failed written =[

rwik123

rwik123

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Hey Guys,

So this past week I took the MA written exam and felt good about it. I didn't study too much but i went in feeling good. I went through all my answers after finishing and clicked submit.... i received a 65 and was shocked. I never got anything below an 85 in my class. I am beginning to realize my loss of information since august when the class ended.. (seems like partly the states fault for waiting so long to get back practical results). Anyone have any hints on what to study and how to review. I want to retake the test as soon as possible. I have bought the Barrons emt review book and am currently doing a couple practice tests.

Thanks!
 
rwik123 said:
Hey Guys,

So this past week I took the MA written exam and felt good about it. I didn't study too much but i went in feeling good. I went through all my answers after finishing and clicked submit.... i received a 65 and was shocked. I never got anything below an 85 in my class. I am beginning to realize my loss of information since august when the class ended.. (seems like partly the states fault for waiting so long to get back practical results). Anyone have any hints on what to study and how to review. I want to retake the test as soon as possible. I have bought the Barrons emt review book and am currently doing a couple practice tests.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

No offense.... But if you can't retain knowledge for a measley 3 months how do you expect to remember what you learned (not really learned from the sound of it) a year or so down the line when you're responsible for patient care?
 
to his defense, the MA state written has almost NO patient care questions and all has to do with parking the friggen truck...at least for me it did
 
jtpaintball70 said:
No offense.... But if you can't retain knowledge for a measley 3 months how do you expect to remember what you learned (not really learned from the sound of it) a year or so down the line when you're responsible for patient care?
Click to expand...

i think there is a difference between actively practicing the information as an EMT and having it lay dormant while waiting for test results and involved with other school in general for months on end...

If you are proving patient care everyday i doubt you are going to forget much.. but what if you never actually practice in the field, just classroom and not use it for a couple months
 
jtpaintball70 said:
No offense.... But if you can't retain knowledge for a measley 3 months how do you expect to remember what you learned (not really learned from the sound of it) a year or so down the line when you're responsible for patient care?
Click to expand...
No need to be so scathing. 3 months is a pretty decent amount of time to go without ever reviewing that information or practicing any of that information.

Having never taken the MA exam I couldn't be exact on what to study. My understanding is that there is a state protocol book that you could probably study from. And statistically speaking the most failed portion of the EMT exam is ob/gyn stuff followed by Peds I believe. Also try googling some review stuff for MA, you're not the first or the last that will fail a state exam and go looking for answers online, so there is bound to be some somewhere on the interwebz.
 
if you go onto the OEMS website...it should give you the break down on how many of each type of question there will be. At least it did when i took it a little over a year ago.

Make sure you study special operations which includes everything from environment related emergencies, OB, geriactrics, Peds, and vehicle and equipment. If you know your medical and trauma assesments, that also helps because you can relate a lot of the questions to the procedure some way.

Also, since you now have a wait a week or two before you can re attempt, study a little bit everyday, you will pass if you do this.

A lot of people do fail the MA state written the first time. It is a poorly written/designed test.
 
MA needs to get over themselves and begin to accept the NREMT. All the bordering states do- CT, NH, RI. I have certs in CT and NH, but not in MA (even tho I live here) because I refuse to pay $300 to take a highly flawed exam.
 
rwik123 said:
Hey Guys,

So this past week I took the MA written exam and felt good about it. I didn't study too much but i went in feeling good. I went through all my answers after finishing and clicked submit.... i received a 65 and was shocked. I never got anything below an 85 in my class. I am beginning to realize my loss of information since august when the class ended.. (seems like partly the states fault for waiting so long to get back practical results). Anyone have any hints on what to study and how to review. I want to retake the test as soon as possible. I have bought the Barrons emt review book and am currently doing a couple practice tests.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Poor thing! Better luck next time, just keep your head up and don't get discouraged. The best thing I can tell you to do go to a bookstore (barnes & noble is where i went) and purchase an EMT-Basic Exam Review Book...you could probably also find them on Amazon. I used that to study for my state test and there were a lot of similar questions, I can truly say it has helped me pass quite a few tests other than just my state exam. Also, make sure you get a study book that is geared towards the National Registry standards...even if you are not going to be testing National Registry. The questions are a little harder and more in depth and if you can study and feel comfortable about the harder questions, then if they throw some simple questions at you...you'll be able to knock them out with no problem!


GOOD LUCK. hope this helps.
 
bstone said:
MA needs to get over themselves and begin to accept the NREMT. All the bordering states do- CT, NH, RI. I have certs in CT and NH, but not in MA (even tho I live here) because I refuse to pay $300 to take a highly flawed exam.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like anything will ever change in Massachusetts :rolleyes:
 
bstone said:
MA needs to get over themselves and begin to accept the NREMT. All the bordering states do- CT, NH, RI. I have certs in CT and NH, but not in MA (even tho I live here) because I refuse to pay $300 to take a highly flawed exam.
Click to expand...

when pigs begin to fly, MA will stop being a money hoarding state
 
emtchick171 said:
Poor thing! Better luck next time, just keep your head up and don't get discouraged. The best thing I can tell you to do go to a bookstore (barnes & noble is where i went) and purchase an EMT-Basic Exam Review Book...you could probably also find them on Amazon. I used that to study for my state test and there were a lot of similar questions, I can truly say it has helped me pass quite a few tests other than just my state exam. Also, make sure you get a study book that is geared towards the National Registry standards...even if you are not going to be testing National Registry. The questions are a little harder and more in depth and if you can study and feel comfortable about the harder questions, then if they throw some simple questions at you...you'll be able to knock them out with no problem!


GOOD LUCK. hope this helps.
Click to expand...

thanks for the info! picked up a barrons study book with practice tests in it. its geared towards the nremt, but im sure all the questions are similar. Like others have said, its not the core stuff that got me, its the obscure operations questions that seem to litter throughout the whole test but im reviewing the textbook too in hopes of retaking it sometime this weekend.
 
rwik123 said:
thanks for the info! picked up a barrons study book with practice tests in it. its geared towards the nremt, but im sure all the questions are similar. Like others have said, its not the core stuff that got me, its the obscure operations questions that seem to litter throughout the whole test but im reviewing the textbook too in hopes of retaking it sometime this weekend.
Click to expand...


Good luck, just study and I'm sure you will do great! Keep us updated on how you do with your retest. If you know the National Registry stuff you won't have a problem in the world with the rest of the state questions. :) best wishes.
 
Trust me people fail and if they tell you they don't they are not being truthful. It is a test on the didactic portion and not the real world portion. Just study what they want you to know get on the truck and leave it behind you.

Just my .02
 
That's a bummer buddy. Three months IS a long time if this stuff is new to you and you're not constantly practicing.

In my opinion, study books/practice tests are okay to help you get an idea of where you lack, but if you're looking to keep up your "booksmarts", do some research on study guides. I prefer the audio type that I can listen to.
 
for me, although it can be time consuming...writing things out helps. If you have time, maybe re write some of your notes on the sections that you missed. Muscle memory (even just writing) goes a long way. Also, if you know people in your class still, ask if they would be willing to go over the material with you, sometimes while studying, someone else may pick up on something that you dont, then the next time, you will remember what they said.
 
hey guys! thanks for all the advice... i just came back from taking the written and passed! :) so very happy to be legit
 
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