# How hard is the nremt



## Ross Nunn (Feb 17, 2017)

How hard is the nremt in your opinion? I take it tomorrow again. When I first took it I calmed down as I took it. Seem's easier than the quizzes on emtprep.com. But I have read and have known people who failed it on first try but passed it on their retake. From what I have read, most people fail it and I read on a forum that one guuy said it was not hard but he rushed through it and passed it on 2nd try.  When I read my results it told me that I was near passing in 3 areas and that I was below passing in 2 areas. I have gone over what it told me to go over since it recommends to before retaking the test. But I have gone emtprep.com to study on what is on the quizzes. Now i know the test wont be the same questions as last time but I believe it will be the same material. I believe I have an upper hand to be more aware and alert to expect on the test or to expect what kind of questions on the test. I have done better and passed tests in the emt college course when i retook them on my 2nd try.  So???


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## Aprz (Feb 18, 2017)

It's really hard. Few people pass. That's why there are so few EMTs.

Just kidding.  You should be fine if you study. A lot of people pass it on their first try.

This is also the paramedic part of the forum. I recommend posting in NREMT next time.


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## hometownmedic5 (Feb 18, 2017)

In my opinion, it's difficulty was unremarkable. However, I was evidently well prepared, and I test well. For others, it's an insurmountable obstacle. 

Statistics don't matter to the individual. Just tee it up and take a whack at it.


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## TransportJockey (Feb 19, 2017)

It is an entry level exam to gauge entry level competence of providers. It's an easy enough exam, and in my opinion is not hard enough.


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## Ross Nunn (Feb 23, 2017)

thank you all. but I have bad news. I failed it. but personally in my opinion I feel like I passed it. I do not trust this test. it is telling me to go over things that i knew I got the answer right on.


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 23, 2017)

Ross Nunn said:


> thank you all. but I have bad news. I failed it. but personally in my opinion I feel like I passed it. I do not trust this test. it is telling me to go over things that i knew I got the answer right on.


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## TransportJockey (Feb 23, 2017)

Ross Nunn said:


> thank you all. but I have bad news. I failed it. but personally in my opinion I feel like I passed it. I do not trust this test. it is telling me to go over things that i knew I got the answer right on.


The test is well vetted and irregardless of how you feel the results are the results. Good luck on future attempts, but your dislike or distrust will not change the fact that to go forward and become a member of this profession you will need to pass these entry level competencies. 

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## Jim37F (Feb 23, 2017)

If you actually learn the material and understand the basic mechanisms, then the test is easy. If you don't, then the test is hard. Best strategy for passing is to learn and understand the material. After all if you're weak in OB for example, what are you going to do in the real world when dispatched to a maternity call and the patient expects you to be competent in your EMT knowledge and skills? You can't tell dispatch "Dispatch another ambulance to that call, I don't know what I'm doing on OB stuff" or try to read a text book on scene. You have to KNOW your stuff. Because you can go from that OB to a GSW to a chest pain to a pediatric call so you have to learn how to be an EMT to be an EMT. Shocking I know, but that's all the NREMT is testing, if you know that stuff. And does it in such a way you can't just memorize test questions and answers, but actually have an understanding of the base material. Learn that and you'll pass with flying colors.


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## Ross Nunn (Feb 23, 2017)

well I do not know what to say. i did all this studying and it tells me that I failed this and that area on the test. I know how to manage chest pain. prescribed nitroglycerin, aspirin, and high flow oxygen. So im guessing I did all this studying for nothing. Now I do not want to take the paramedic course and now my life is just getting worse by the day. i have no job, no income. Family issues that really really stress me out. my life is just worthless. i feel like a loser again now. I've taken the emt course 4 times. I have been told the nremt is not that hard and it seems like it is even though I have felt like it is not as i take the test. i have no purpose in life.


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## joshrunkle35 (Feb 24, 2017)

Ross Nunn said:


> I have no purpose in life.



I'll just address this part.

People have varying experiences regarding how hard or easy the test is for them. Some people fail over and over again, yet they are awesome at a million other things in life. Some people pass the test easily on the first try and yet, have a very hard time throughout the rest of their career being able to connect with patients or coworkers. 

The point is: the test is really just a test. Don't make it out to be anything more than that. If you have taken the class 4 times, you either need some specialized study attention and/or specialized testing attention, or maybe EMS just isn't for you, and you might be wonderfully amazing at some other career. 

I understand how frustrating preparing for the NREMT can be; I had to take it just the same as you. I remember feeling at that one moment in life like it was far more important than I view it to be today. 

In the end, long after the NREMT, my purpose in life is not defined by that test, the jobs it helped me get, the patients I treated or the things I accomplished. My purpose has more to do with my family, and connections shared with friends that I met along the way. 

I would highly recommend speaking with a counselor/social worker about this situation that you are in right now. I have been in that position before (I was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition at the age of 32 about 6 months after I got married) and counseling was amazing. My perception was that I would go and someone would tell me how to fix my life. But, that's not at all what counseling does. It really just allows you to discuss your experiences with someone that's not personally involved, and allows you to bounce your own ideas off of someone else to get a different perspective of what is occurring. Right now, you are stuck in a mode where you are facing a road block that you keep hitting over and over again, and it could feel like that failure is the summary of your existence. You should speak with someone who can allow you to see how your existence is not defined by a singular moment or temporary failure. 

Best of luck on your test. I hope you can find some relief from the temporary pain of your circumstance.


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## DrParasite (Feb 24, 2017)

Ross Nunn said:


> i feel like a loser again now. I've taken the emt course 4 times. I have been told the nremt is not that hard and it seems like it is even though I have felt like it is not as i take the test. i have no purpose in life.


After 4 attempts at the course, maybe EMS isn't for you, and you should look at another career field


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## hometownmedic5 (Feb 24, 2017)

Unfortunately, that seems to be the hard truth, but let's clarify. 

For every course completion, you get a total of six attempts at the test. 3 attempts, refresher, 3 more(unless something's changed in the last few years). So on four classes, you would have to have 24 exam failures behind you. 

If this is accurate, yes, go find another career path. If it isn't, you've gotten screwed out of potentially many attempts. 

So how many times have you taken the full soup to nuts course, and how many times have you sat for the test?


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## revolvemt (Mar 3, 2017)

If I had to guess, you're likely not reading the question. The test IMO tries to trick you. Not to be mean but to ensure you know what you're talking about and have learned the material and how to apply it, contraindications, which step is *next* not which one would you actually do to treat the PT. If you've taken the course 4x and fail the test, you need a different emt course because they're not teaching you. 

Personally I didn't find the test overwhelmingly difficult, however I am a decent test taker and tried to be as prepared as I could. I was lucky I had excellent emt instructors that wanted us to succeed and not just pass the test, but be good EMTs (partially because in this area likely we'd end up working side by side at some point on a call). However people in my class still failed the national because they didn't correctly prepare. Ultimately the test is simply a test, it is not the end all be all for making a good or bad EMT. I'm not sure if you're using EMT practice tests or other resources to really practice breaking down the questions and understanding what they're really asking for.

My .02


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## NomadicMedic (Mar 3, 2017)

The test does not "try to trick you". It tests the candidates critical thinking skills to solve problems using the base core knowledge. 

There's no subterfuge or trickery involved.


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## revolvemt (Mar 3, 2017)

NomadicMedic said:


> The test does not "try to trick you". It tests the candidates critical thinking skills to solve problems using the base core knowledge.
> 
> There's no subterfuge or trickery involved.


Apologies, that is a much better way of phrasing what i was trying to get at. Thank you.


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## VentMonkey (Mar 3, 2017)

revolvemt said:


> The test IMO tries to trick you.





NomadicMedic said:


> The test does not "try to trick you".


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