Did you start off getting the questions right so you got up beyond 70%?
Also, do you remember getting your last question right? I've heard all kinds of scenarios on how to take the test and what number it will shut off at, etc.
the best advice I can give is.... KNOW YOUR $H!T backward and forward, and don't just learn it as if you were just pulling from your memory from facts, definitions, and tables about all the important vitals #'s to remember and things like that... you must know what the BEST thing is to do in WHATEVER SCENARIO you find yourself in. You can't bust out your book, or little flip manual when your patient is presenting in a way that is critically life threatening and dependent on time. You need to KNOW what to do, and be able to perform RIGHT NOW, and remain calm and smooth while you are SAVING HIS/HER/THEIR collective arse(s). If the test is 95% of your ability to do this... you're going to pass.... if not... you have 6 tries to get your $h!t together!
It's algorithmic, so you could get the same number of questions right and wrong as someone who passed and still fail, and vice versa... if you began and remain in the "above" 70% range, your test will stop when it is 95% sure of your ability to perform effectively as an EMT-B.
Mine stopped before or right at 70. I remember several questions, especially my last one... A 28 year old male was in a motorcycle collision with an automobile. His chief complaint is tightness in his chest. What could be causing this tightness? The answer was Pneumothorax... and WHAMMO! It stopped.... "You have completed the EMT-Basic Exam on 2/20/10"... that was on Saturday... Sunday I received a Pearson Vue survey in the mail and Monday I received this...
"Registry #:B1982012
Level: EMT-Basic
Exp. Date: 31 Mar 2012
EMT-Basic Application Summary:
Application Confirmation ID:
2009129532
Application Created:
9/21/2009 9:04:00 PM (CST)
Exam Date:
2/20/2010 (CST)
Results Date:
2/22/2010 (CST)
Examination Scored
Congratulations on successfully earning your national EMS certification.
Certification documents will be mailed to the address provided in your account profile by first class US Postal service within three business days.
National certification is not a license to practice. You should contact your state EMS office for information on licensing requirements."
So it's official... I'm FINALLY an NREMT-B!!!!!!!
Now I'm enrolled at
www.trainingdivision.com earning my Paramedic so I can take the NREMT-P. Despite all of the negative posts I've seen regarding on-line EMS programs, we spend six weeks straight working on skills, clinicals, and ambulance time, day in day out, boot camp academy style... so no, you're not on the rig for nine months straight and in the classroom for nine months straight working on skills and working scenarios, but I have a couple people who have volunteered themselves as my preceptor, and luckily I can ride on rigs with O-side FD as I work my way through the course.
Just answer each question as if your patient's life depends on your answer... because you WILL be in that kind of scenario at some point in your career!