at a time and covering up the next line and removing it when I say the next step.
If I dont get it right, I will start over until I say do the whole sheet correct.
Then I do it like 5 times in a row. Haha.

I am more worried about the medical and trauma assessments.
A lot of things to remember on those.

Also....is pedi intubation still a required basic skill?
I noticed it was in the "advanced" section on NREMT's website.

Thanks again everybody!

 

[FutureFlightMedic]

Hi, good tips given by everyone here. The key is to practice, just as they say! And actually, Peds intubation is a Paramedic skill; anyform of endotracheal intubation is. As a basic, you may be tested on combitube at your exam, so know that. Just keep working on it, you'll do great!! Good Luck to you!!

 

[BossyCow]

Practice verbalizing the skills as you perform them. Talk to yourself and get a patter down. That way the information you check in your head but don't mention out loud to your proctor doesn't cost you points because they didn't hear you say it.

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

As everyone has said, practice, practice, practice out loud. Also there is a listof critical criteria on each and every check off sheet. DON'T DO THOSE. If you don't do the critical criteria, then you can't fail the check offs.

 

[John E]

2 things...

don't step over the pt. when they're lying on the backboard and remember that the last step before moving a pt. on a backboard isn't taping their head or using head beds etc.

John E.

 

[marineman]

I have to agree with everyone in practice, practice, practice but I would disagree in one point. If you only have 1 person as a helper while you practice them do your assessment on a pillow or a mattress (queen size is most life like here in WI lol) and have your human helper hold the check sheet and actually check things off as you do it. It does you no good to practice these things if nobody is checking that you do them right. If you practice wrong 100 times you're worse off than the person who never practiced at all. If your friend can watch the sheet and be your patient that's even better but at least in EMT-B practicals 1/2 the things on the sheet you're only verbalizing anyway.

If you need more copies of the sheets they can be found on the NREMT site.

http://www.nremt.org/EMTServices/exam_coord_man.asp?secID=1#BSkillSheets

 

[chrisen84]

So, just took the test right now, at 1900 pacific. and it stopped at 112.! Im so nervous ppl!!!!

 

[traumateam1]

-awaits news if you passed or failed- Good luck, hopefully you passed!

 

[chrisen84]

ya man. thanks i hope so 2!

 

[chrisen84]

FAILED AGAIN FOR THE 3RD TIME. MAybe this just isnt for me. For everyone out there.... DO NOT take the accelerated course if you have no previous EMS experience. I think I might just have to take the regular full term EMT class.. whenever i get the money to pay for it. Thx guys. Good luck to all.!

 

[lalaneedstopass]

I've just gotten back the results from my 2nd NREMT test and unsuccessful once again. This time I did worst and I thought I had it down. It's the scenarios that are getting me lost in all of it. This time I just kept thinking ABC ABC ABC ABC ABC and it felt like every question the answer was ABC. So I just don't get it, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I want to and have to pass this 3rd time. I've already ordered 2 books from amazon and so just waiting on those, but also are there any really good prep courses available online that help with studying that have practice tests, testing on scenarios?? I know my stuff, but it's like more book work than real life that I have down. I just wish my class was more helping on passing the NREMT rather than reading the book to us. Also, any good suggestions on passing. The book I had for studying and my class book was nothing like the NREMT. And all the even free practice tests I found were just basic like "where's the aorta?" I want something that will be scenario based and actually challenge my mind.

 

[lalaneedstopass]

I'm not aware of any study groups, but this is a very useful website for studying:

http://www.emtb.com/9e/

• Online Chapter Pretests
• Anatomy Review
• Vocabulary Explorer
• Registry Review

These are just a few key features this website has to offer. I strongly recommend browsing all of its content in order to prepare yourself for a 3rd attempt at National Registry. Best of luck B)

That site was not helpful at all for me. I found it the night before I took it the first time took a few of the first couple tests and passed 100%. Then when I failed and was studying for my 2nd I went through and read everything took all 80 of the tests got no lower than a 90% and here I am studying for the 3rd time. It's a helpful site for studying, but not for the NREMT. The questions are way too basic.

 

[Bosco578]

What are you having most troubles with, written or scenerios? Or Both?

 

[Hastings]

Basic or Medic?

If Medic, Success For The Paramedic.

 

[Ridryder911]

I've just gotten back the results from my 2nd NREMT test and unsuccessful once again. This time I did worst and I thought I had it down. It's the scenarios that are getting me lost in all of it. This time I just kept thinking ABC ABC ABC ABC ABC and it felt like every question the answer was ABC. So I just don't get it, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I want to and have to pass this 3rd time. I've already ordered 2 books from amazon and so just waiting on those, but also are there any really good prep courses available online that help with studying that have practice tests, testing on scenarios?? I know my stuff, but it's like more book work than real life that I have down. I just wish my class was more helping on passing the NREMT rather than reading the book to us. Also, any good suggestions on passing. The book I had for studying and my class book was nothing like the NREMT. And all the even free practice tests I found were just basic like "where's the aorta?" I want something that will be scenario based and actually challenge my mind.

Okay I am going to be brutal (remember this is not personal attack rather an observation)
but I just left a meeting with the President of the NREMT after a 7 hour meeting. Such complaints as yours was discussed thoroughly and rationale for why they are not considered valid.

NREMT has NO authorized books for studying, there are more than 3,000 test bank questions.. so one can see there is no way the could publish anything close to the NREMT test. They can publish similar testing strategies or questions similar to what the NREMT presents.

You contradict yourself several times the first:..."It's the scenarios that are getting me lost in all of it" .. then you stated ..." want something that will be scenario based and actually challenge my mind Which is it?

Again, sorry if it comes across as demeaning but the NREMT and Instructors hear the same limerick and whining over and over..

The test is developed as a credentialing test to test your base line knowledge in emergency medicine. Testing for the minimal safe allowed. This includes much more than a scenario. One must possess cognitive knowledge other than just treatment alone.

Again, you contradict yourself. You describe as "really knowing your stuff" if that is really true, it would not matter what the test question was over, about or written you would pass. Definitely, not two times.

I would enquire about getting a "mentor" a Paramedic student, recommended by the EMS faculty. One that has exceptional testing capabilities and as well good didactic understanding to quiz and brief you on similar NREMT types of questions. There are more than 3,000 question .. so NO publisher could ever write a book that has anything close to the test. Now, they can have similar test writing skills such as detractors and stem key test questions.

Now in closing, students have to realize that they have the MINIMUM allowable training to be considered a part of medicine. Anything less, would be considered a lay person course. Now, with all that or really less training, many students assume that they know and should dictate what is on a National Certification, yet they have not even really ran a call yet....

For this job to become a profession, one must understand that as a student you probably will not understand the business and profession side yet. There is much more involved in test writing, quantification of the certification process and certification itself.

My suggestion is getting an EMS mentor. A fellow student that has great testing skills and has a great student. Ask your faculty if they have any fellow upperclassmen that would be interested.

I will try to post some of my notes, in regards with meeting Mr. Brown of the NREMT last Friday. It was very, very interesting. I actually see a glitter of hope of EMS actually becoming a profession.

R/r 911

 

[lalaneedstopass]

First off, it's basic not medic.

I'm having trouble with the scenarios. Like, this pt. has this BP (abnormal) and this R (abnormal) and this P (abnormal) and is either having chest pains or bad cough. And then it's like do you give NC 6% or NRB 15% or give them prescribed nitro or prescribed MDI. I keep thinking if ABC's are first then give them oxygen before prescribed anything. And if all their vitals are abnormal and they can't breathe give them 100% oxygen. Or am I wrong? So I guess my biggest issue has been trauma, medical, and abc questions because that's mainly where the scenario questions are. And I guess I don't know my stuff that well considering I am still failing and it's basically all the same questions. I need to study on that a lot more but I also want practice tests that are questioned similar to the NREMT. Not like simple questions that really are right or wrong. But questions that are all of these could be right but which one is correct. And do you give prescribed meds before ABC's? And when is the nasal cannula okay to give and not the NRB, but when is the NRB okay to give and not the NC. I can't really ask my teacher considering when I passed he disappeared off the face of the earth. And there are no available mentors at my school for EMS.

 

[Ridryder911]

The highest areas that Basics are failing are:

CPR and related subjects

Respiratory systems such identifying the difference from ventilation and oxygenation, or in other words the difference in respiratory distress and respiratory arrest.

Trauma systems, especially identifying the specific types of shock.

Obstetrics and burns.

One of the highest failures in the EMT test was the student not understanding the difference in patients that were having respiratory distress and those with respiratory failure. For example:

You have a 55 year old male that was found with only response to very deep painful stimulus, no previous medical history. Vital signs are pulse 100 beats per minute, blood pressure 150/90 and respiratory rate 5 times a minute. What is the most appropriate treatment?

a. Establish LOC, obtain second set of vital signs, apply oxygen at 3 lpm per nasal cannula, monitor for aspiration and prepare the patient for rapid transport.

b. Administer 25gms of oral glucose, call for ALS, apply AED pads and evaluate rhythm. Apply oxygen at 10 lpm per mask. Monitor for aspiration.

c. Open and establish airway, assist ventilation with BVM attached to supplemental oxygen. Monitor airway for aspiration and notify for ALS rendezvous.

d. Establish LOC. Open and establish airway, apply a non-re-breather mask and oxygen at 15 lpm/100%, obtain information on patients medications, medical history and prepare the patient for rapid transport.

Well, one should be able to eliminate the wrong answers first. Nowhere is there a discussion of diabetes. In fact the scenario states there is no past medical history. Now, eliminate the ones with establish LOC. LOC has already been established.

Now, look at the respiratory rate is enough to provide adequate oxygenation? There is much difference in oxygenation and ventilation. The pipes versus lungs and oxygenation.

Be sure to understand the pathophysiology of the systems as well; the why's and what we are doing.

Sorry, about your so called instructor. Hence maybe part of the problem, but there are good books out there. Read your text objectives. Remember, the NREMT is obstained from the NHTSA curriculum.

See if there is a EMT that is willing to assit or tutor you. Many students require a quick review and clarification.

R/r 911