Arthur Hsieh

This Cheat Sheet is a quick summary of facts you should know about becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), including certification steps, computer adaptive testing, and exam preparation.Getting and maintaining an EMT certificationThe requirements for becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) vary from state to state.

Working completely alone as an EMT is extremely rare. Even in those circumstances, you’ll likely be interacting with other healthcare and public safety providers at some point during a call. More likely, you’ll be functioning as a member of a team. It may be a single partner, a fire engine crew, or even an emergency department staff — regardless of the size, everyone has a role to play.

If you haven’t been to a classroom in a while, the prospect of formal learning may intimidate you. Don’t worry — EMT education is very interactive and interesting, and it’ll be what you make of it. Be prepared to have fun and be challenged! On one hand, you get to discover how to do things such as administer oxygen, immobilize patients using long backboards, perform CPR, operate an automated external defibrillator (AED), and manage chaotic emergency scenes.

The requirements for becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) vary from state to state. However, several steps are common to the EMT certification process. They include the following steps: Enroll in an EMT course. Search on the web or go to your local emergency medical services (EMS) or fire station to find out where reputable EMT training programs are offered.

The NREMT administers its computer adaptive testing (CAT) exams through Pearson VUE Testing Centers. Pearson VUE conducts testing for a wide variety of licenses and certifications across the world in a secure, comfortable environment. When your application to take the exam is approved by the NREMT, you’re given a list of testing centers and their locations.

Practice exams are very helpful when preparing for the EMT exam. Take the time to take a practice exam under testing conditions before test day. This will help you identify knowledge gaps and increase your confidence. Sample questions Directions: Choose the best answer to each question. Mark the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.

In a sense, the respiratory system serves a very simple purpose: to bring oxygen in and get carbon dioxide out. The EMT exam will expect you to be familiar with the workings of the respiratory system. However simple it seems, the task is much more complex than that and requires a sophisticated set of structures: The upper airway consists of the nares (nostrils), mouth, nasopharynx, pharynx, and larynx.

The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) began using computer adaptive testing (CAT) in January 2007. Prior to then, NREMT exams were paper based; an NREMT representative had to administer the test to a group of candidates. Answers were recorded by test-takers onto Scantron forms, which were collected by the NREMT representative and mailed to the NREMT.

One responsibility that you have as an emergency medical technician (EMT) is to document your assessment and management of the patient. Such documentation can take time to complete if you write out everything that you found and performed. Medical abbreviations can help speed up the process. You can use literally dozens of abbreviations; here are ten (or so) that are commonly used when documenting your assessment and care, plus a few symbols that you can use as shorthand for common words.