Took exam 8/20/14. Took me about an hour and half, since it was my second try and after how quickly i took the first attempt I slowed down and really focused. Almost over-thought some of the questions!
Both tries I had all 120 questions. Kind of tired of people talking about 150 questions on basic...idk if they took their test a long time ago but as per the NREMT site, the basic exam has 70-120 questions. Some may be throw-aways that don't count because the NREMT people are trying them out and have not really introduced them into the pool of test questions yet.
I passed this time. 120 questions, and I passed. I felt like the large majority were OB/GYN or Cardiac Disorder questions. Not a lot about AED or CPR, or even OPS, but more about specific conditions. A lot of CHF, COPD, Pulmonary embolism types.
Everyone likes to say you are definitely going to feel like you failed because the test is designed that way. After I failed the first time (and yes, I was SURE I failed), I studied the textbook religiously for two weeks. I studied twelve hours straight from the textbook the day before the test. I don't think any online quizzes or simulators were all that helpful, since most of them are not adaptive and the questions are sometimes inaccurate since they are mostly user-made.
Today, I left the test feeling confident about maybe not ALL of my responses, but the greater majority of them. Having 120 questions again sort of freaked me out and made me worry I failed, but I was not concerned about my performance. Just nervous. So study. Study the areas you know you are weaker in. Definitely study specific conditions. Use the not-so-awesome online tests to give you an idea of what areas you need to study harder. Read every question THREE times, and the answers. More than one of them is right and you have to pick the best. Or all of them are wrongish and you have to pick the most realistic, least-wrong. USE the scratch paper/dry-erase thing they give you. I drew diagrams and did math for volumes. Don't focus on your timer, DEFINITELY don't focus on how many questions you've answered.
Don't hang your hat on this because everyone's experience is different and the turn around times for results vary greatly, but the first time I didn't get my results until the next day and I failed. They have to go through your test and build the report of how you did in each section and that takes time. This time I passed, and I got my results maybe 3 hours after I took the test. They didn't have to make a report, just post that I passed.
