# Failed. Any suggestions??



## netters311 (Jan 25, 2009)

Ok, I took my NREMT EMT- B practicals yesterday. Got the call today that I passes my assessment, but failed my skills. I knew I failed my skills and I thought I had my assessment. That was a nice surprise that I didnt. Anyway, I have to retake my skills station feb 14th. I practice religiously over my steps. I recite and practice them like crazy. My prob is that I have my anxiety over tests. Even in class, I struggled with practicals. I have the highest grade in class, but practicals are hard for me. Its not doing them thats the prob, its testing on them. Does anyone have any suggestions to get a grip on your anxiety? I know I cant be the only one having anxiety attacks on test day. What works for you?


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## fma08 (Jan 25, 2009)

Step back, take a deep breath. Don't even look at the examiner when you are doing it, pretend he/she isn't there, and just go down your list. Verbalize everything.


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## vquintessence (Jan 25, 2009)

Lorazepam 2mg IM.

Don't be hurrying along regarding time.  You have plenty, and shouldn't feel rushed.  Counting the seconds in your head will screw you up and make ya lose focus.  
Have your partner maintain stabilization until you're completely done (SB/KED, LB, traction splint, extremity splint).  Double check everything is tight, remember BSI/CSM/whatever.  Appear confident and they will pay less attention to your station as they assess your skills.


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## netters311 (Jan 25, 2009)

I have thought about looking into anit-anxiety meds to be honest. I just worry that I will be "loopy" or tired. 

I failed my long back board. In class we were taught to place our straps in an "x" across the chest and pelvis and a "figure 8" around the feet. I have never worked in the EMS field so I havent been exposed to any other technique. I go in to test and I only had 4 straps instead of the usual 5. After that, I almost had a panic attack right there in the station. Needless to say, I forgot to immobilize the head completely. Now, in hind sight, I realize I could have done a double "x".  Not a shining moment for me either way!

Thanks for the tips though!!


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## MMiz (Jan 25, 2009)

I've heard many EMTs say that they actually practice the steps over and over again at home.  One even used a shoebox as an AED, with fake electrodes and all.  The more you practice your skills, the easier they will become.  You should be able to do them in your sleep without thought.  The idea is that you've done it so many times you've mastered the skill and it almost becomes automatic.

As far as backboarding goes, what happened to three straps, one at the ankles, one across the belt buckle, and one under the armpits?  No need for fancy designs.  You can do what you feel comfortable with, but I don't even remember reading about crossing straps in any of the three EMT-Basic books I have.

Again, practice, practice, practice, and good luck!


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## MSDeltaFlt (Jan 25, 2009)

You're over thinking.  Stop.  Breathe.  All you're doing is pretending.  Remember when you would play as a child?  You're pretending on a moulaged patient with a written set of guidelines.  You are being tested on the worst case scenario for that situation.  It's pretty much a foregone conclusion you will use just about all of your skills for that scenario.

Those written sets of guidelines are you check off sheets.  Follow that sheet in order paying particular attention to the critical errors at the bottom.

*Don't do those!*

This anxiety is all mental.  That means it is all choice; all your choice.  You don't need drugs.  You only need to snap out it and relax.  The choice is yours.

Choose.


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## NebraskanPrincess (Jan 25, 2009)

I am the Queen Assesser in the field.  Paramedics on my squad love to work with me so they can have me ask the questions.  Part of it is that I'm an extreme empathetic and can read people really easily - the other is that I'm a trained counselor and am good at searching for answers through questions.  I may suck at everything else - but I'm the Queen Question Asker!  

LOL.  I tell you that bit because I SUCK at testing out for assessments.  All of my gifts for conversation/counseling/empathy go out the window when I have a person staring dully back at me and an evaluator responding for him/her.  It's maddening.  Right now, my instructor loves to pick on me in my EMT-P class because I tend to flub up and he can teach the rest of the class due to my lack of skills!  LOL.  

I'm like you. I practice with my co-workers, even practice with iStan at the hospital, and have no problem memorizing sequential steps.  But when it comes time to being evaluated on it?  Pfffft.

The best advice I can give you is to relax.  I make it a point to find things that make me jolly before walking in and testing.  I tend to walk in and crack some jokes with my evaluators to loosen things up.  And then I tell myself I know what I'm doing.

That, of course, doesn't always work.  We tested out for IVs, Combitubes, ETs, etc. last semester and I made a big flub with the fake arm and the darn tourniquet.  In real life, if the fluid isn't flowing, there's a decent chance the tourniquet is still tied.  The darn fake arm doesn't give you that hint.  I've forgotten what else I did, but it was ridiculous.  In the field, I've never forgotten the tourniquet (with a big emphasis on YET).  

So who knows?  Do the best you can and try to relax.  I have yet to be convinced that failing a skills testing makes you a bad EMT-B, I, or P.  The class is such a small part of what makes a good EMT as compared to what real life experience does for you.  You can do this


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## jochi1543 (Jan 25, 2009)

fma08 said:


> Step back, take a deep breath. Don't even look at the examiner when you are doing it, pretend he/she isn't there, and just go down your list. Verbalize everything.



Good advice. My school is VERY thorough with their scenario prep. When I was taking my EMR/EMT-B licensing exam, the committee seemed to be weirded out by how thorough I was, and even attempted to steer me away from going into detail on my secondary assessment. I just continued to do things the way I was taught - I'd rather annoy these people by doing too much than chicken out and fail because I skipped a crucial step out of fear of tiring them out. Who cares what they think, at the end, you just have to make sure you've done everything YOU think you need to do. Also, I don't know if your NREMT people do that, but ours always ask "is there anything else you'd like to do for your patient," which throws some people off kilter, because they think they forgot something. However, it's just a standard question and indicates nothing about your performance.


Also, I would see if you can take time-outs during your exams. They allow us to take as much time out as we want during ours. That allows you to collect your thoughts and regain your composure if you feel like you're getting overwhelmed. Also, when you say you are ready to continue, the examiners have to give you a recap of everything you've done before you took the timeout, so you might be able to catch something you missed.


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## Veneficus (Jan 25, 2009)

MMiz said:


> As far as backboarding goes, what happened to three straps, one at the ankles, one across the belt buckle, and one under the armpits?  No need for fancy designs.  You can do what you feel comfortable with, but I don't even remember reading about crossing straps in any of the three EMT-Basic books I have.



Unfortunatly it is not uncommon in EMS education for instructors to impress their personal quirks and beliefs upon students as if it were gospel. When doing this they often neglect to mention what the actual passing guidlines are. Then there are hundreds of conflicting reports on how to secure patients on a backboard, what order to fasten KED straps, starting a line before nitro admin, no eating dinner facing west on the full moon, and more BS than I care to recall. 

Your school should have the actual criteria for passing. I know personally test anxiety is hard to overcome, but it can be done without meds.

1. don't cram.
2. get a good nights rest
3. eat before the test
4. reward yourself for small achievements while studying and think about what your reading don't just memorize the words
5. look at a test as a chance to show off what you know not an obstacle
6. arrive early for tests
7 do not hang around people discussing the material before the test
8 remember everyone fails, it is what you do when you fail that matters most

also don't forget to wrap a strap around the patients neck 5 times before dragging them down the stairs by the foot of the board by yourself. The patient's head should bounce no more than 4 inches off each step.

kidding :lol:


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## rhan101277 (Jan 28, 2009)

Yeah our test proctors asked the "is there anything else you would do for this patient"


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