Fourth attempt at NREMT....ugghh

[island emt]

The reason I suggested your state office is that they are the ultimate decision maker on how many times you can retest and what time limits are placed on retesting from completion of the class and the skills testing. Since we don't know what state you are in , it's hard to give accurate info.

The National registry is not a licensing organization or lawmaker. That is a state agency issue.

The nat registry is a test writing and administering organization period that is hired by state EMS agencies so they don't have to write their own exams.

Nat registry doesn't even give the exams anymore, it is contracted to Pearson .

Edited March 21, 2013 by island emt

[Just Plain Ruff]

Yes, Island that is a great idea, your suggestion was also spot on.

[ColinW]

Yes that was a good suggestion island.

[MikeEMT]

I'm curious, and please don't take any disrespect, but how can you fail the NREMT 3 times? Have you figured out what the problem is and taken steps to correct it? Maybe we can help you overcome it.

Retaking the test isn't going to accomplish much if you have not solved the underlying issue as to why you keep failing.

I know a couple of EMT's that absolutely sucked at taking the test. However, they are some of the best EMT's I have met. Very knowledgable and good at the job.

Whatever your reason for the continual problems, don't let it get you down. Concentrate on passing the test then worry about being the best EMT you can be. Always remember, we are here for our patient.

Edited March 28, 2013 by MikeEMT

[Just Plain Ruff]

HEY OP!!!! Where are you located at? Have you considered a Registry prep class? When I got ready for the NREMT-P test, I took a 2 day intensive prep course that too me through all the stations and had actual registry test evaluators who evaluated me on my skills and gave pointers. We could take the stations as many times as we wanted until we got comfortable with it.

I passed the practical test the first time.

I recommend it.

[island emt]

it sounds like they are bombing the computer based testing ruff

[Just Plain Ruff]

it sounds like they are bombing the computer based testing ruff

ahhhhh ok, that's different. Computer based testing is just technique and knowledge and theres no real way to prep for that. At least not any way that I know of that has been truly proven to work for everyone. I wonder if Kaplan offers a generic computer based test taking course?

[island emt]

From anecdotal observations of students taking the adaptive testing, It seems that YES you need to know the subject matter, & you need to read carefully the questions and answer choices offered.

Where some students run into issues is when they try and read into the questions or look for an answer that fits what they think it should be. We all know that multiple choice questions are sometimes written in a way to partially confuse you, and can have several answer choices that are almost correct.

Picking the correct answer they want is sometimes elusive and may not be what the student is taught given the question.

We tell students not to over analyze the questions and to go with the most logical after reading all the answers,

[DwayneEMTP]

Yeah, MikeEMT makes the most valid point. You truly can not be dumb enough to fail it three times if you've made any effort to learn the material.

That is not a sneaky way to call you stupid, but instead to validate Mike's point. If you've failed it three times, and have made an effort to learn the material, something else is happening and you need to figure out what it is. Taking the test again without doing so is kind of like hoping that your patients B/P will stop falling while you sit without intervening in his arterial bleed.

I'm mean, c'mon Brother, look around you at some of the people that have passed it...are you intimidated by their knowledge? Probably not, with many of them. It's vital that you don't tell yourself, "I can't believe that I'm so stupid!!" We believe it when we talk to ourselves like that.

Time to let the brains here pick away at your test prep, anxiety levels, test taking skills and see if they can find the gremlin...

[Eydawn]

How you perform on CBT has no bearing on your potential as a provider. That goes for any level, from EMT to Paramedic to RN to PA...

CBT is a tricky bastard, and you really have to learn to play the game by the rules they set for you. You have to learn what the best answer FOR THE TEST is, and answer accordingly.

I'll give you an example from the NCLEX: You're a school nurse out with the kiddos on field day. Kiddo falls out of the tree, and is complaining of leg pain. What do you do? A: Send someone for help; B: Give the kiddo a Tylenol; C: Instruct the kiddo not to move and stay with them until help arrives; D: Tie the kid's legs together.

C seems like a no brainer, right? Well, with the info given in the question, there's no indication of any trauma other than to the leg, so you do D to provide splinting and protect CMS. (I know. I was SO PISSED...)

The answer is not always airway... the test is adaptive, so you have to pass a certain number of a certain level of difficulty questions in each category to pass... if you're answering right but you're at or below the pass threshold, you still fail.

Prep courses are good; I used the Kaplan book to prep for NREMT and I used the Kaplan computer based prep for the NCLEX. If you know the material, and you brush up on the critical topics, and you can pick out the "correct" "critical thinking" answer instead of the quick, obvious common sense answer, you'll do better on CBT.

Do you have any test anxiety? Dyslexia? Dyscalculia (dyslexia with numbers)? Need extra time? Do you take the entire time to take the test? Do you get bored/lose focus? How'd you feel after taking your previous exams? Good? Failed? Knew you failed? There's more to it than just sitting for it again. The game doesn't change, your approach to the game has to change...

Wendy

RN-ADN

CO EMT-B