So I take my praticles on the 25th...

[Nelg]

Bit anxious, but feel ready for it. The class was very informative, and feel that I made the right choice wanting to check into EMS related work. Just enjoyed my ride times, and look forward to the NREMT testing.

Anyone else remember there first times going in, working on there certs, nervousness or anything else? Or am i posting in the wrong area? lol

Just saving for the planed move for where I want to work.

 

[nemedic]

here seems appropriate. other than that, maybe education. but since you're already here, i'll leave you with my thoughts:

1. It is natural to feel nervous, you just can't let that anxiety overwhelm you.
2. If you think you might not have done something well, don't dwell on it, or you run the risk of over thinking it and running into #1.
3. Study/practice, but not on the night before. By then, you either know it or you don't. Relax, get plenty of sleep eat a good breakfast and get plenty of fluids. (PS stay away from caffeine the day of.)

 

[feldy]

just so you don't seemed surprised, the examiners may seem really unfriendly and intimidating (no offense to anyone out there). Dont worry about them, just be confident in your actions, you know your stuff and will do the right thing. and of course for every station Remember your BSI.

 

[medichopeful]

for every station Remember your BSI.

And your scene safety!

 

[Nelg]

Yeah, my instructor is having us come back a few days before we do our main pratacles to practice for any that we may get. From what I gathered, it shouldn't be as bad as my mind wants to think. I mean, I've survived an interview with the Border Patrol before they turned me down for having Lasik within a year that I was testing. lol

And also, from what I gathered, treat for shock is also a big one.

All the studying, the note taking, every bit of extra things i could do seem to be paying off.

 

[feldy]

seems like you got it. Treat for shock is a big one even though it doesnt say on the skill sheets it may still be a fail point. Also a big thing people tend to forget (my testing partner did) is when doing any splinting (arm, leg, spinal) CHECK FOR PMS BEFORE AND AFTER. also for longboard-some examiners get picky whether you secure the arms or not but secure them to be safe.

I have taken the practicals twice, one for Massachusetts and one for Louisiana so i have a bit of experience testing. If you know your sheets you will be fine but know the critical fail points too, and dont forget to breath. You have more time than you think so take a second or two to think about your next move before you do it, it helps to verbalize everything so both you and the examiner dont miss anything in case they arnt looking at you while they write something down.

 

[medichopeful]

Not sure if it's on the NREMT (though I would be shocked if it wasn't), but review CPR/AED/resuscitation. BIG fail point, as most people don't really practice it often. For example, I was helping test the current EMT class at my college on CPR, and there were about 8 fails (out of like 14-16 people I saw). Make sure you know the little things (AED pads on BEFORE you turn on the AED or connect the pads), but also the big things (I had a few people forget to open the airway when giving ventilations or checking for breathing).

The airway mistake was very surprising. The AED mistakes were shocking.


As far as nervousness goes, I was pretty nervous the morning of the test. It's a good thing to be scared. Once the test started, though, I was fine. I knew my stuff, and if you do too it's very simple (assuming it's for basic. Medic is undoubtedly more difficult).

 

[Shishkabob]

AED pads on BEFORE you turn on the AED or connect the pads

Since when was doing pads before / during /after AED being turned on a fail point? You can do it in any sequence so long as it's done. The vast majority of NR skills don't have a "Do A before B" setup in how they're graded.

Please tell me if you tested students for the NR you didn't fail them for what you just stated...

 

[medichopeful]

Since when was doing pads before / during /after AED being turned on a fail point? You can do it in any sequence so long as it's done. The vast majority of NR skills don't have a "Do A before B" setup in how they're graded.

Please tell me if you tested students for the NR you didn't fail them for what you just stated...

Not the NR, no. For MA, operating the AED incorrectly is a fail point. I'm not a state examiner (this was just for the college final), but I did check with a state examiner and he stated that since the AED starts analyzing immediately when it's turned on if the pads are connected, that we could (and should) fail them for it.

 

[EMSLaw]

CPR was not on our practical. We had what I think are fairly standard stations:

Airway
Medical Assessment
Trauma Assessment
Hare Traction
KED application.

Other than a few people who got into the assessments and had no clue, the fail points seemed to be what you'd expect - letting go of traction on the traction splint, or not getting it tight enough, moving the patient too much with the KED, etc.

I did have to verbalize adjusting the airway and inserting an OPA during my trauma assessment, and actually had to do those things in the airway portion, but CPR wasn't covered.

Different states are different, I'm sure, and I know there are other options for some of the stations (KED vs. LBB, Airway vs. Bleeding Control).

Anyway, we did a practice practical beforehand, too, so by the time we got to the final, we'd drilled all this stuff over and over again.

 

[feldy]

Not the NR, no. For MA, operating the AED incorrectly is a fail point. I'm not a state examiner (this was just for the college final), but I did check with a state examiner and he stated that since the AED starts analyzing immediately when it's turned on if the pads are connected, that we could (and should) fail them for it.

the NR only has you do CPR/AED management meaning you tell a partner or bystander to do cpr while you just hook up the aed. But it is true in MA that if you plug in before you apply the pads it is considered a fail because you did not analyze the correct rhythm (being the EMT not the pt's). But i do know that MA has changed their practicals a little bit since last august so im not sure if this is still a fail point.

when i took the MA practicals last august my examiner almost failed me b/c he said i placed the one of the pads too high on the pt (too close to the shoulder which it may have been but it wasnt rolling over the shoulder and the pad fell off (after a long day of testing with training pads the stickiness wears off) and i didnt want to touch them when analyzing.

 

[medichopeful]

the NR only has you do CPR/AED management meaning you tell a partner or bystander to do cpr while you just hook up the aed. But it is true in MA that if you plug in before you apply the pads it is considered a fail because you did not analyze the correct rhythm (being the EMT not the pt's). But i do know that MA has changed their practicals a little bit since last august so im not sure if this is still a fail point.

when i took the MA practicals last august my examiner almost failed me b/c he said i placed the one of the pads too high on the pt (too close to the shoulder which it may have been but it wasnt rolling over the shoulder and the pad fell off (after a long day of testing with training pads the stickiness wears off) and i didnt want to touch them when analyzing.

They did change it recently, but one of the critical fail is still "Did not operate AED correctly." And that encompasses a lot of things (for example [unless I'm horribly mistaken]: order of hooking everything up, pads on in the wrong place, etc.).

My favorite screw-up was when 2 people in the class switched the pads (lower right and upper left) in the first test h34r:

 

[Shishkabob]

They did change it recently, but one of the critical fail is still "Did not operate AED correctly." And that encompasses a lot of things (for example [unless I'm horribly mistaken]: order of hooking everything up, pads on in the wrong place, etc.).

And who determines, and where is it written, that is incorrect AED usage when it comes to the pads?

The NR has the same critical fail ("Did not operate the AED properly or safely (inability to deliver shock)") but I have never been told, and have never known anyone to fail, due to putting the pads on the patient before connecting. Unless there is a part of the sheet that says "DO this before you do that", like on the IV station where you have to cut or tear tape before puncture, then it's rather stupid to fail someone for doing it in a different sequence.

but I did check with a state examiner and he stated that since the AED starts analyzing immediately when it's turned on if the pads are connected, that we could (and should) fail them for it.

Depends on the AED. Some have an analyze button that you press, some want pads connected to patient before to the monitor, etc.

Heck, here's just one sample of an AED that actually states the opposite of what you said-- it says connect pads to patient before it says connect pads to the AED. Here



I say follow the prompts of the individual AED over following some asinine rule.

 

[Byrdman]

Our practice AEDs in class actually take you step by step through the process from "Apply pads to patient", "Connect pads to AED", "Ensure patient is clear" (or something close), "Analyzing rhythm", "Shock Advised/Shock Not Advised".

For my EMT-B skills testing on Cardiac Arrest Management/AED, when it comes to the AED if you can hear then you're good to go. The major fail points are not stopping/continuing CPR in the right spots, not verbalizing clearing the patient, and not checking the pulse in the right spots.

As for tips for the testing, just relax. If your class was worth its salt, you practiced the skills a million times. You know more than you think. Also, every single tester that is grading you has been on your end of the deal and they probably remember the nerves.