Go buy some exam prep books at the local bookstore, they typically have good practice exams in the back, but dont just focusing your self on practicing taking the exam, practice KNOWING the material behind the questions.
Some people may never feel completely ready to take or retake the exam, but you just need to be confident in your own abilities. YOU KNOW whether or not you know the material. If you know it, tell yourself you know it, go in there, take the test, dont second guess yourself.....second guessing seems to be a huge downfall in ems certification exams, and the more you second guess yourself the less clear the answers become.
Don't read into the questions deeper than the question is. take it at face value, and select your answer based on the information given in the question. Its common from what I've seen to think to yourself, "well, if they had THIS condition or THAT symptom I would do this" when that information wasn't presented in the question.
Here is a perfect example
Q: What is the preferred method of opening the airway in an unconscious patient?
A] Jaw thrust
B] head tilt chin lift
C] oral airway placement
D] with a can opener
There will always be 2 choices that are obviously wrong, and 2 choices that could be correct. In this case C and D are the obviously wrong choices.
A or B could be valid answers..so lets look at this a little closer
The obvious answer is B.. however, people will begin to question this.. they think.. well if its unknown trauma, then its A. This is reading into the question....the question doesn't state ANYTHING about trauma or if it is unknown. You have to use the information given to you in the question, and read the question for key words that help you make a decision. The KEY word in the question above is the PREFERRED method.. which is a head tilt chin lift.
Hope this helps some.. if you need any other help or have other questions, you are always welcome to PM me!
