Just had my interview for Americare. You go in there and take a written test. 55 questions. Make sure to know your pneumonics (ex. SAMPLE, OPQRST, APGAR, DCAPBTLS, PENMAN, things like that). The test asks a few questions which have debatable answers, which I never found out because I didn't see my test, but I would say it's mostly medical (as compared to some other IFT company tests I took). Afterwards you're given a skills test which involves procedures for taking vitals, OPA, NPA, suctioning, CPR (maybe verbalize AED), BVM, nasal cannula, and Spinal mobilization and placing on a backboard. Basically you're given a dummy to perform all that stuff on. During the test, they actually give u the grader's skill sheet, so you can read it over and see what they're going to look for when they grade you, and you definitely should! Granted, my test took forever b/c I just studied that sheet! I hadn't studied skills for about 10 months so I was worried, but it's not as bad as it seems. You just need to make sure you get the hit points (for example, contraindications for OPA/NPA are very important to know, as are other things such as not suctioning more than 15 seconds, etc.) If you pass all that, they interview you right there, asking you the common questions...What brings you to Americare, why do you want to be an EMT, etc. Hardest question I got was What is your biggest weakness, always a tough one to answer. It was pretty tough to answer on the spot, but I ended up getting offered the job, so I'm satisfied. Hope this helps anyone going through the Americare process.
