# should she give up



## momparamedic (Dec 15, 2012)

My daughter has attended paramedic school 2x and failed the test the allotted testing times.  6 I believe.  I think she should go to another place and get the schooling, or change careers.  She has been an emt since she was 16 almost 10 yrs.  She is surrounded by medical professionals there but yet she hasnt passed.  ( I dont know if they are helping or hurting). I paid for a tutor also who worked with her for 6 hours.  That was expensive too.
I dont want to steer her wrong, but I want her to feel success in whatever profession and to be able to support herself and her son.:sad:


----------



## Achilles (Dec 15, 2012)

Perhaps her studying habits need to change? 
Maybe someone else will have a better idea.


----------



## Anjel (Dec 15, 2012)

If she has gone twice, and failed the test 12 times. 6 each. I hate to say it, but maybe it isn't for her. Maybe she should just stick with EMT or go another direction. The material isn't THAT hard. And at this point I think you are just wasting money. 

Just my honest opinion.


----------



## NYMedic828 (Dec 15, 2012)

Have her get hired by FDNY and take our medic program. We pass everyone... -_-



On a more serious note, what in particular is she having trouble with? The material for most paramedic programs is usually very straight forward. Math is minimal and most of the program is memorization.


----------



## mycrofft (Dec 15, 2012)

Well, having absolutely no personal knowledge of what is going on other than what is here I'd say she might want to shift aim. After all, the point of a test is to divide the suitable from the unsuitable (not "the good" from "the bad and the ugly"); this can be messed up by test anxiety or other confounders, but six fails is "a clue".


----------



## Veneficus (Dec 16, 2012)

momparamedic said:


> My daughter has attended paramedic school 2x and failed the test the allotted testing times.  6 I believe.  I think she should go to another place and get the schooling



That is an option. But for better advice more information is needed.




momparamedic said:


> She has been an emt since she was 16 almost 10 yrs.:



I would wager this is the problem.


----------



## DrParasite (Dec 16, 2012)

after taking the course twice, and never passing the course, maybe it's just not for her?  

the truth sounds harsh, but there are people who aren't cut out for this.  regardless of if her entire family is in the medical field.


----------



## MMiz (Dec 16, 2012)

Only your daughter can answer that question.  She is fortunate to have a mother that cares so much about her success. 

It appears as though your daughter, at age 26, isn't ready to be a paramedic.

JFK Jr. took the bar exam three times before passing.  While the paramedic exam isn't even comparable to a bar exam, I think if your daughter was persistent and willing to devote 100% of her efforts to passing the paramedic class she'd be successful.

Good luck!


----------



## JPINFV (Dec 16, 2012)

MMiz said:


> JFK Jr. took the bar exam three times before passing.  While the paramedic exam isn't even comparable to a bar exam, I think if your daughter was persistent and willing to devote 100% of her efforts to passing the paramedic class she'd be successful.
> 
> Good luck!




Isn't it normal for most lawyers to take the bar multiple times? Also, the entire not comparable issue.


----------



## MMiz (Dec 16, 2012)

JPINFV said:


> Isn't it normal for most lawyers to take the bar multiple times? Also, the entire not comparable issue.


Yeah, I think the statistic is that half of the people that sit for the bar exam don't pass.

You're right, it's not apples-to-apples comparing the NREMT-P exam to the bar exam, but I can imagine that someone that has been an EMT-B for 10 years, with only a high school education, may find it just as challenging.

Not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up.


----------



## DrParasite (Dec 16, 2012)

JPINFV said:


> Isn't it normal for most lawyers to take the bar multiple times? Also, the entire not comparable issue.


yeah, but if a law student failed the bar exam 6 times, and then retook the entire law school program, and failed the bar exam another 6 times than maybe the person isn't set out to be a lawyer?

I'm all for trying multiple times to succeed, and not letting adversity knock you down, but after a while, you have to realize enough is enough, and you need to try something different.


----------



## mycrofft (Dec 16, 2012)

MMiz said:


> Only your daughter can answer that question.  She is fortunate to have a mother that cares so much about her success.
> 
> It appears as though your daughter, at age 26, isn't ready to be a paramedic.
> 
> ...



Well put, and better than I.


----------



## Ally (Dec 17, 2012)

I'm a vet tech and work teaching in a vet tech program at my state's university.  I have students who are an absolute wiz with skills but are unable to pass our national board (just a test, no skills tested for licensing).  If things dont work twice, you need a major overhaul.  I would venture a guess it's a combination of the material and her learning style.  Honestly I would do one more run of it all, but do a different course.  
The other possibility is maybe she's just not in the mental place for it, although she's 26 maybe she needs a few more years.  What's happened is humbling and only she will be able to say if it's enough to fire her to succeed or to admit maybe she needs a break.  Good luck either way


----------



## JPINFV (Dec 17, 2012)

DrParasite said:


> yeah, but if a law student failed the bar exam 6 times, and then retook the entire law school program, and failed the bar exam another 6 times than maybe the person isn't set out to be a lawyer?
> 
> I'm all for trying multiple times to succeed, and not letting adversity knock you down, but after a while, you have to realize enough is enough, and you need to try something different.




Completely agree. However the comparison was someone who took the Bar 3 times when multiple attempts are normal and only taking one time through school, versus someone who took an exam that most people pass on the first attempt 6 times and went through school twice. If JFK failed the bar 6 times, including 3 times after repeating law school, then I'd say he should go back to driving PTOs.


----------



## Veneficus (Dec 17, 2012)

Before everyone gets into the eat your own young phase...

Do you really believe that somebody is not cut out to pass a 10th grade level course?

There has to be some unmentioned issue.


----------



## teedubbyaw (Dec 17, 2012)

Veneficus said:


> Before everyone gets into the eat your own young phase...
> 
> Do you really believe that somebody is not cut out to pass a 10th grade level course?
> 
> There has to be some unmentioned issue.



Are you talking about the paramedic program or NR exam?


----------



## Veneficus (Dec 17, 2012)

teedubbyaw said:


> Are you talking about the paramedic program or NR exam?



yes to both


----------



## AtlasFlyer (Dec 17, 2012)

Is the _test_ the issue, or is the _material_ the issue?

Some people freak out about test-taking. Particularly in a case where there have already been multiple failures, it can result in a mental block during the test-taking event where massive cranial flatulence happens and the freaked out test taker is lucky to be able to spell their name right on the paper, let alone get any questions right.

If she can't _learn the material_ by now, she needs to revise her career ambitions. If she can't _pass the test_, she needs to learn some zen and relax and let the information flow while taking the test.


----------



## VelvetyOne (Dec 24, 2012)

How the heck do you get to be an EMT at 16 years of age?  Part of the issue might have been taught wrong from the beginning and now can't seem to get 'into' higher level learning.  As a mother, I would say if this was a situation I was faced with, I would be advising that this probably isn't the field of dreams for my son/daughter.


----------



## Tigger (Dec 24, 2012)

VelvetyOne said:


> How the heck do you get to be an EMT at 16 years of age?  Part of the issue might have been taught wrong from the beginning and now can't seem to get 'into' higher level learning.  As a mother, I would say if this was a situation I was faced with, I would be advising that this probably isn't the field of dreams for my son/daughter.



There are a few states that allow EMTs to be licensed at 16, though many (if not all) require that another EMT over 18 be in back with them during transport.


----------



## hogwiley (Dec 24, 2012)

My girlfriend struggled with and failed the Nursing NCLEX exam after her BSN program. She was even hired somewhere as a graduate nurse, and was let go during orientation because of failing. 

The test for some reason just totally freaked her out. Probably because she had so much time and money tied into her Nursing education, so she had a lot riding on it.

Eventually she passed it, got hired at a hospital, and has been working as an RN for a year now with no problems.


----------



## mycrofft (Dec 24, 2012)

There is a whole book about the phenomenon of people failing just because the pressure's on, called "Choke": Not light reading.


----------



## PaddyWagon (Dec 24, 2012)

I know that the first NREMT style (CAT) test our EMT instructor gave us was a real shock to the whole class, even knowing the simple material doesn't help without also knowing how the test works and how to manage the multiple stressors of time and how critical good scores are.  "Choke" is a great book, I hear.


----------



## VelvetyOne (Dec 25, 2012)

Thanks for the info. Tigger - I didn't realize that there were some places that accepted 16 - that's awesome!


----------



## bigbaldguy (Dec 25, 2012)

Go to Kaplan and have your test taking skills evaluated. If you feel like you know the subject but jeep flopping tests the next. Place to go Kaplan learning center  center where they can help you lean ways to study.


----------

