# What now? I failed 3 times



## Tk11 (Sep 27, 2017)

Took the NREMT paramedic today for the third and found out I failed. First time sucked, second time sucked even more, but now I'm just hurts. It's hurts cause I've put a lot into this and I love the field, want to be a paramedic more than anything, study hours everyday, and can't pass this test. I don't want to leave the field but I don't want to be a basic emt my whole life. The test is testsing minimum compentence and I failed THREE times. I even failed EMT-b twice, I've always been bad at tests but I don't know what to do anymore. Is this not for me? I'm crushed. I know I need a refresher I don't even know where to look to do that, do I contact nremt?


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## DesertMedic66 (Sep 27, 2017)

Check with ambulance companies, fire departments, community colleges, and/or where you go your medic training done to see if they offer any. There are also online refresher courses.


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## StCEMT (Sep 27, 2017)

Another career option might need to be a consideration. The NREMT isn't easy at the P level, but if you have five total failed attempts so far, that isn't a great indicator. Otherwise check Google for refreshers, it wouldn't be hard to find one in your area.


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## hometownmedic5 (Sep 28, 2017)

Establish whether your issue is knowledge or anxiety. If it's knowledge, you have three more attempts before you're out of the game. If it's anxiety/poor test taking skills, investigate options to mitigate that(meditation, medication etc). 

This is not an insurmountable goal. You need to find out what's causing your failure and address that issue specifically. If your issue is test anxiety, no amount of studying is going to get you past it, but a half milligram of Ativan might. If you don't know the material, deep breathing exercises won't help. See how this works?


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## Gurby (Sep 28, 2017)

Also get a private tutor.


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## Tk11 (Sep 28, 2017)

hometownmedic5 said:


> Establish whether your issue is knowledge or anxiety. If it's knowledge, you have three more attempts before you're out of the game. If it's anxiety/poor test taking skills, investigate options to mitigate that(meditation, medication etc).
> 
> This is not an insurmountable goal. You need to find out what's causing your failure and address that issue specifically. If your issue is test anxiety, no amount of studying is going to get you past it, but a half milligram of Ativan might. If you don't know the material, deep breathing exercises won't help. See how this works?


Well the thing is I've passed every section within those three attempts I think expect for one I've gotten near passing on, so for whatever reason I just cant pass them all on the same test.


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## NomadicMedic (Sep 28, 2017)

OK, so maybe I was a jerk with the McDonald's comment, but let me give you some real advice. 

 The national registry test isn't a test like any other you've ever taken, as you've probably already noticed.  This is not a test were you can study a set of material and regurgitate answers to fill in the blank.  Instead, the national Registry requires you to have a big bucket of knowledge that you can dip into, coupled with some critical thinking skills, to answer the questions. 

 Passing the test isn't magic or voodoo, it's simply building enough base knowledge to be able to discern the MOST correct answer in the multiple-choice questions. 

 So how do you do that? Studying the book over and over again won't help. Most students simply don't have the discipline or the ability to absorb every single piece of knowledge in that big orange book  Using a tutor won't help unless you spend a lot of time and a lot of money digging deep and drilling down on your weak points. 

 This is why I ALWAYS recommend a test prep service like JB learning.  Test prep will test your base knowledge, identify your weak areas, provide you with rationale for the correct answers, and allow you to drill over and over again on those areas where you are weak     

 A test prep service won't give you the answers to the test, but will engage the concept of critical thinking and hopefully impart enough base knowledge in those deficient areas that you should be able to pass the test without difficulty   

 As EMS educators, we do a really good job of making the test seem insurmountable, when really it's basic knowledge that you should have gained during the class. 

TL;DR.  Get a test prep service. Study. Succeed. Live the rest of your life.


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## Gurby (Sep 28, 2017)

Also, for building and maintaining your knowledge base... anki anki anki anki anki anki anki anki anki anki


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## Carlos Danger (Sep 28, 2017)

If you really do study for "hours every day" (which I assume is an exaggeration, which is fine), and if you really have passed each of the sections separately, and especially if you do have a history of doing poorly on exams, then I think it is a safe bet that lack of knowledge of the material is not your problem, but test anxiety and/or not being good at dealing with the specifics of the NREMT is more your problem.

If you want something different out, you need to put something different in.

You need a tutor who is very familiar with the NREMT, and/or a really good test prep service. JB seems highly recommended on here. I would suggest doing your EMT refresher and then JB learning and then retake the test.


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