Anyone here taken or gone up against the Fisdap online exam as a condition of employment?

[EMT613]

Okay so we've all heard about or even taken the NREMT. But there is another test out there which many agencies or employers are requiring you to take and pass before they'll hire you. It's called the Fisdap and it's adminstered by the fine Folks at www.fisdap.net. By now I have come to think of it as the cousin to the NREMT. This is NOT an easy test, in fact it's probablty just as hard if not harder than the NREMT. More on that in a minute.

I took this test three times in the past two years. Actually four times if you want to count the online mock test you can take through the web site when you buy their online study p[ackage for $35, which I recommend highly. But for purposes of our discussion let's just say I took it three times. The mock/practice test, like the real one, was 200 questions and just as hard. The first time I took it, I flunked it. By two....points. You need a 72 to pass. I got a 70, and they were unwilling to budge on that one. See you in six months!

The next time was when I took the practice test. This was after three days of intensive study preceeded by a week of daily study using their own study package. I got a 72. The next time I took it I got a 72, then ext time (come to think of it, I did take it four times) it was a 73.

A pass is a pass, but it was a bit frustrating that I seem consistently unable to get a score that passes by more than a repeatedly razor-thin margin. UUUURGH!! To make matters wore, when I got the analysis of just where I was weak in my knowledge, it wasn't in any one area. It was spread out equally amongst almost all subjects.

How hard is this test? According to a statistical abstract available as a PDF on their web site, those who pass the Fisdap have an astounding 90% first-time pass rate on the NREMT. Seeing as the NREMT has an otherwise 70% first-time failure rate, it's safe to say that the Fisdap is harder, and in fact may make for a very good study tool for the NREMT. It's all there in bl;ack and white.

One thing I can tell you about the Fisdap is that it's 200 questions and there is little time pressure to take it, though it is timed. I felt no need to rush. Apgar scoring, burn area calculations and GCS are not on it. Some agencies require their people to take this test every year to keep working for them. One of the agencies I tried out for has a statistician come in every year to make sure the test is hard enough and not too hard for most of their personell to pass it by way of adjusting the metrics.

And there you have it

[paramedicmike]

Agencies and employers such as... who?

[island emt]

sounds like a sales pitch to me.

But then I've been accused of being a cynic before. :-}

I never found the state or national registry exams to be all that hard to do well on myself.

But then I was taught prehospital emergency care, not how to pass the nremt test in class as seems to be the case in many places today.

Edited January 14, 2014 by island emt

[Just Plain Ruff]

I have taken the FISDAP before, I think my score was around the 93% range if I remember but that was quite a while ago or maybe the test I took was some other alphabet soup variety test.

But I'm pretty sure it was the FISDAP unless the FISDAP was not around in 2006 or 08 which is the last time I took my registry solely to get my Kansas licensure.

edit edit edit, I believe my FISDAP test was administered by Johnson County MedACT in their placement test or at least a form of the FISDAP, I could be wrong but this really rings true in my head. I could be wrong, I've not been wrong this week so this could be the one time for the week I am wrong.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Ruffmeister Paramedic

[island emt]

it is tuesday already Ruff :-}

[Just Plain Ruff]

But the week started on Sunday.

[mwc0404]

Not that this helps or not but im in AEMT school now and FISDAP is the required testing format for the entire class. From what i understand most classes these days are switching to the FISDAP platform for testing. Hopefully from what im hearing that FISDAP claims a 90% pass rate on the NREMT im hoping so and that it really helps when it comes time for me to take the NREMT exam.

Edited March 4, 2014 by mwc0404

[MP-EMT22]

Our paramedic class was required to take the Fisdap paramedic test for graduation. A number of our instructors either worked for Fisdap or wrote questions. The questions that they use are the same type of questions the NREMT uses called "validated" questions which means that they are not from some question bank out of nowhere. They go through a process of review from medical directors, surgeons, and educators which takes about 2 years. The reason it is utilized is that they have a 97% NREMT pass rate for those who pass their Fisdap exams. So,if you can pass the Fisdap test, you can pass the registry and that is probably what your employer is going for. Its harder than the national registry on purpose.