Passing the National Registry Written Exam is a goal to many people across the globe. For many it is the goal that allows them to work in the healthcare field. Other individuals want to pass this exam to simply allow them to earn a paycheck. It is truly a portal to advancement in the healthcare industry.
So, failing to pass this exam can be devastating. But, it is not the end of the journey. It is a Speed Bump, or as we say down in Georgia, a Speed Hump!
In order to be successful in becoming a Nationally Certified EMS Provider through National Registry, one has to be able to do three things.
- You need to be able to absorb a great deal of information, and be able to retain and use the information.
- You need to be able to perform hands-on skills.
- You need to be able to pass a test.
In EMS Education, we typically focus on the first two aspects. However, the last point is perhaps one of the biggest problems with students. I have had many students who know the information and can discuss complex human pathophysiology questions. However, they fall on their face when taking a computer exam.
EMS-Tutoring will focus on the first and third parts listed above.
Absorbing Information:
We will guide you through a personalized review on Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology and Patient Assessment. Let’s be honest here. If you don’t know the information, passing the exam is danged near impossible. And, if you did pass it, you really don’t have the tools necessary to safely provide pre-hospital care.
I don’t promote shortcuts. You actually need to know this information. With rare exceptions, I don’t like “cute” ways to remember things. I have found that the best way to learn, and then retain, information is to actually understand how the body works. For example, we breath for a reason. If we are breathing inadequately, there is a reason we are doing so. Knowing why a person exhibits that problem can help us to provide the proper treatment for the patient.
We need to learn medical terminology. We need to learn how to do a proper patient assessment. We need to learn how to differentiate patient conditions based upon our assessment. We need to learn how our treatments impact the patient. We need to learn what medications we give in the pre-hospital setting does to a patient.
So, we will go through cellular metabolism, acid-base balance, respiration, ventilation, cardiac output, tidal volume, and how the body responds to a variety of medical and trauma situations.
Taking a Test
This is one of the least covered items in EMS Education. Some people take tests without studying and pass with high grades. Those folks are very annoying to those of us that have to work hard to barely pass a test. But, their success should be unimportant to you. We need you to pass. And, we will work with you.
Test Taking Anxiety is real. I have had students who literally end an exam in a big puddle of their own sweat. At least I think it was a puddle of sweat. Anyway, it is a major issue for them. Other people wind up answering a question, and then talking themselves into a wrong answer. Some folks will draw a complete blank (a brain fart) when the test is right in front of them. Yet others will start to panic during the test and cannot wait to finish and get the heck out of there.
If any of these situations are true for you, we have tricks and tips for you to work through those issues. To be clear, I have no fancy credentials in anxiety control. I am a Paramedic Instructor who has work with hundreds of students and found ways to get them to successfully pass National Registry Written Exams.
Scenario World
Let me take you to Scenario World. This is a place where exam questions live. And, this may be very different from your experience in real-life EMS. Exam questions do not come from “Street Medicine”. The don’t start with “This one time we had this patient who ….” No, they are based on the national EMS curriculum, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) standards, American Heart Association standards, etc.
Scenario World uses medical terms. If a person has a nose bleed, in Scenario World, it is listed as an Epistaxis. What?!?!?! That is ridiculous! Yes, it is. But, as I often say, “Suck it up.” It is what exam questions will use. I have never gotten dispatch information for a call that states the patient has an Epistaxis. I have gotten calls for people with a Nose Bleed. However, this is not the “Street”. This is “Scenario World”.
So, if you got an Epistaxis question and did not know that it was a Nose Bleed, then the chances of you answering the question correctly dropped dramatically.
Medical terms are critical for you to be successful. It allows you to understand both the question and the possible answers. It allows you to know what condition the patient is and what treatment is necessary (and what treatment is contraindicated in this situation).
Also, in Scenario World, all patient assessments follow the National Registry check sheets. If you get a question asking you, “What would you do next?” The answer will be whatever is the next step on the check sheet. If they provide you dispatch information with gory details of an arterial bleed on a patient. What you do next will probably be either BSI (Body Substance Isolation) or Scene Safety. Even though putting a tourniquet on the arterial bleed may be the best treatment, BSI comes first.
Signs and Symptoms of various conditions is another area in which you need to spend a lot of study time. Most exam questions that are “Scenario Questions” will give you a lot of signs and symptoms. It may then ask you either what the condition is, or how will you treat the patient. Please know that these exam questions mostly provide Stereotypical Signs and Symptoms of conditions. Not all male heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) present with substernal chest pain that radiates down the left arm. However, that is the Stereotypical Presentation. Whereas Left Shoulder pain is a Stereotypical Presentation for a Spleen Rupture.
On the street, Left Shoulder pain can be a symptom of a myocardial infarction. So, how do we tell the difference? That is where the other seemingly useless information in the Scenario Question comes into play. If the person was tackled an hour ago from behind on the left side, it is probably a Spleen issue. The overall story helps to narrow down the condition.
What I’m trying to say, is that we need to know the Stereotypical Presentation of many, many conditions. We then must be able to rule things in, and rule things out, based on the information that the question contains.
Scenario World is where the absorption of information and the ability to take a test intersects. There are tips and tricks to work through this. My goal is to prepare you with the knowledge, and with test taking skills, so that your next attempt will be successful.
I have found that this is not a one-size fits all situation. The one-on-one tutoring will start with an hour Zoom meeting to see exactly where you stand. I want to know how your previous exam experience was. I want to know how you approach test questions. I want to know if you get fatigued half-way (or a quarter of the way!) through the test. I want to know your study habits. I want to know where you are with EMS concepts, medical terms, and knowledge of signs and symptoms.
Most importantly, I want you to know that your success is the reason EMS-tutoring was created.