Any tips for passing the NREMT-P

[weezeehamilton]

So i recently took the NREMT-P test for the first time, and didnt pass. Im historically a terrible test taker. I had to take the NREMT-B test twice as well. In medic school i failed every fisdap test the first time, despite all the time and effort i put towards studying. I used medictests.com to study for the first test. What my class mates did was take the tests multiple times before the real test. I tried that along with reviewing parts of questions/answers i was unsure about. Seeing as that didn't work necessarily, I looked in to other studying sites and materials, and they all appear to be the same as medictests.com so far. SOOO, im hoping someone can recommend a site or material that will get me over this hump, or something that'll teach me how to understand what the questions are asking and pick the best answer. Thanks

 

[BenthaEMT]

I'm not a paramedic, but I do know that everything is order. ABC's. And that there is never going to be one correct answer. If all the answers kind of seem the same, then look at the order of the question. As for test taking, a good night's rest, and some healthy snacks before hand.

 

[bcemr]

Find the holes in your studying. Decide what makes you a poor test taker and focus on fixing those gaps. I couldn't retain information when I studied until my Paramedic instructor sat me down and explained how he learned. Once he did that my entire brain opened up and I went from scoring in the high 70s to the mid 90s going forward. If it's an English deficiency, dyslexia, poor attention span, or lack of understanding just find that hole and fix it.

 

[Akulahawk]

Given that you have passed Paramedic School, you most likely already have all the info within your own brain to pass the NREMT-P exam. When I took the exam, it was a paper exam. They've switched to a computer adaptive system, and it's much like the NCLEX, which I took about 2 years ago. You will NOT get the same questions you had before. The computer knows which questions were asked last time. Basically they want you to get past the idea of answering questions by pure memory and think though the question and apply the knowledge you have gained to answer the question appropriately. There usually will be two wrong answers, one "right" answer and one that is "more right" than the others. That one should be the one you select.

Here's what I did to pass the NCLEX. I would read the question, answer it in my head if possible, then read the answers. I do NOT select an answer at this time. What I do instead is go back and re-read the question with the answers in mind. I'm looking for any key words or phrases in the question an also to ensure that I read the question correctly. More than once I've answered a question "correctly" only to find out that I misread the question which led me to select an incorrect answer for the question being asked. Now that I've re-read the question, I go back through the answers looking for the most appropriate answer. I select that one, do a quick review to ensure that I didn't accidentally click on an answer that I didn't want to select and then move on. I do NOT change my answer on a question unless there's something VERY HUGELY compelling that makes me change it. Your first answer will usually be the right one.

Since the exam is adaptive, depending upon how you did on the question you just answered, the next question will be harder or easier than the last one. The computer is trying to find your ability level and it will do it. These exams are among the hardest you'll ever have to take because of how it works. At some point, you'll be at your knowledge/ability limit and you'll start getting about every other question wrong. Don't stress about this because that's the way this system is designed. When that happens, you're at your limit and the computer is gauging your ability so keep going and just think about the question right in front of you. NOTHING else matters, just that one question.

If you get any sort of "select all that apply" questions, I suggest treating each answer statement as a True/False. The entire answer must be true (satisfies the question asked) or it must be considered "false." Only "true" answers must be selected. These questions seem daunting at first but if you go through each answer one by one, it's relatively easy. You just have to evaluate the entire answer, a single word that is wrong renders the entire answer to be False.

I've outlined a process you might want to utilize when taking the NREMT-P exam again. If you'll be sent a performance report, I suggest you wait until you receive that report before you attempt the NREMT-P exam again because the report will tell you what sections (areas of knowledge) you should study before you retest. None of us will tell you exactly what's on the exam or things like that... you've already seen it so that part will not be a surprise to you anyway.

 

[weezeehamilton]

Given that you have passed Paramedic School, you most likely already have all the info within your own brain to pass the NREMT-P exam. When I took the exam, it was a paper exam. They've switched to a computer adaptive system, and it's much like the NCLEX, which I took about 2 years ago. You will NOT get the same questions you had before. The computer knows which questions were asked last time. Basically they want you to get past the idea of answering questions by pure memory and think though the question and apply the knowledge you have gained to answer the question appropriately. There usually will be two wrong answers, one "right" answer and one that is "more right" than the others. That one should be the one you select.

Here's what I did to pass the NCLEX. I would read the question, answer it in my head if possible, then read the answers. I do NOT select an answer at this time. What I do instead is go back and re-read the question with the answers in mind. I'm looking for any key words or phrases in the question an also to ensure that I read the question correctly. More than once I've answered a question "correctly" only to find out that I misread the question which led me to select an incorrect answer for the question being asked. Now that I've re-read the question, I go back through the answers looking for the most appropriate answer. I select that one, do a quick review to ensure that I didn't accidentally click on an answer that I didn't want to select and then move on. I do NOT change my answer on a question unless there's something VERY HUGELY compelling that makes me change it. Your first answer will usually be the right one.

Since the exam is adaptive, depending upon how you did on the question you just answered, the next question will be harder or easier than the last one. The computer is trying to find your ability level and it will do it. These exams are among the hardest you'll ever have to take because of how it works. At some point, you'll be at your knowledge/ability limit and you'll start getting about every other question wrong. Don't stress about this because that's the way this system is designed. When that happens, you're at your limit and the computer is gauging your ability so keep going and just think about the question right in front of you. NOTHING else matters, just that one question.

If you get any sort of "select all that apply" questions, I suggest treating each answer statement as a True/False. The entire answer must be true (satisfies the question asked) or it must be considered "false." Only "true" answers must be selected. These questions seem daunting at first but if you go through each answer one by one, it's relatively easy. You just have to evaluate the entire answer, a single word that is wrong renders the entire answer to be False.

I've outlined a process you might want to utilize when taking the NREMT-P exam again. If you'll be sent a performance report, I suggest you wait until you receive that report before you attempt the NREMT-P exam again because the report will tell you what sections (areas of knowledge) you should study before you retest. None of us will tell you exactly what's on the exam or things like that... you've already seen it so that part will not be a surprise to you anyway.

Is the performance report your talking about the one that says "above passing, below and near passing?"

 

[Akulahawk]

Is the performance report your talking about the one that says "above passing, below and near passing?"

Yes. It tells you where you were "above passing" and the like. In short, while that doesn't give you the answers, it tells you the general areas of knowledge you need to study. The adaptive part of this searches for areas of strength and weakness. If it has determined you to be definitely above passing in a content area, you probably won't get more questions from that content area. If it determines you're definitely below standard in an area, it'll also stop asking questions in that area and move on to the next. This makes sense. If your "ability estimate" is too close to the pass/fail line, the computer will continue hammering you in that content area. This is why some people will say something along the lines of "I got a LOT of questions of XXXXX type" and other people have an entirely different experience.