# Really scared of my course final exams



## ken158 (Aug 8, 2012)

My EMT-B accelerated course is due to end in a few days. My written final is on Saturday and my practical final is on Tuesday. 

The final exam for the class itself is said to be harder than the National Registry. And I'm pretty sure that it is. 

My class has quizzes every class, and I passed those with an 87% average. But I'm still scared of not passing either of these, since I really don't have too many second chances here. 

What should I do? Obviously I'm going to study a lot. But I still can't help but have the "what if" feelings. I sacrificed a lot to take this class.


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## Imacho (Aug 8, 2012)

Yore letting them intimidate you. Go in being confident. If you calm down you will perform better. The final is just like all of the other quizzes you've already taken. It's just a lot longer. Relax, you'll be fine.


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## ken158 (Aug 8, 2012)

Imacho said:


> Yore letting them intimidate you. Go in being confident. If you calm down you will perform better. The final is just like all of the other quizzes you've already taken. It's just a lot longer. Relax, you'll be fine.



I took a National Registry practice test and I got a 72% :/


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## MedicBender (Aug 8, 2012)

ken158 said:


> I took a National Registry practice test and I got a 72% :/



So learn from your mistakes, and take it again. Identify your problem areas and focus in on them. 

No sense in studying 4 hours of trauma when you get high scores on trauma. 

The NREMT exam isn't exactly difficult, many many many people have passed it. 

On knowledge based questions try to narrow it down to 2, then go with the best answer. 

On scenario based questions remember to follow the algorithm. BSI, SS, # of Pt's blah blah blah blah. Follow that through on every single question. 

A good example is you're dispatched to a man not breathing. You arrive on scene, what is the first thing you do? 

Check the airway? Confirm scene safety? Place an OPA? Place patient on 15L NRB? 

Many students will jump to skills right off the bat and fail. Since they didn't tell you the scene was safe, you need to confirm that. 

There are many sites that are devoted to registry prep. Find a site that works for you and practice taking the tests. Set your computer up in a quite place, sitting in a chair, with no distractions. Pretend you are actually taking the registry test. 

Some sites like JB Test Prep will explain why you got the answers wrong. Others will just tell you that it's wrong. Keep a note pad handy and write down subjects you're not comfortable in. Then go and review those sections, and try again.


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## ken158 (Aug 9, 2012)

It appears that the final exam itself doesn't resemble the National Registry as much. 

On the otherhand, I need to practice the practical skills, but I have no access to them. What should I do?

Also, does the general impression occur before or after AVPU?


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## Sandog (Aug 9, 2012)

Practice your assessment skills, and no the reasons for contraindications, such as nitro and BP. I am going to try and attach some powerpoints for NREMT skills testing.

Let me know if that helps, I have powerpoints for all the NREMT skills if you want em.


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## shiroun (Aug 10, 2012)

ken158 said:


> It appears that the final exam itself doesn't resemble the National Registry as much.
> 
> On the otherhand, I need to practice the practical skills, but I have no access to them. What should I do?
> 
> Also, does the general impression occur before or after AVPU?



Before.
BSI, Scene Safety, MOI/NOI, Gen Impression, Consider ALS, AVPU.

My practical is saturday aswell, you must be in the accelerated class that parallels mine.

Take your girlfriend/friend/mom/dad/random strangers and run the exam, namely medical and trauma. KED just remember PMS before applying anything, and after. Anytime you put oxygen on, its 15 LPM. You have TWO partners, and albeit they can't do the assessment for you, they can do a lot more then you think. Anything you need, they can give you/get for you.


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## ken158 (Aug 11, 2012)

UPDATE:

I just took the final, it was pretty hard. 125 questions but on all questions (save for two of them) I was able to eliminate 2 of the 4 answers. 

There were about 50 I was able to instantly know for sure was right.

Not sure if passed :/


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## bigbaldguy (Aug 11, 2012)

ken158 said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> I just took the final, it was pretty hard. 125 questions but on all questions (save for two of them) I was able to eliminate 2 of the 4 answers.
> 
> ...



Don't sweat it. I'm sure you did fine. Either way it's out of your hands for the time being.


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## ken158 (Aug 11, 2012)

bigbaldguy said:


> Don't sweat it. I'm sure you did fine. Either way it's out of your hands for the time being.



Thanks for the support :3

Also there were a few questions that threw me off. 

The first one: scenario is a middle aged guy is found unconscious on his front lawn, no witnesses. 

I can't remember all of the options (two of them were some log roll BS which was completely wrong) but I remember the other ones. 

A: palpate for carotid pulse
B: Assess breathing quality and depth
C: start CPR

I chose A because for CPR the mneumonic is CAB instead of ABC for patient assessment, and in this case it's a worst case scenario (mostly because of the no witness part). And B is technically not in the right order to begin with, since one has to assess for airway obstructions/patent airway first. 

Was I right in this?

Also, there was another one where the scenario was an 80 year old female, altered, difficulty breathing but had a DNR. 

I honestly did not know what to do. One of the options was to simply leave (lol), but once again I was stuck between two. 

A: Provide emotional support and make her comfortbale
B: Provide ventilation with BVM, no other interventions

I chose A because I thought that a DNR meant absolutely nothing. But in hindsight I think I should have picked B. :/


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## Rsxtacee (Aug 11, 2012)

Those look like CIEMT questions . I took the 1 month accelerated course and finished about two weeks ago. I'm sure you did fine. I had a 93 average in the class and passed the final with an 89. Took my registry a few days and passed after 62 questions. Good luck! 

P.S. On your skills final, just remember to take it slow. Run your assessment!


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## ken158 (Aug 11, 2012)

Rsxtacee said:


> Those look like CIEMT questions . I took the 1 month accelerated course and finished about two weeks ago. I'm sure you did fine. I had a 93 average in the class and passed the final with an 89. Took my registry a few days and passed after 62 questions. Good luck!
> 
> P.S. On your skills final, just remember to take it slow. Run your assessment!



Mother of God...

You're right :O

Did the final questions seem misleading, or was it just me? 

(removed for rules and stuff)


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## bigbaldguy (Aug 11, 2012)

Just a reminder that posting test questions is not allowed.


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## ken158 (Aug 11, 2012)

My bad :/

I can't edit the older post though


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## Rsxtacee (Aug 11, 2012)

A lot of the final questions had multiple correct answers. You just had to pay attention to the wording since they basically asked, "What's the next step?". It was very similar to how my registry exam was set up. They did a great job in preparing us for the registry.

You can be tested on all the skills during your final skills day. I'm sure you know which one to expect. Oh and for your skills day, make sure you and your partner show up early and be one of the first to test. If you end up having to do a retake, you have to wait until everyone else is finished. So, run your assessment! 

Oh and don't forget to DICCE our your drugs.


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## bigbaldguy (Aug 11, 2012)

ken158 said:


> My bad :/
> 
> I can't edit the older post though



They are pretty vague I think we'll let it slide


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## Rsxtacee (Aug 11, 2012)

Oops! Sorry about that!:sad:


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## Sandog (Aug 11, 2012)

So I guess ya did not need the powerpoints, oh well, maybe someone else can use em.


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## ken158 (Aug 11, 2012)

Sandog said:


> So I guess ya did not need the powerpoints, oh well, maybe someone else can use em.



I had a look at those, they were pretty helpful


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## MacrossForever (Aug 13, 2012)

Well since I believe you said that your practical final was tomorrow, I will say good luck. Just take it slow and make sure you follow the steps. Go in confident, but not cocky.


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## ken158 (Aug 13, 2012)

The practical is indeed tomorrow. I kind of know what to expect already and I ran through the scenario in my head hundreds of times already, so I think I'm good.

The results of the written final, however...that's the one that I keep worrying about.


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## MacrossForever (Aug 13, 2012)

You already took the written, so don't worry about it because all it will do is sidetrack you from your goal of completing the practicals tomorrow. They can be intimidating, but just be confident and show that you know your stuff.


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## ken158 (Aug 14, 2012)

All right guys, I'm taking that final skills test within the next 15 hours. I ran through the scenarios that I'm sure will come up in my head. 

I just wanted to thank all of you for giving me support so far :3


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## Rsxtacee (Aug 14, 2012)

Good luck!


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## MrJones (Aug 14, 2012)

Yes, good luck. I just finished an accelerated (4 week) EMT program, so I feel your pain.


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## ken158 (Aug 14, 2012)

Guys i passed


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## Sandog (Aug 14, 2012)

Congrats, now get a job


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## ken158 (Aug 14, 2012)

I just want to say thanks for all of the help guys, I couldn't have done it without y'all.


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## Rsxtacee (Aug 15, 2012)

Congrats!


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## ken158 (Aug 17, 2012)

I finished the course three days ago but I still don't have an authorization to test for the NREMT. Is that normal?


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## ioseida (Aug 17, 2012)

Hey I am new to this forum but I also just completed my EMT Course today like 3 hrs ago  with CIEMT at the Hawthorne campus.... I am pumped I also passed it all wooohoooo now time to take my NREMT sometime next week.. Congrats KEN158..


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